Hi I have just bought a house and it didn't come with a nice garage to store the gear but there is a good solid shed with a concrete slab in the back yard. Its been baking hot here in Perth and we recently had a run of about 6 days in a row over 40 degrees!

I need to store the watersports gear in the shed but I want to put in some insulation and a vent first. I am looking to use some layered foam/ foil insulation something like Ametalin. I was planning to glue this straight to the metal shed walls and roof using a silicon of some sort. I was also looking at installing one of the many vents available at Bunnings.

Any recommendations on the type of insulation
(ametalin or other) or the type of silicon I should use to stick it on. Simple installation will be important for me!

Also anyone with experience doing this? Will it make my shed cool enough to store my gear? Doesn't have to be too fancy I just don't want it to be an oven!

Thanks!

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Insulation will help to a degree as will a few vents but on a 40 degree day if the shed is in the sun and no breeze the out come would not be good.

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As a regular guy u will spend a a lot of time in the so an air-conditioned is the answer. OH almost forgot the fridge.

Hi Warwick thanks for the reply. I will probably be spending a bit of time in the shed but not on the 40 degrees days. Comfort factor is less important I mostly just want to not melt my kites, wings, boards etc. As long as I can get it to the point where the inside temperature is the same or less than the outside temp I will be happy.

Interested in how it works out for you. Another option if you want an insane reduction in temp for little effort, put a shadecloth over it. Either: 4 posts and connecting beams and then by the metre shadecloth taut across the top (hammer on connectors available from same place you get the shadecloth, cut it flush with boxcutter), or 3 posts and traditional sail shade.

either can be done in an afternoon for a few hundred bucks and you will be amazed at the temp difference.

Bunnings has a cheap product called Earth wool if you're able to suspend it to the roof (or make a ceiling and lay it on that).

This is a long range solution: plant some resilience lilly pillys 1.5m metre from shed. These grow into 5m trees, and start becoming effective after 2 years. Very hardy. Plant them in winter so they establish.

Insulation is about trapping an air layer, but getting it cooler first will obviously help
So
(1) shade it like Chemtrails said
(2) whirlybird to suck out the hotness
(3) then just normal pink batts or coolroom foam panels - glue to inside of roof with liquid nails (cheap and works)

Not gonna be fun job......

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CH3MTR4IL5 said..
Interested in how it works out for you. Another option if you want an insane reduction in temp for little effort, put a shadecloth over it. Either: 4 posts and connecting beams and then by the metre shadecloth taut across the top (hammer on connectors available from same place you get the shadecloth, cut it flush with boxcutter), or 3 posts and traditional sail shade.

either can be done in an afternoon for a few hundred bucks and you will be amazed at the temp difference.

I think this is a great idea. With a steel roof you are not getting the radiator effect that you would with clay or concrete tiles, so bulk insulation batts are not going to make as much difference. As you have suggested, stopping the sun hitting the roof to start with will help a lot. I have a regular garage with a steel roof and it doesn't seem to have the heat problems that the house did with a tiled roof.

I am sure batts or foam on the inside of the garage would work, but covering the roof would be quicker and easier.

^^^ Yes eg: see lots of onsite caravans with a curved corrugated iron roof about a foot above. To be honest I dunno why shed builders don't offer it as an option. I know if I was spending $10K on a workshop I'd be asking to spend a bit more for a extra false roof a bit above the real one.

Buy a tin of solacoat heat reflective paint, then coat the whole shed.lm sure it will help.

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Mark _australia said..
Insulation is about trapping an air layer, but getting it cooler first will obviously help
So
(1) shade it like Chemtrails said
(2) whirlybird to suck out the hotness
(3) then just normal pink batts or coolroom foam panels - glue to inside of roof with liquid nails (cheap and works)

Not gonna be fun job......

Gotta call out the whirlybird.
Better of with cross flow ventilation, ie. one vent across and lower than the other to create a slight up and across draught, in the walls for a skillion roof or the gables for a pitched, also doable on the pitch but makes water ingress more of a concern.

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Mark _australia said..
^^^ Yes eg: see lots of onsite caravans with a curved corrugated iron roof about a foot above. To be honest I dunno why shed builders don't offer it as an option. I know if I was spending $10K on a workshop I'd be asking to spend a bit more for a extra false roof a bit above the real one.

Back in the day day when I could never see myself moving from a little patch of paradise on the east coast I upgraded a 6m by 3m garden shed with a second over-the-top corrugated iron roof. Not enough headroom to do much on the inside.

What's a 6 by 3 garden shed worth? $1000. Hate to think how much I ended up paying for the upgrading materials. Make sure your basic shed is the size and shape that you need before throwing too much money at it. Had a whirlygig as well, heat comes thru walls also, don't forget them.

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Ian K said..
What's a 6 by 3 garden shed worth? $1000. Hate to think how much I ended up paying for the upgrading materials. Make sure your basic shed is the size and shape that you need before throwing too much money at it. Had a whirlygig as well, heat comes thru walls also, don't forget them.

The price of steel that we pay seems to be a lot more than what the shed builders pay, even if its still Australian steel.

I am looking at this at the moment. Do I replace the walls on an existing garage or just knock it down and put a new one in its place?

I have been eyeing these off for my new place. Decent size and well priced i reckon

www.stilla.com.au/cedar-garden-sheds/

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CH3MTR4IL5 said..
I have been eyeing these off for my new place. Decent size and well priced i reckon

www.stilla.com.au/cedar-garden-sheds/

Too low to insulate roof from inside. It'll be hot. Double the price to put a proper roof on it. It'll still be hot. Shades for the windows. It's not easy being cool.

On a non=insulated steel shed the heat comes in on the sunny side most of it goes out on the shady side. Early in the morning and late in the day it comes in thru the walls and it goes out thru the roof. Once the inside is 10- 15 C above ambient that is.

I didn't get around to insulating the steel door of my shed before I left. In the morning sun it was too hot to touch. But all the rest of the surfaces were insulated - no cool side to escape from. Unless a shed is built like a house, 500mm eaves etc forget about passive cooling.

The cheapest way, in the long run, to keep a steel garden shed cool is to pop an airconditioner in the wall and suck up the power bill.

2 CENTS.
4me approach would be to try stop getting in - All ideas above - plus tree(s) / Creeper & Verandah? I shaded front end and concrete in front of shed too (Bunnings shade sail). Concrete, huge thermal mass can really stop/slow cooling. Want to put water tank(s) in? Solar??
Agree w Ian K, Inside will limit movement of heat but 40+ C always hot without cooling. Radiant heat through metal from full sun is tough. Assume moisture inside not going to be too much of an issue but suggest work hard to avoid condensation between metal and insulation in poor ventilation areas = corrosive..
In current place to limit afternoon & setting sun, on back of house I built wood pergola with rotating slates (winter/summer light/shade) - but really PITA on maintenance front.
A possible simple starting point is some covered racks on outside (south side assume)..

Why did people stop using ridge vents?My hothouses are on average 10+ degrees warmer than the outside air which isn't ideal . A friend down the road has a similar farm but his hothouses are a sawtooth design & the idea with them is to exchange the inside air volume 2 times per minute to achieve similar temps as outside , which his does.He now has invested in a pad and fan system and is 3-5 degrees cooler than the outside temps. Plants are much happier.I know hothouses are very different to sheds but still have similar +/- temperature issues.I guess you have to get that hot stale air out of your shed as fast as you can

Thanks for all the great replies everyone!

I definitely have some great options for cooling it down. I think my plan would be to insulate all walls, door and roof with something like Ametalin or maybe even foam boards, put a whirly bird in the roof and a couple vents in the door or walls and rig up a shade cloth above it. There are some good points to rig up the shade cloth around it and that could stay up just over the summer months.

Thanks seabreezers!

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Ian K said..

CH3MTR4IL5 said..
I have been eyeing these off for my new place. Decent size and well priced i reckon

www.stilla.com.au/cedar-garden-sheds/

Too low to insulate roof from inside. It'll be hot. Double the price to put a proper roof on it. It'll still be hot. Shades for the windows. It's not easy being cool.

On a non=insulated steel shed the heat comes in on the sunny side most of it goes out on the shady side. Early in the morning and late in the day it comes in thru the walls and it goes out thru the roof. Once the inside is 10- 15 C above ambient that is.

I didn't get around to insulating the steel door of my shed before I left. In the morning sun it was too hot to touch. But all the rest of the surfaces were insulated - no cool side to escape from. Unless a shed is built like a house, 500mm eaves etc forget about passive cooling.

The cheapest way, in the long run, to keep a steel garden shed cool is to pop an airconditioner in the wall and suck up the power bill.

Walls are wood, 2.5m high gable roof is heaps of space to put some insulation in (at the very least the foil staple on stuff) and you can get it with an annex to cover your north facing wall.
a shed will never be as cool as a house but i think you can get something not far off ambient.

of course ambient is not ideal a lot of the time but at least we don't have snow to shovel!

What about shading the roof with solar panels that drive the fans or aircon to keep the shed cool. Plenty of second hand systems around for cheap these days.

Alternatively, if is it is a framed shed with purlins an girts, take the sheets off and insulate with a few rolls of anticon wedged between the sheets and the girt/purlins, Big job, but that is the best value for money.

Most effective is spray the inside with foam, thats how alot of the orchards build thier cool rooms.

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CH3MTR4IL5 said..
Interested in how it works out for you. Another option if you want an insane reduction in temp for little effort, put a shadecloth over it. Either: 4 posts and connecting beams and then by the metre shadecloth taut across the top (hammer on connectors available from same place you get the shadecloth, cut it flush with boxcutter), or 3 posts and traditional sail shade.

either can be done in an afternoon for a few hundred bucks and you will be amazed at the temp difference.

You actually need planning now for this
Farkd i know

Its a shed, it'll get super hot no matter what you do, air cell, wall bats, kingspan,etc etc, it will limit the heat, good ventilation, fans misters are a more sensible option, as long as you've got good air movement it'll out do an unventilated insulated structure, however it'll be beneficial in winter months
I worked for over 20 years installing insulation in huge commercial projects to small residential
Shade is your best friend

I have a similar situation. I've 2 large sea-tainers placed up off the ground slightly and parallel but with 2 car wide, drive through gap between them. Am in the planning stages.., but it'll be steel framed with colorbond cladding. Nothing is definite but some intended design features will be (1) west walls shaded by standing evergreen foliage wall of some description. (2) raised, offset, shallow profile skillion roof for extra storage and crossflow ventilation. (3) wide eve or verandah on North sides. (4) white heat reflective paint on roof(or colorbond). Lot's of good ideas above though..., all, the way of the future.

Sprinkler on the roof top

What I have been doing in my 6x6. Insulation wool and plaster. Works very well.