Installing Insulation Materials to Existing Granny Flats

While insulation are best placed during construction, your existing granny flat might not have enough to keep the entire structure energy-efficient. Because a well-insulated building means great savings on energy bills, it’s never too late to retrofit them if you think you need more than what you already have in your flat.

Here are some parts to consider:

Cavity Brick Walls

When it comes to insulation, cavity brick walls pose a great challenge because their high thermal mass makes the interior space too warm after prolonged exposure to the outside heat. And during winter, bricks quickly absorb heat from inside the flat, rendering the interior space too cold.

Granny Flats Perth can add insulating materials into the cavity by injecting polystyrene foam or mineral fibers, whatever is available or affordable in your location. These new materials have been tested for their fire-retardant and water-resistant properties. So there’s less worry about fires or moisture buildup.

For full, concrete walls or bricks, you can have a polystyrene board installed on the wall’s exterior as an energy-efficient shield from the outside elements.

Roof and Ceiling

An insulation layer may also be added just under the battens, between the trusses and roof rafters. Reflective foil sheets usually do the trick to keep most of the sun’s radiant energy from entering the living space. This type of insulation can be installed whether you use tiled or metal roofs.

If your flat’s existing ceiling has downlights already installed, make sure to allow clearance space around these light fixtures to reduce fire hazards just in case the wirings fail at some point. Some reports of household fires have been attributed to these types of recessed light fittings.

If you have the option to paint your roof, always choose the lightest paint color or those with heat-reflective properties. Just make sure that the type you choose is permissible under building regulations because external glares might be too bright for your neighbors.

Floors

Although floors do not usually have insulations installed because of their relatively fixed structure, a floor with raised timber or raised concrete slab could provide enough access to place the insulating material. A soil clearance that measures at least 40 centimeters is ideal for any insulation add-ons. Meanwhile, other concrete slab floors already have internal cooling or heating systems set-up during the construction of the flat.

For the most part, your granny flats builder should already have building insulation in mind right before the construction. But for those with already existing flats, you can always retrofit insulations regardless of the type of structure you have. For more information, call your Granny Flats Perth today.

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For more Information 

visit http://www.grannyflatsbuilderperth.com

Phone: (08) 9397 0963

Address: 630 Armadale Road Forrestdale WA 6112

Fax: (08) 9397 0956

ABN: 51 079 433 471