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Hi, unfortunately I had termites in the enclosed veranda of my bungalow in Sydney and they ate all the old battens and lining boards. I now want to insulate it before lining it back with Gyprock. This includes insulating the floor, which has dirt under it. I will be removing the floor as that has been damaged too and replace it with yellow tongue and carpet. What is the process for doing this for the walls and floor? Do I need a vapour barrier?
This is a fairly involved project @mlewin, and getting the insulation right before you line the veranda is really important for comfort and durability. For the walls, you’ll first need to rebuild the framing where the old battens and lining were removed. The stud framing needs to be deep enough to fit the insulation you plan to use. Typically, R2.5–R3.0 batts for external walls in Sydney. Once the studs are in place, you can place the insulation between them, then fix your plasterboard over the top. You’ll also need to think about how the top of the wall meets the windows or verandah framing. You can either install timber sills along the top of the studs or have the plasterboard carried up with rebates to create a neat finish.
For the floor, since the joists are close to the soil, a vapour barrier is strongly recommended. If you can access under the floor, you can install insulation batts between the joists and hold them in place with string lines or wire mesh. Once that’s in place, you’d lay a vapour barrier across the subfloor before installing your new yellow tongue boards. This helps prevent moisture from the soil affecting the insulation or floor finish. If access under the floor is limited, you may need to consider foam board insulation laid between the joists before fixing the flooring,
In summary, the key points are: proper stud depth for wall insulation, ensuring the insulation is held securely, and installing a vapour barrier under the floor to protect against moisture. Doing these steps carefully now will give you a warm, dry, and termite‑resistant veranda once it’s all lined and finished.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Thanks @MitchellMc. So have I got this right that the thermal layer is attached to the top of the joists directly over the insulation and then the yellow tongue flooring is directly on top? I have access to the area below the joists.
Since removing the floor today, I have realised that a couple of the joists have been also eaten and they will need to be replaced. I also need to raise the floor level because previously there was yellow tongue flooring, floorboards then carpet. Can I just apply two levels of yellow tongue on top of each other to raise the height?
I believe now that insulating the small amount of wall below the windows is going to encroach too much on already small room (1.9m x 3.5m) so I will concentrate on the floor and maybe just add some thermal curtains. Given this, will it be ok then to just batten out the room and directly add the gyprock? I will add the window sills on top of the battens.
