How to insulate an enclosed veranda?

[mlewin]

 

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? 

[Dave-1]

Good Evening @mlewin 

The vapor barrier looks ok but I have a couple of questions.

A - Have you verified that the termites are dead? As in professionally had the area treated?

B - The external walls look like they have had water on the inside at some point. What is the condition of the outside of the walls? 

C - And the last question, what type of windows are behind the slatted timber venetian style coverings?

If its an old home then the windows could be single glass pain. It may be worth looking into double glazing as you are insulating everything else. Or you could keep the sun from directly hitting the windows to help with the heat and heavy rubber backed curtains for summer and winter to regulate the temperture.

Dave

[mlewin]

Hi @Dave-1,

Thanks for your questions.

A) The termites were professionally treated and considered eradicated around 2 years ago. I am only just getting to rectifying the situation now. 

B) The external walls have all been repointed and are in good condition now. Previously to doing this job around 10 years ago, there was a lot of soil against that wall and a lot of mortar missing. I agree, there has been some moisture issues at some stage seriously affecting that space. It had previously been lined inside with cedar style cladding ie it looked like a Swedish sauna when we bought the house. We didn’t remove these. We just plaster boarded over them. Not sure if that contributed to the issue.

C) The windows in this space were all replaced around 10 years ago. They aren’t double glazed.

[Dave-1]

Good Morning @mlewin 

Goodbye Termites  

With your windows I would definently try to lesson the sun impacting the glass either by blinds or shutters externaly. It will bump your insulation efforts considerably.

Is there still soil against the outside wall?

I would still head towards having the plasterboard off the wall, tho that is just a personal feeling about air and the wall breathing.

The job is looking good and bet when you put your feet up at the end of the day it feels good!

Dave

[JacobZ]

Hi @mlewin,

Ideally, the plastic should extend above the damp-proof course. I can't tell where it is from your photo, but if you could cover it, that would be ideal.

It looks like a solid job, though, and I'm sure it will help in its current state.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[mlewin]

Hi @Dave-1,

All the soil has been removed from the outside wall. I can’t really put blinds or awning externally. I have new garden growing with a lot more shade trees that will help things in the next couple of years. I will just tackle the windows internally. 

I agree now that battening out the walls will probably be better as the walls are pretty crooked anyway and I can run my electrical in there.

Talk about hard earned thirst at end of day! Rewarding though. Thanks for your advice. Will keep you posted.