As more people move towards remote working, and the interest in extending a home with an external building grows, the desire for garden rooms is increasing.
We recently published a post on the difference between garden rooms, sheds, and summerhouses, and one of the main differences highlighted on there was insulation.
So, does a garden room need insulation? And what is the best way to build a well-insulated, warm garden building?
Let’s take a look.
Does a Garden Room Need Insulation?
The question of whether a garden building requires insulation doesn’t have one answer.
Instead, it depends on what you are planning on using the building for.
Are you planning on simply storing things in it, or using it only in the warmer months (this will fall into the shed and summer house category), then insulation may not be necessary.
If you plan on using the garden room for a more long-term use, such as using it as an annex to live in, a gym to work out in throughout the year, an office to work in daily, or even a yoga studio, then insulation is very important.
A garden building often stands alone at the end of a garden, and is therefore open to the elements.
As anyone who lives in the UK knows, when summer ends and autumn and winter arrive, things can get a bit chilly.
Having insulation means your garden building can maintain heat and keep you feeling cosy at any month of the year.
And that’s not the only benefit:
- Extend the time you can use the garden room – Garden buildings are growing in popularity, and that is because they provide a versatile way of creating a building tailor-made for you and your needs. When you have such a space, you don’t want to only be able to use it in summer due to it being too cold. With insulation, your garden room retains heat, and also keeps thing cooler in the warmer months, providing a comfortable temperature for you to relax, exercise, or work in at any point of the year.
- Increase the value of your garden building – While the cost of adding insulation when building your garden room isn’t massive, the value it can add on to your garden building (and in turn your home) is huge. If you ever do decide to move home, being able to offer a fully insulated garden room which can be used all year round is a huge plus, especially for people looking to use it for work such as hairdressers or yoga teachers.
- Less energy is used to keep your garden building warm – If you are trying to keep your garden room warm (or cool) by using equipment such as air conditioning units or portable heaters, then this will use up energy and cost you money. By having insulation installed, your temperature will be regulated, meaning you won’t need to use so much energy to maintain a comfortable temperature.
Traditional Methods of Garden Room Insulation
While garden room insulation is certainly a positive, there are some traditional methods of insulation that aren’t ideal.
In most garden buildings, you will find a layer of insulation that is held in between the outer wall, and an inner wall. Some popular methods of insulation that are sometimes used are insulation boards, foil, and wool.
While these do provide the heat retention qualities that insulation is used for, if you are not using the right materials, there may be some downsides.
Many garden buildings that are built with certain types of timber for the inner wall (used to hold the insulation in place) lack the inflammable qualities required to really make a garden building safe.
Timber boards can be flammable, and a garden building should try and avoid this at all costs.
Fireproof, Insulated Garden Buildings with InFrame
At Inframe Garden Rooms, we use only the highest quality materials and never cut corners when constructing our steel framed garden rooms.
Airtight Membrane Wrap
For our insulation, we use certified passive house airtight membrane wrap for our garden rooms.
This means that the material has been rigorously tested to ensure it is up to the highest standards when it comes to energy efficiency and comfort.
All insulation we use is completely non-combustible, meaning that if a fire does occur, your insulation won’t burn.
And the benefits don’t stop there, as our glass wool insulation is 70% recycled so is always sustainable and environmentally friendly.
While it contains these great qualities, it also performs to the highest level possible, ensuring great heat retention and temperature regulation.
Timber Boards
As mentioned earlier, many traditional garden rooms are built using timber boards.
This is a common material to see on many garden buildings, but at InFrame Garden Rooms, we like to ensure every step is taken to create the perfect garden room.
We use commercial grade construction boards which are designed to be thermally efficient. What this means is that these boards combine with your insulation to help keep the temperature in your garden room just right.
They are also A1 non-combustible. This is the highest rating that can be reached in the Euroclass system when it comes to non-combustible materials.
This, alongside the insulation, provides stunning protection against fire.
There are more benefits also, as our boards have excellent acoustic properties unlike others which have poor acoustic properties and are often laid between open floor joists, which leaves them vulnerable to the elements immediately.
Our garden rooms are built to last, and our commercial grade construction boards protect the insulation and fabric of the building and are the very best materials on the market.
InFrame Garden Rooms
If you’re looking for a bespoke garden building tailor-made to suit your needs, then why not get in touch with InFrame Garden Rooms today.
All of our garden buildings are constructed with a galvanised steel frame, and come with non-combustible, energy efficient insulation that is sure to make your building accessible all year round.
We also use A1 non-combustible construction boards to maximise the safety of your building.
We use only the highest quality materials to ensure every InFrame garden building that we construct is built to last, so if you’re looking to add the many benefits of a garden room to your property today, then we’d love to hear from you.
