# Forum Home Renovation The Garden Shed  shed insulation - how to attach

## lonepiper

G'day,
I am about to purchase a colorbond shed to use as a 'studio' for hobbies, visitors etc.  Its going to be 3m x3-4m and made of riveted panels. I'd like to insulate it and have read people's discussions about aircell vs. batts and installing before vs. after. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how insulate this smaller style of shed that has no framing or anything to hold the insulation in place or attach a wall lining to.
CHeers.

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## beer is good

G'day,
I had a 5 x 4 metre Colourbond shed built a couple of years ago, and I wish I had insulated when it was built. It gets very hot in Perth summers which can reach 42 degrees or  bit more in January/February. My shed doesn't have a separate frame of studs but it has a steel channel on top and bottom and a length of rectangular tube running horizontally about halfway up the wall. The sheets are screwed to this, and it seems strong enough.
I am looking at insulation too and gluing polystyrene to the ceiling/roof seems like the easiest way. With the walls, I will probably screw steel channel vertically to the walls on the inside and put foil or batts in and then screw MDF to the steel. I'm going for MDF so I can put screws and nails in to hang stuff on. 
In your case you could probably fix Gyprock instead of MDF for a better finish and maybe less cost. 
If you can insulate while the shed is being built it is much easier, or else do it before you put anything in - saves moving a mountain of junk!   
There is more info here  http://www.renovateforum.com/f78/ins...styrene-77316/ 
Hope this helps.

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## lonepiper

thanks for your reply.  because of the fire hazard of polystyrene and wanting to attach things to the walls i am now thinking of putting a stud wall on the inside of shed and using batts or something similar to foilboard without the fire factor.  Then MDF i think.  thanks again beer is good.

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## Geoff2005

Here are some ideas. 
I insulated my 6 x 6 colourbond shed by framing on the inside with treated pine and using 50mm polystyrene sheeting. Uprights were spaced to accommodate random groove ply,1220 spacing I think. Polystyrene was cut with a hot wire. The roof was done using the top of the wall frame, angles from the purlins and t sections between the angles and wall frames to hold the polystyrene against the roof. The roof poly was left bare and makes an excellent light reflector. Any thing that hangs off the wall is fixed through the random groove ply to the framing. 
The first two pics here are the main shed, I'm about to spraypaint so have plastic up, the last photo is an extension to the shed, in this I used polyester 100mm batts which don't burn rather then polystyrene in the walls. 
One critical point is the base of the wall and how it is weatherproofed. My colorbond starts 200 - 300 mm above ground on masonary. 
Geoff 
Added some pics of the outside before and after extension and inside access between new and old parts.

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## up_the_gully

> G'day,
> I am about to purchase a colorbond shed to use as a 'studio' for hobbies, visitors etc.  Its going to be 3m x3-4m and made of riveted panels.
> CHeers.

  
For the price of a roll of light-duty sarking, run this over the roof and tape together before you put the roof on (after the frame/walls are on).  It will stop breezes coming through the roof, as well as keeping condensation out.  I did this on a smaller shed (3m x 3m) and wish I had done it at the start.  Difference was huge, even less dust in the shed as a result. 
Has the added benefit of reflecting any light(s) you have on in the shed well too.

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