Advice needed on insulating external walls

Jonboy_1984

Just make sure you check the asbestos survey paperwork (you should hopefully have one on file by now) before starting anything. I used to be involved with a voluntary organisation whose building of similar construction was stuffed full of it and had to be gutted from the inside out to remove as part of a similar project.

jennifernil

No asbestos  was found in the external walls, we had a look when some damage was repaired many years back, but the original roof was asbestos cement corrugated sheets.    This was removed by specialist contractors when the present roof was installed.

ThisIsWeird

Does the large open ceiling space provide any purpose? If not, I'd expect an instant and very noticeable benefit from adding a false ceiling.

You are currently not only trying to heat a further 50% of wasted space, but this void is pinching the hottest of your heat - I bet it's nce and toasty up there

If you had a new ceiling, it would also mean a much smaller and easier wall area to add insulation to - it would be quite a 'mare to do this to 6m high sloping walls, and for no real benefit.

It won't be 'cheap', tho' surely shouldn't be stupidly expensive either - I'd imagine it'd all be based on lightweight aluminium frames, suspended by cables from the existing roof.

New lighting, of course.

jennifernil

I think lowering the ceiling would be a step too far, but I understand why you are suggesting it.     However, I cannot see the guide leaders ever agreeing to such a drastic change!

It would totally change the character of the halls and limit activities.

The roof is supported by large exposed triangular wooden trusses, the ceiling follows the line of the roof, and the lights are fitted high up on the ceiling, mainly out of reach of balls etc.

These are strip lights, the tubes are protected by mesh guards. The original lights hung much lower, just above truss level, and were forever being damaged by balls.

Originally there were high level windows right  along the front of the building to give additional light, but when these started to rot back in 1997 they were removed, the wall up there insulated and additional T&G fitted, so that has helped a bit.  In frosty weather you can see the difference outside on the cladding as this upper area stays white.

The remaining windows along the front are quite tall, and come quite close to the level of the underside of the trusses, so I think a lower ceiling might well look a bit odd inside .

I would say that users would be willing to stump up additional amounts to retain the character of the building.

chris_n

Put some destrat fans in the ceiling space to push the warm air back down.

jennifernil

Update, sorry it has taken so long,  I have found the plans, but they have not proved to be of much help, other than confirming some sizes.

The area that needs to be insulated is approx 23m x9m, and the ceiling height is approx 2.7 m at the lowest and just over 5m at the  highest.

There is no detail given of the wall construction other than that the structural timbers are 4"x2" with wood cladding outside and plasterboard inside.

We have seen that there is a little glass fibre insulation in there, and that there is some sort of plywood sheathing behind the cladding, but have no info on vapour barriers.

We are going to look into the best way to insulate inside the existing plasterboard walls and get some quotes to see how much money we will need to raise, hopefully, as a charity we will qualify for some assistance with the cost.

ThisIsWeird

Not long at all!

As before, the simplest, fastest, least hassle method is to line the inside with insulation and then a suitable surface finish. IE, Celotex-type insulation followed by plasterboard or cladding/boarding for more durability, or a combi of the two. 

This would be a solution of easily calculable size, and builders/joiners/plasters should be able to quote for this very easily, I think - the job is very visible and it's obvious what it'll involve. (It doesn't even need a general builder, as many/most plasterers could do this, sub'ing the electrical work and stuff out as required. Ditto joiners, tho' they'd be sub'ing the skimming (if that finish route is taken). 

It would obviously be 'good', tho', if the effort could also be taken to first remove the existing p'board, as you'd be able to check what's currently in the wall, how effective it might be (has fibrewool slumped, for example), and whether this can be upgraded too, either in addition to the over-boarding, or even instead of.

If what's in the walls can be improved, then it'll likely mean that less thickness of insulation board will be required to line the inside, potentially  even nothing at all = internal room savings. But, more work and mess.

I'd have thought, therefore, that an important first step would be to find out what's in these walls, so a few test explores.