Bonus Room Insulation

[cd1125]

My bonus room is VERY cold in the winter and VERY hot in the summer. This room is over the garage and I am wondering if the air from the garage is working its way up through the floor of the room. Any suggestions on how to insulate this area?

Carolyn

[LazyPup]

Technically speaking, there is no such thing as cold. Heat is a form of energy just the same as light is energy. Cold is then the absence of energy in the same way that dark is the absence of light. Thus the migration of heat is always from the hot side to the cold side.

If you can actually feel cold coming in you are confronted with a condition called "Infiltration". Infiltration is a condition where there are miniscule oppenings in the wall or floor and there is a motion of outside air coming through the floor, wall, ceiling etc. The motion of air can be stopped simply by covering the effected surface with a non-permiable membrane such as plastic or tyevek house wrap and taping all joints.

The other consideration is the rate of loss of the heat from the heated living space to the garage below. All structural materials will transmit heat at one rate or another, although the rate of loss can be decreased by the application of insulating materials.

If your garage ceiling is open joists you could apply common paperbacked fiberglass insulation between the joists in the same manner that it is put into exterior walls.

If you have a finished ceiling such as sheetrock or plywood sheeting, it could be covered with rigid foam insulation boards.