Any ideas for possum proofing the garage?

[pepsp]

My garage is under my house, looks like it was added or expanded after the initial build in the 60's. The thing is, it's not possum proof. Possums get in there and make a big mess knocking stuff over and pooing on things. The garage walls stop at the bearers for the floors above and don't extend all the way to the floorboards above so there's heaps of gaps and opportunities for possums to get in.

I'm after some ideas of how to easily fill in between the walls and floor joists above to stop the possums. 

 

 

 

 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @pepsp,

I think the simplest solution might be to pick up some lengths of 140 x 19mm 2.4m DAR Pine and cut them to fit between the floor joists. Place them over the gap and screw through the bottom of the into the bearer (timber on the brick wall). Being 140mm wide, they should be large enough to cover the gap and span onto the timber. They are 19mm thick, so screwing the bottom of them into the timber should be enough to hold them in place. I've added a rendering below to illustrate. Alternatively, you could use sheet steel, which is likely a bit trickier.

Let me mention @TedBear to see if they have any other suggestions.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[pepsp]

Thanks for this advice @MitchellMc . One thing I wondered about- I would like to install some under floor insulation and I wondered if boxing in the joists/making a ceiling for the garage would be a good idea? Seems like a bit of work but would keep the heat in during winter and protect the insulation. 

[MitchellMc]

That's certainly an option, @pepsp. You've got quite deep joists there, so you could fit underfloor insulation and then clad over it with plasterboard sheets. It would help stop the cold and heat coming from the garage and through the floor into your home.

Mitchell