# shed electrics and insulation



## roadkill (5 Nov 2018)

Good Evening all, first post so go easy 

Just bought a 12x8 shed to turn into a bike cave... Time has come to insulate the walls but I have some confusion! The guys who built the shed said that before I insulate the walls I should seal around all the batons before putting in the kingspan, but reading here that would go against the airflow or am I wrong? 

My plan was to leave a 20mm air gap then use 50mm kingspan and as a vapour barrier osd board which will then have pallet word nailed to it as an effect.....

Next up electrics, I'm not silly enough to have a go and do the electrics so will have a professional connect it all up but I want to just do the basics and place the wires around the shed and crack on with the insulation, any building regs I have to follow when running electric cables?

Cheers all for your time

Jamie


----------



## MikeG. (5 Nov 2018)

Welcome Jamie.

You're right, they're wrong.

I would strongly suggest you contact an electrician before you start running the wires around. You'll need one to test and certify the wiring, and to fit the consumer unit. I also strongly suggest that you surface mount the wiring , this side of the wall so that you A/ know where it is B/ can alter or extend circuits as necessary, and C/ can avoid having it eaten by vermin. It's much, much safer if it's on view.


----------



## roadkill (5 Nov 2018)

thank you for clearing that up Mike, and points taken on the electrics.. should i drill side holes through the batons to encourage airflow down the whole side walls, and if so how many and size of holes?

Cheers Jamie


----------



## MikeG. (5 Nov 2018)

By "battens" do you mean the structural frame of the shed? If you do, then no. Bought sheds are normally so flimsy that no strength should be taken out of them at all. And whilst on the subject, does you shed have any diagonal bracing in the walls? If it doesn't, you should add some by screwing some 3x1 or 4x1 across the inside face of the frame, on all 4 walls. You'll thank me in 5 years time when your shed doesn't rack (parallelogram) out of shape in a winter storm.


----------



## roadkill (5 Nov 2018)

as sheds go i thought it was quite well built.. but i'm not an expert so will get screwing... I will get some more pics added tomorrow to show the inside wall build


----------



## roadkill (5 Nov 2018)

sorry yes ment the main frame, i wont touch it as don't want to weaken anything


----------



## Sideways (6 Nov 2018)

All domestic electrics have to comply with part P of the building regs, but more importantly the IEE wiring regulations. That costs about £80 a copy and runs to nearly 500 pages.
Your sparky has to sign off the design, that all the wires and fitting were correctly selected, correctly installed, and (s)he then has to test the installation and file the results with building control.
They can't do that unless they control the job from start to finish and have inspected every aspect of whatever you do towards the job. For that reason, many electricians won't work with an amateur. Unless you've read and understood the regs, you can't know the subtleties and you are not worth the risk on their insurance. 
It may be that only 5% of the regs will apply to your shed but that 5% is scattered all through the book.
If you do find someone who will let you help, it will be easier to agree up front what you can do and how you should do it.
What you can do that's useful is work out a layout for your tools and machinery so that you can agree what types of sockets should be put where. Also what combination of machines will create the biggest load (2kW router + 1200W shop vac + 2kW heater in winter + lights + charger for your cordless drill + ... ? Or maybe a 3kW panel saw + 1.5kW chip collector + ...) ?


----------



## roadkill (20 Nov 2018)

I need to start planning the insulating of the roof... 
I was aiming to have a air gap of 2088 and 50mm kingspan, would this work or do I need to add more depth, I am limited to how much I can add as its a pre built shed.... what would be the minimum I could get away with?

many thanks Jamie


----------

