Garage Conversion For Fish House

[skjl47]

hello; The spray foam on all surfaces may be the better insulation overall. While it will most likely be the closed cell foam, you might talk with the installers to be sure and get their opinion. The closed cell foam becomes a vapor barrier as well as adding insulation. My take is with all surfaces coated by the foam there will not be any cold areas so the type venting I was talking about is not so critical. The gaps around the doors and simply opening and closing them may exchange enough air. The closed foam should also be a good enough vapor barrier to prevent moisture from getting between it and the walls and should keep down the chance of mold.



On the floor, it seems to me that the carpet will get wet and stay wet. This will be another place for mold to grow. I have run a dehumidifer the last few years since moving into a house with a heat pump. With only three tanks and my daily cooking and such the doors and windows would condense water into puddles on the floor. I had used an oil furnace in a past house which was hot enough to dry out the air. Keeping a tank heated in the winter results in more evaporation from my tanks into the dry winter air.

Be sure to run these ideas of mine past some other people. I am not on the site and am in some ways generalizing. Good luck

 

[skjl47]

hello; The spray foam on all surfaces may be the better insulation overall. While it will most likely be the closed cell foam, you might talk with the installers to be sure and get their opinion. The closed cell foam becomes a vapor barrier as well as adding insulation. My take is with all surfaces coated by the foam there will not be any cold areas so the type venting I was talking about is not so critical. The gaps around the doors and simply opening and closing them may exchange enough air. The closed foam should also be a good enough vapor barrier to prevent moisture from getting between it and the walls and should keep down the chance of mold.



On the floor, it seems to me that the carpet will get wet and stay wet. This will be another place for mold to grow. I have run a dehumidifer the last few years since moving into a house with a heat pump. With only three tanks and my daily cooking and such the doors and windows would condense water into puddles on the floor. I had used an oil furnace in a past house which was hot enough to dry out the air. Keeping a tank heated in the winter results in more evaporation from my tanks into the dry winter air.

Be sure to run these ideas of mine past some other people. I am not on the site and am in some ways generalizing. Good luck

 

[paulW]

Thanks for your info.........The floor I was planning on either painting with that glossy Garage stuff, or adding simple carpet, I know thats not overly ambitious, but the carpet especially seems like it would work for keeping in some heat

Carpet will help insulate.. But keep in mind, in a fish room, there's going to be a lot of spills.
At least there is for me.

 

[kniesh]

Cheers for the info guys, I will update it as soon as the Electrician has done the work next week. I think I will go with the floor paint for garages rather than carpets. Don't want to be dealing with the mould issue down there too

 

[skjl47]

Cheers for the info guys, I will update it as soon as the Electrician has done the work next week. I think I will go with the floor paint for garages rather than carpets. Don't want to be dealing with the mould issue down there too

Hello; My understanding has been that less heat is lost thru a floor than thru walls, roof, doors and windows and gaps.

Does the floor have a drain? If so, the spills and such will have a place to go.

Heat loss will be a short term and ongoing financial issue. Mold will be a longer term health issue. I have some tanks inside my home that put moisture in to the air. Not an issue in the warm months as I can open windows or run the central AC. During the cold months I have been running a dehumidifer since moving into a house with a heat pump. The dehumidifier will sometimes remove over a gallon of moisture a day.

 

[kniesh]

Thanks, yeah my plan now is to use that special paint on the floor probably. I am leaning towards the spray insulation for walls and ceiling, however my dad said hes much more comfortable fitting the boards so it may yet be them. I will also fit a couple of those bathroom ventilation fans high up on the walls on either side of the garage. During the summer I will almost certainly need a fan, as the doors I wont be touching really, other than having curtains along them during the winter to slow down any draft. But the summer will be an issue, as the sun came out for an hour the other day, an as these doors are south facing they really did rise in temp quite significantly. I will attach a large fan in one of the corners an have it on when required during summer

 

[kniesh]

The electrics are all done, now running a 40amp fuse box in there. Since we not long moved, I decided that all the carpets we didnt like out the house, that are in great condition, just not very nice, I am putting down in the garage, along with the underlay. I know this isn't perfect for spillages etc, but i dont envisage too many as everything will be done with a Hosepipe, no buckets etc..

In terms of the roof, I am now getting a couple of Humidity extractor fans to place in the roof. I'm hoping these will keep the humidity under control

 

[skjl47]

The electrics are all done, now running a 40amp fuse box in there. Since we not long moved, I decided that all the carpets we didnt like out the house, that are in great condition, just not very nice, I am putting down in the garage, along with the underlay. I know this isn't perfect for spillages etc, but i dont envisage too many as everything will be done with a Hosepipe, no buckets etc..

In terms of the roof, I am now getting a couple of Humidity extractor fans to place in the roof. I'm hoping these will keep the humidity under control

Hello; Afraid you lost me in terms of how either of these options will be of value. The old carpet and pad will get wet and stay wet, which will likely grow mold.

Not sure what humidity extractor fans are exactly. If they are simple fans that pull air out of the building then it seems likely they will pull the heat out as well. If they are what I know of as de-humidifiers, then that will be a different story.

Good luck.

 

[kniesh]

From what I've been told they're a sort of mixture. If they detect moisture in the air they come on. As for the carpets they will add Insulation, definitely keep the room warmer. If the place is also humidified properly I dont understand how the carpets will hold the water too long?

 

[skjl47]

If the place is also humidified properly I dont understand how the carpets will hold the water too long?

Hello; For a number of years a few decades ago I installed carpet as a third job. We had a flood in Harlan County KY in 1977. Some folks had the carpet and pad replaced right away and were fine. Only had to wait a few days for the floors to dry out. (Also had to have wall insulation replaced.)

Some tried to dry out the carpet and pad with fans and such. That did no work so well. By the time things were actually dry ( weeks to months) there was a good start of mold. The carpet is not so bad, but the pad was the issue. We would replace carpet months or years later and find mold under. One woman never did replace her carpet and lived in her home. She died some years back of a lung disease. Maybe just a coincidence. Anyway she live for decades.

I spill water around my tanks. I went to the work of removing the carpet and pad from the room where I keep my tanks. I will not have tanks on carpet or pad myself. I floored the room with commercial vinyl squares.

Good luck with whatever you do.