New garage... to pump or not to pump walls?

BarneyMc

I hope to pump my new house cavity walls next week and am debating whether to do the garage also. The garage has a standard 100mm cavity but is a storey and half and will cost about €1,000 to pump :eek:

I'll not be heating it or using it for any office work etc. in the non-summer months so not sure it justifies pumping.

I suppose if I was going to do it it would be best done at the same time as the house and before plastering although it could still be done any time in the future, albeit with annoying circular holes filled in where the drilling happened).

Drift

Two school's of thought here:

1. Pump it now because at any time in the future it will be more expensive because you won't be buying as much bead as you are now.

2. Maybe a better quality bead that gives higher insulation levels will be invented in the next few years and when/if you want to have a heated garage in future you might get a better standard of insulation than using current bead.

If it was me I'd do it now. I did with my own garage.

Dardania

is it attached to your house?

BarneyMc

Dardania wrote: »

is it attached to your house?

No, totally separate.

ht9zni1gs28crp

I did ours all at the same time, in fact treated the garage as part of build stage for stage.

BarneyMc

miller_63 wrote: »

I did ours all at the same time, in fact treated the garage as part of build stage for stage.

Yes doing this (building garage at same stage as house) myself also and best move I ever made. If I hadn't I know it would be 2050 before it would be built!! :rolleyes:

Clseeper

Barney,

In a very similar situation as yourself. The blocklayers used my storey & half garage as a test case for laying, junctions etc while building the the. So it was the same wide cavity (250mm, ties etc).

I postponed the pumping of the garage as like your, the cost was just over the €1k mark. I've a white sand/cement render and didn't want to have lots of regular off coloured filled holes. I doubt you'd ever get exactly the same colour in the filled holes so got them to pump from the inside. Company had no issue with this and from a cost perspective, I don't think you'll save much from getting them both done at the same time. The impression I got off the vendors was the bead is actually really cheap and your paying more for having the men and equipment on site. There were actually a few companies who didn't bother quoting for my big job (full fill) as it would be better for them to have four smaller jobs than spend the 2 days on my site.

So I'm waiting, and will pump from inside when I do get around to it.

BarneyMc

Clseeper wrote: »

Barney,

In a very similar situation as yourself. The blocklayers used my storey & half garage as a test case for laying, junctions etc while building the the. So it was the same wide cavity (250mm, ties etc).

I postponed the pumping of the garage as like your, the cost was just over the €1k mark. I've a white sand/cement render and didn't want to have lots of regular off coloured filled holes. I doubt you'd ever get exactly the same colour in the filled holes so got them to pump from the inside. Company had no issue with this and from a cost perspective, I don't think you'll save much from getting them both done at the same time. The impression I got off the vendors was the bead is actually really cheap and your paying more for having the men and equipment on site. There were actually a few companies who didn't bother quoting for my big job (full fill) as it would be better for them to have four smaller jobs than spend the 2 days on my site.

So I'm waiting, and will pump from inside when I do get around to it.

Thanks. Sorry but are you saying you'll pump at a time in the future or when you're pumping the house?

BarneyMc

Clseeper wrote: »

I don't think you'll save much from getting them both done at the same time. The impression I got off the vendors was the bead is actually really cheap and your paying more for having the men and equipment on site.

Does this not mean it WOULD be cheaper to get all done in one go as the men are already on site and it's just a matter of pumping in the extra cheap bead?

Clseeper

Sorry should have been clearer.

I've pumped the house but left the garage. I'll do the garage at some point in the future and from the inside so it doesn't ruin my external render.

Yes it may be somewhat cheaper but my impression is not by much. I asked the vendor to fill a small amount of dry bead for me to use to fill a (just in case) chimney stack and they had no problem and they suggested filling a whole 1 ton bag 'just to make sure I had enough'. The bead really doesn't cost too much is the impression they gave me.

So it may be a bit cheaper to do now but my guess is €100 or so. At the moment cash flow is a concern and this €1k will get me my MHRV ducting which I do need before I move in. So if I could spare the €1k now, I'd have done it now. However I'd then have to spend the time and other materials to properly finished the junctions, opes and other items needed in the garage and I can't spare the time on that when I could be doing something in the main house.

stickybookmark

Garage is going to be used for ...??? I'd guess Storage of stuff like:
lawnmower
bicycles
fuel (wood, coal, diesel etc)
paint
gardening chemicals
deep freeze

None of that needs an insulated space. Why waste the 1k?

BarneyMc

Clseeper wrote: »

Sorry should have been clearer.

I've pumped the house but left the garage. I'll do the garage at some point in the future and from the inside so it doesn't ruin my external render.

Yes it may be somewhat cheaper but my impression is not by much. I asked the vendor to fill a small amount of dry bead for me to use to fill a (just in case) chimney stack and they had no problem and suggested they fill a whole 1 ton bag 'just to make sure I had enough'. The bead really doesn't cost too much is the impression they gave me.

So it may be a bit cheaper to do now but my guess is €100 or so. At the moment cash flow is a concern and this €1k will get me my MHRV ducting which I do need before I move in. So if I could spare teh €1k now, I'd have done it now. However I'd then have to spend the time and other materials to properly finished the junctions, opes and other items needed in the garage and I can't spare the time on that when I could be doing something in the main house.

I think you're my double! :eek:

BarneyMc

stickybookmark wrote: »

Garage is going to be used for ...??? I'd guess Storage of stuff like:
lawnmower
bicycles
fuel (wood, coal, diesel etc)
paint
gardening chemicals
deep freeze

None of that needs an insulated space. Why waste the 1k?

Yes, I tend to agree. €1k is a lot of fun spent the right way! I think I'll leave it for now.

db

Will you have any plumbing services in the garage? I have my pump, pressure chamber, softener and boiler in there so I pumped the walls when building so it would be easier to prevent freezing in extreme cold weather.

BarneyMc

db wrote: »

Will you have any plumbing services in the garage? I have my pump, pressure chamber, softener and boiler in there so I pumped the walls when building so it would be easier to prevent freezing in extreme cold weather.

No, nothing like that but there will be a toilet and wash hand basin.

gooseygander

BarneyMc wrote: »

No, nothing like that but there will be a toilet and wash hand basin.

If you can at all come up with the dosh I would do it now. It will ensure the garage always remains damp free. 1000 it a bit saucy when you are getting big house also done. Maybe a bit of hard haggling ???and bluff calling. I pumped mine in this way and am glad I did as it is now done for life. I have no heating in it but I also insulated the floor and roof as I went. Best of luck

Murphy14

If your garage is an unheated space I can't see much benefit of having the walls insulated

Murphy14

If your garage is an unheated space I can't see much benefit of having the walls insulated

893bet

Murphy14 wrote: »

If your garage is an unheated space I can't see much benefit of having the walls insulated

X 2. Also surely ventilation and not insulation is more important in prevention of damp?

gooseygander

893bet wrote: »

X 2. Also surely ventilation and not insulation is more important in prevention of damp?

Option will always be there to provide heating if required, even electric if needed for the short term. Garage has 4 windows, 2 up 2 down and suns rays alone provide heating of some sort, and this heating is retained. In relation to ventilation I have that covered also ( insulated roller door that is far from airtight). I have been in many sheds, garages, and outhouses that have no insulation plenty of ventilation and LOADS of dampand rusty tools. I feel my garage is now future proofed if my better half ever kicks me out. If anybody is thinking of doing it, build stage is the time for it imo.

stickybookmark

gooseygander wrote: »

I feel my garage is now future proofed if my better half ever kicks me out..

that's better than a pre-nup !

BarneyMc

Went ahead and got house and garage (just peaks to finish) pumped last week. Must say they did a great job (plenty of bore holes) and the new beads have a rating of 0.033W/mK. They did cause some very small tears in the membrane surrounding the windows but all in all I'm very happy (we got them taped).

Lesson learned - before any work commences get ALL workers together and explain the concept of air tightness and that nobody is to put as much as a biscuit on any membrane or tape. I had to remove a saw and bucket of concrete from my window reveal!

BarneyMc

My installer pumped the house and garage cavities but despite agreeing to, didn't pump the garage gable walls from first floor joists level up. My garage is storey and a half so from the joists level up is empty. I specifically told him to pump the whole way as I'm leaving the roof open, i.e. no plasterboard ceiling on the first floor.

He has also left about 8 bags of (dirty) beads that spilled around the place which he said he would take with him. Unfortunately I paid him as was heading off for a few days. Anyway he's refusing to complete the job. Any suggestions as to what I can do?

ht9zni1gs28crp

BarneyMc wrote: »

My installer pumped the house and garage cavities but despite agreeing to, didn't pump the garage gable walls from first floor joists level up. My garage is storey and a half so from the joists level up is empty. I specifically told him to pump the whole way as I'm leaving the roof open, i.e. no plasterboard ceiling on the first floor.

He has also left about 8 bags of (dirty) beads that spilled around the place which he said he would take with him. Unfortunately I paid him as was heading off for a few days. Anyway he's refusing to complete the job. Any suggestions as to what I can do?

Bring the bags of rubbish beads to his house, split them and leave them on his doorstep.

BarneyMc

miller_63 wrote: »

Bring the bags of rubbish beads to his house, split them and leave them on his doorstep.

Great minds... actually thought about that! Feel duped

Dardania

Is he SEAI registered? And was this a to-SEAI-standards project? If so, invite them out for an inspection...

Murphy14

BarneyMc wrote: »

My installer pumped the house and garage cavities but despite agreeing to, didn't pump the garage gable walls from first floor joists level up. My garage is storey and a half so from the joists level up is empty. I specifically told him to pump the whole way as I'm leaving the roof open, i.e. no plasterboard ceiling on the first floor.

He has also left about 8 bags of (dirty) beads that spilled around the place which he said he would take with him. Unfortunately I paid him as was heading off for a few days. Anyway he's refusing to complete the job. Any suggestions as to what I can do?

The installer should be NSAI approved suggest to him that you will contact them or get in contact with the National Insulation Association of Ireland (NIAI) both these organisations will ensure your issues are resolved

galwaytt

db wrote: »

Will you have any plumbing services in the garage? I have my pump, pressure chamber, softener and boiler in there so I pumped the walls when building so it would be easier to prevent freezing in extreme cold weather.

BarneyMc wrote: »

No, nothing like that but there will be a toilet and wash hand basin.

Er, a toilet and hand basin ARE like that.............they will freeze/crack, in winter.

stickybookmark wrote: »

Garage is going to be used for ...??? I'd guess Storage of stuff like:
lawnmower
bicycles
fuel (wood, coal, diesel etc)
paint
gardening chemicals
deep freeze

None of that needs an insulated space. Why waste the 1k?

I think if you add the value of what you put in it, and how fast it will rust/corrode/attract damp, in an unheated garage, then you'll find the insulation would have been cheap 'insurance'.......so it's not 'wasted'.


Personally - and I'm a garage fiend - I wouldn't leave so much as bucket in an uninsulated garage, let alone a lawnmower (€1900), bicycles (€1500 for the 3), Strimmer (€250), Leafblower (€200), Pressure washer (€400) - let alone a car - (think anywhere from €1000 - €30000 ) or motorbikes (think anywhere from €800 - €21000 ).

So I pumped mine.

And then I dry-lined it.