Well not really related to workshop builds it seemed like the best place to put this.
With the rennovation work on the farm I have two rooms which are cold and leech heat. I was going to sort this before the winter but didn't get round to it, plus it will toughen up the boy.
The rooms (one upstairs and downstairs) both go into the old cowstall extension which is utterly unheated.
Cowshed is the stone extension to the side
When I stripped everything out the walls have been covered with Heraclit board, which is a wonder material of the 1960's, but a nightmare for timber frames as it is basically pressed hay set in cement. So it doesn't breath and the frames rot, its nickname is the grey death. So anyway I removed it all and decided it would be best to leave the walls to breath and put a gyptrak wall in front of it, board it and be done.
On the opposite side of the room most of the frame was removed in the 1960's and replaced with terrible brickwork that was badly externally insulated by the previous owners. It was easier to gyptrak in front, it is a nightmare of different materials and junctions.
View from in the large hall to the Oak frame (the offending rooms are behind the right hand area) where they would park the hay rick, which is now a temp workshop
Above the cow stall
Up in the roof showing junction stone wall to timber and brick to rear - post to the right is just supporting a joist for the floor above and is not part of the old frame
So basically the rooms have a funny smell and are cold I am convinced it is from the oak frame that was badly fire damaged a long time ago, because the Oak is covered in carbon deposit and was wiffy when it was uncovered. I should have put a vapour barrier in behind the board, but you ask 3 people here and you get 3 different answers. I went with the Oak Frame who said it best to leave it. There are no obvious signs of damp and the only external facing bit is behind the external insualtion and render.
The single skin wall to unheated area needs to be insulated from the outside. It is the options available that are giving me a headache.
1. The oak framed wall I will pull the gyptrack wall off and insulate using wood fibre boards and then plaster. It breathes and according to people I don't need a vapour barrier behind it. There isn't really enough depth to do anything else there
2. The wall of differing materials - I have a contact who does blown cellulose - I have enough space here for it to be filled. Would the lack of membrane at the back cause probelms
3. Single skin wall - insulate from the cowshed with external insulation and render, or stud wall and blown cellulose.
Anyone got any better ideas how to tackle this?