Hard to heat and cool a garage conversion to bedroom - insulation, another vent, or something else?

Question

I bought a house where the previous owners had begun converting the garage into a bedroom. I finished it (hired a carpenter). The only problem has been heating and cooling it. I had the duct work checked and the previous owners had laid it but hadn't connected it. We connected it and that helped some but we still had to use a space heater to keep it warm enough. Summer is worse. Can't get a space "cooler" to put in there :-)

My thinking was to put in another vent but two electricians have told me that they didn't think that would help. The outside wall doesn't have insulation in it so I'm looking into getting insulation blown into it but I've been told that that will probably only help it a little. One thing I've thought about is that the wall between it and the living room does have insulation in it (the rolled kind), like an outside wall does. So, could that be hurting our attempts to heat and cool it?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Answer 1

do you have an air return line for that heating duct? if air can't leave the room it won't come in,plug the new duct into the the return line of the furnace,if you still can't get enough flow you might add a fan to push the air down the return line.. for cooling cut a hole in the wall and install a window room ac.i would definitely insulate ,how about the floor is it a concrete slab ,perhaps put in an insulated floor ,put down a vapor barrier and a thick carpet backing and then a thick carpet,or go expensive put down a vapor barrier stud it out like a wall fill with insulation,cover with flooring then carpet,tile whatever.............tom

Answer 2

how many ducts/vents do u have in there?  what is the size of the garage?....just guessing on ur garage size , u would need 4 8" vents in there......did u check to see if the owner had put in a return in the room.......u need a return in there also......add ceiling fan....and check to see if ur unit can handle the extra runs he made to the garage......

lic. gen. contractor

Answer 3

this is easy to answer, first this room was never intended to be a living space, insulation was never that good in garages.... so here is a cple of things you need to do:

1. add more insulation: walls, ceiling atleast an

   R-19 value

2. vapor barrier the walls

3. call a licensed hvac contractor in your area, there are many solutions available, from zoning, re-design of ductwork, etc

the situation your having is simple, the thermostat isnt reading that rooms temperature, only the rest of the house, problem is there is a temperature differance  from this room and the rest of the house.

i recommend you call a contractor, have him perform a proper load calculation on the entire home, this will make sure the current system is sized properly for your entire home ( new bedroom included)

this will also give him an opportunity to check the duct system, to make sure it is sized and installed properly....... be sure to explain the entire situation and problems you are having, the more info you can give, the more he can help you

when you call, explain your problem, and tell them you need a consultation

Answer 4

Insulate the outside walls and ceiling.  Make sure there is a vapor barrier too.  Put in a ceiling fan to make sure the air circulates and keep the door open.  It probably would help to take the insulation down between the new room and the house.