Insulating steel frame cement fibre clad building

[sheriff]

Hi, I will soon be moving to a house that comes with a large building. The building is steel framed and clad in cement fibre board. It has been framed inside in 2" timber I believe, and thicker on the ceiling. It hasn't been insulated. How should I do this? It's a large building 11x6 metres so I'm trying to be cost efficient too

Many thanks in advance

 

[Inspector]

Are you sure they aren't plywood sheets? If they are your have the option of removing them. Dealing with the condensation/leakage problem in the left of the picture where the water stains are. Venting and insulating. Then putting the sheets back up. If they are indeed boards added to the steel on the inside you would do the same but if it all sits on top of the structural steel you have a bigger challenge. That will make a nice workshop when you get rid of exercise stuff cluttering the room.

Pete

 

[sheriff]

Are you sure they aren't plywood sheets? If they are your have the option of removing them. Dealing with the condensation/leakage problem in the left of the picture where the water stains are. Venting and insulating. Then putting the sheets back up. If they are indeed boards added to the steel on the inside you would do the same but if it all sits on top of the structural steel you have a bigger challenge. That will make a nice workshop when you get rid of exercise stuff cluttering the room.

Pete

The picture isn't great, the ceiling has been boarded, but no insulation above it. The ceiling isn't really the part I'm worried about, it's the walls

 

[Inspector]

Sorry I thought you were asking about the ceiling.

Here we would insulate the cavities with fiberglass or mineral wool. Put up a plastic vapour barrier and seal all the edges and seams. Then sheet/board/drywall the inside. You guys do things differently so better wait until one of your own jumps in.

I'd still get the roof insulated as a great deal of heat is lost that way.

Pete

 

[Dave Moore]

Hi I’m doing a steel frame building myself at moment. The roof should be a warm roof for better insulation and less chance of condensation. Walls are clad with Cedral fibre board. Look on their web site for instructions to do this. Mine is 50mm warm roof and 25mm on the walls as my wife is using some as a gym and is happy with that as she likes it cool. You can tell the difference even at these low levels of insulation as witnessed by the heatwave. You Tek screw timber to the outside of frame, infill with Celotex, cover with damp membrane, fit another layer of wooden frame and then fit cladding. Steve from London roofing on YouTube is great for device.
Regards,
Dave

 

[Hornbeam]

Before you start any work I would establish the age of teh cladding and whether it contains asbestos. There are no real issues with it containing asbestos provided it is in good condition, not creating airborne particles and you arent drilling or cutting it
While it is tempting to just box everything in from the inside, there are 2 main issues

• you will not be able to see if there is any condensation leading to potentially structural corrosion of teh steel frame
• The steel frame will provide very significant cold thermal bridging through your wall/roof which increases potential condensation and heat loss

I have written a couple of articles on steel shed construction (that is my day job) but you can apply the same principles to what you already have.
If you want to discuss this further drop me a pm
Ian
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/thread...-and-putting-it-together.136104/#post-1568888