Interior of outbuilding - options?

ChilliBob

The below should give you guys more of an idea, wide view of the area, then the electrics running around the perimeter, except for the lights, some 'wedges' on edges, which sort of sucks, a board which is a bit bowed, and then the outside view. 

Bendy_House

ChilliBob said:

The below should give you guys more of an idea, wide view of the area, then the electrics running around the perimeter, except for the lights, some 'wedges' on edges, which sort of sucks, a board which is a bit bowed, and then the outside view. 

Nice room. Lots of potential.

It all depends what you want to use it for. If you really only 'want to brighten it up', then white masonry paint on the walls will transform it - it's wot I did in my garage.

If you want it more 'room'-like, then the walls will almost certainly need 'lining', and that means plasterboard or similar. If you ever intend to put heating in there, then you need to add insulation before p'boarding. If you want to try getting rid of the concrete block texture by using a skim, then enjoy...

So, it all depends on what it's for.

2-pack is the best - most durable - type of floor paint. (You mix the '2 parts', and it then sets chemically to a very tough layer). For most purposes, that isn't necessary - 'ordinary' garage floor paint will do. Once that's down, you may wish to add a soft floor covering (again, it depends on what the room is to be used for), or possibly rubber matting. (A word on any flooring - if the concrete floor doesn't have a proper PDM, then damp will almost certainly come up and cause issues under your floor covering as it cannot now evaporate. Having said that, your floor does look very dry, so is presumably ok in this regard.)

If you want to put down a floor covering in any case, then there's no need to 'paint' the floor first, but you should really use a sealer in order to stop dust coming off. Everbuild do a good and cheap one - it's 403?

Ok, the ceiling. Some of these sheets are clearly bowing. That will be because the fitter didn't add the necessary number of cross-joints/noggins to support the boards. Ie, they just relied on what was already there. The boards might not become any worse, or they could keep on sagging. In any event, saggy ceilings just look hellish... Your choice, therefore, is to either get up there above that ceiling and screw in some noggins to which the boards can then be screwed securely (after very gently prising them back upwards), or else to do my bodge, which it to support the boards from below, and make it a 'feature'. (It doesn't have to be as extensive as that pic...)

If you leave the boards sagging, then it will always look hellish. And any filling along the joints will most likely fail.

Really, you should plan in a hatch in order to keep an eye on the 'loft' void. Hopefully it's well ventilated, but problems can occur if it ain't.

ChilliBob

Thanks Bendy, all very useful stuff. I guess the two pack is sort of like paint and resin combined then?

Yeah the ceiling is the elephant in the room. I think this may be too much for me to take on myself to be honest - to make it look decent it probably needs replacing, which is probably outside my comfort zone really. 

I think some reflection on how we intend to use is required, and in the meantime a low cost and effort solution is the walls to kick things off. Dusk and get rid of spiders, long pile roller, job done.

I think the most likely use is probably shed and home gym - we have a rowing machine which is indoors at the moment, but space with another little person coming, will be tricky.

It's a decent sized space though, there's scope for multi use for sure. You reckon an oldskool setup of amplifier and a pair of floor standers, and perhaps a sub, would survive in there with no heating? It has double glazing and stuff.. 

silvercar

With no heating, how much will it get used?

ChilliBob

Reflecting on the use, I'd reckon 1/3rd shed, 1/3rd 'gym' (read rowing machine and some weights), 1/3rd 'fun'.. A combination of perhaps table football, air hockey, table tennis, the sort of stuff that's too big for the house. So good use but not just sitting sound treating it as a lounge - we have one of them in the house lol

FreeBear

Bendy_House said: Ok, the ceiling. Some of these sheets are clearly bowing. That will be because the fitter didn't add the necessary number of cross-joints/noggins to support the boards. Ie, they just relied on what was already there. The boards might not become any worse, or they could keep on sagging.

The boards have been nailed up - Didn't think anyone did that any more... Nails have a nasty habit of "popping". Modern practice is to use plasterboard screws every 200mm or so, and keep at least 12mm away from an edge. The screws only need to go in far enough that the heads are kinda flush with the surface - If you are skimming, the screw depth doesn't have to be perfect.

Run some scrim tape over the joints - https://www.toolstation.com/plasterboard-jointscrim-tape/p61291 - I prefer to fill the gaps between the sheets before applying scrim tape.

stuart45

If you've got a lot of screws to put in it's worth getting a plasterboard depth stop for a few quid. Stops the screws going too deep. For tape and fill it's a fine line between not going deep enough and going through the paper and not fixing properly.

ChilliBob

I did do one screw a little while ago and it seemed a bit crap - like there wasn't much to bite on really. I'll have a crack again in a couple of days. Perhaps I got too short screws? I tried to get the same length as the nails.

This was all spurred on by a massive clearance of the room as we had a skip to get rid of a bathroom which has been replaced for us - so bye bye old trampoline, paint cans, old chairs etc! 

ChilliBob

silvercar said:

With no heating, how much will it get used?

Tbh it wasn't too cold over winter this year, and the sort of stuff we'd do that isn't gym we'd probably not do for ages at a time - as with a lot of children my son has a fairly short attention span!

I'd rather go that route and I'd be delighted to find we use it enough to warrant heating which we could look to add. 

Bendy_House

Yes, 2-pack is a resin type paint. Very durable. It's your call whether you want to use it. If you plan to put down a floor covering - rubber sheet for the gym part, for example - then 403 with or without a standard floor paint should do. If you are having games like T-T, then it might be worth it due to trainer wear.
Either way, follow the instructions, and use 403 first, certainly if the concrete has a dust-forming surface.

I'd be cautious about putting costly electronics in there just in case, but a boombox should be fine - I have one in my garage (tuned to R4, of course...)

Here's the thing; an unheated outbuilding will be perfectly dry and not cause any issues PROVIDED it has adequate ventilation. The new ceiling will have reduced ventilation significantly, but it still might be ok. 

If it has normal doors and windows (ie, not a draughty garage door), and these aren't on 'vent', and you have lots of bodies in there (especially playing active games/gyming), then don't be surprised if you find condensation forming on the insides of the windows. That will be an indication of damp air, and the cure is to ventilate it away. (Or turn it into a heated living space, tho' this too always needs some venting.)

If the p'board is sagging, then the problem in trying to fix it with additional screws is that the board will have set itself in that new shape, so screws are unlikely to pull it flat, but just burst through the paper surface. You therefore need a T-prop to first push them flat and tight against the joists, and then use the correct 'bugle' screws to secure them, stopping when the head is just, fractionally below the surface.

The sagging, tho', is unlikely to be down to lack of screws, but lack of joists/noggins.