I sure enjoy your program on CFRA every Saturday morning! I am about to start renovating my ensuite bathroom and have a strange situation that I need an experts opinion on. The previous owner added a 2nd front entrance to the house for wheelchair access. This entrance brings you, via stairs, to my ensuite bathroom. I want to close off this access and I wonder what I will need to do with the interior walls. I will be left with an insulated exterior wall and uninsulated interior wall. Do I need to heat this area if I insulate the interior wall? If so how warm does it need to be kept? I will be leaving the exterior door & use this area for storing outdoor furniture. My wife will be pleased to get me working on this latest project!!
Answer:
If you're not going to heat the storage area, you'll have to at least ventilate it and you'll have to insulate the new wall you build. The vapour barrier on the new wall will be on the heated side. Depending on what's on either side of that storage area, you may even want to insulate the walls. What you're trying to do is isolate that area completely from the rest of the house so consider the ceiling too.
