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Banbury Precast Garage


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I hope this is in the correct section and/or doesn't duplicate any previous topic. We have recently moved to a property with a garage, the first time we have had a garage for around 30 years. It's a 1970s-ish Banbury Precast. It is close to the house, but not joined. It has an electicity supply and received a new roof 10 years ago. Does anyone have any experience of making this type of garage suitable for modelling all year round or would it be more sensible to demolish it & replace with something more suitable? The internal size of the garage is approx 18 feet by 8.5 feet. All suggestions very welcome.

 

David

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Hi David,

 

Yes, this has been covered many times before. Try searching for "Nether Madder" or have a look at this topic: 

 

The big issue is always how to insulate well enough to be comfortable in winter but without creating damp problems. And technically the best answer to that is to insulate outside the precast walls but while that also gives more space inside, it is much more difficult to do.

 

Edited by Harlequin
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These are good solid beasts I'm pretty sure my cousin has one as  a junk shed. It is 50 years old and needs minimal maintenance.  Difficult to insulate admittedly, too hot in summer cold in winter.   Ventilation is probably the key. A trick we use for an old chapel in use as a Band room is a dehumidifier and also computer fans taking air from under the floor and exhausting through the walls   They run 24/7 and have done for many years and together dramatically reduced dampness.   A ventillator in the ceiling was completely useless as it changed the dry air for fresh wet air.  You lose at least 3" from the width for panelling but 15.ft 4  X 7ft 4", or even 15 X7  is still quite a nice size for a wall hugger in 00.   Has yours got the side door?   Using the big door every time is a pain Hopefuly you have a concrete floor. Cold but it don't warp and turn your level bit into a 1 in 75 grade which coaches run  away on like wooden shed floors do....  You can always put down Laminate flooring if its too cold and hard.  Its often available on Feecycle, damaged but fine for a shed.

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Is it the right size ? and would it cause problems loosing 3" or 4" on each wall for proper insulation, again the garage door will give you issues with cold, damp and security, if possible install an insulated wall and just use a side door, if it has a side window add secondary glazing and security bars .

 

However all of the issues mentioned will have to be addressed with a new building.

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Thanks for the comments so far.

 

I model in N Gauge so losing a few inches all round for insulation would not be a problem.

 

It currently has an electric up-and-over door but it would be simple enough to replace this with a block wall with a UPVC door and window.

 

I am currently using our small 2nd bedroom but the domestic authorities would prefer this to revert to a more traditional function . There is also  the option of using the loft space (it's a bungalow) but the access hatch would need to be moved to a different position as the current ladder blocks the hall when down.

 

A friend down the road is currently having a Garden Room constructed so I'll be interested to see how practical this option would be.

 

Plenty to think about.

 

David

 

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Mine is an ideal size at 16 x 14 ft. I investigated full insulated lining and damp proofing. It would have cost around £1500 for DIY. I decided to do some basic renovation instead and save the funds for proper modelling. I restored the roof trusses, cleaned, repaired (re-pointed) and painted the walls white, put a stud wall over the main vehicle door and filled any gaps between the roof and walls with expanding foam (trimmed and painted to match) and boarded over the window inside and out with an insulation sandwich. I deliberately left several small gaps in the wall areas to allow for air flow.

 

I now have a space that works for me from around March to November, remains dry and has not over-heated in summer. I've decided to save up bench modelling for the winter months and (when I get round to it) will build any layout in the garage with a means of covering and hibernation for winter. I'll certainly take account of temperature changes and will preserve all wood to prevent warping and allow for expansion in running lines.

 

The renovation cost about £200, £150 of which was the stud wall. Just remember airflow is your friend and moisture can only be a problem if its there. Keep it as dry as you can. 

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Moisture is present in the air as humidity. Air is often very humid in winter in this country. With air vents, opening doors, and even breathing, humid air gets into the space.

 

If you then heat that air, the moisture will condense wherever it comes into contact with a cold surface, such as an un-insulated brick or concrete wall.

 

A single skin of brick or concrete is good a good thermal transmitter and so it's inside face will be very close to the outside temperature, i.e. cold in winter. (And it may even be transmitting dampness directly itself.)

 

So the warm humid air will condense on the walls and become a damp problem.

 

@woodyfox has solved this problem by not using his space when the air is more likely to be humid and the walls more likely to be cold but that might be too much of a compromise for many people.

 

Edited by Harlequin
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3 hours ago, woodyfox said:

Mine is an ideal size at 16 x 14 ft. I investigated full insulated lining and damp proofing. It would have cost around £1500 for DIY. I decided to do some basic renovation instead and save the funds for proper modelling. I restored the roof trusses, cleaned, repaired (re-pointed) and painted the walls white, put a stud wall over the main vehicle door and filled any gaps between the roof and walls with expanding foam (trimmed and painted to match) and boarded over the window inside and out with an insulation sandwich. I deliberately left several small gaps in the wall areas to allow for air flow.

 

I now have a space that works for me from around March to November, remains dry and has not over-heated in summer. I've decided to save up bench modelling for the winter months and (when I get round to it) will build any layout in the garage with a means of covering and hibernation for winter. I'll certainly take account of temperature changes and will preserve all wood to prevent warping and allow for expansion in running lines.

 

The renovation cost about £200, £150 of which was the stud wall. Just remember airflow is your friend and moisture can only be a problem if its there. Keep it as dry as you can. 

 

In my previous 1960's house we had an attached garage to the house, the garage had been extended some time earlier so I was able to use the first 6' + as a kitchen extension and did so with both planning and building regs permission. This was fine and never had any damp issues. Some years later I converted 8' of the remaining 14' into a modelling room to the same standards, and was successfully used for a couple of years and it became a real benefit when selling the house as additional usable space. The cost was not massive being, wood, plasterboard and insulation in the main, electrics etc were already in there

 

The main issue was heat in the winter, had I been staying I would have run a radiator from the boiler. The cost of heating the room (despite it being well insulated) in the winter to a decent level was quite high and in fact might have paid for itself within a year or two

 

Fast forward we moved 3 years ago and the plan was to build a large shed (long and thin) at the side of the house for my modelling room, as it happens we were also going to extend the property to the rear as soon as possible. After getting quotes for both the shed, insulating it and providing electricity (remembering the cost of heating my garage conversion in winter) it was about the same cost to build it in brick and encompass it into the extension. This enabled not only an additional downstairs room, but a far better redesign of the downstairs area. As for heating, being part of the house minimal.

 

The one different thing I have done this time is that the floor and roof space are both well insulated, where as the garage floor was just suspended above a concrete base with a smaller amount of insulation in the ceiling

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