LOFT IN A MESS -advice please

11fernsroad

Hi

while checking for cable connection problems,i happened to go to the Loft today after many years.We had some extension work done 7 years ago.

I am not too sure if this is how it should be looking like(pics attached).The extractor fan vents seems to be opening into loft space,wools looked mouldy or dark.There is an empty tank,but since we moved in we now have a combi-boiler.I must say the thermal insulation of the house was never a problem even in middle of winter.

Previously we lived in a flat and never had to deal with loft and associated issues.

Is it how loft normally looks like or does it needs to be tidied up etc?

Any suggestions what needs to be done- it anything needs to be done at all

FreeBear

In general, doesn't look too bad. Waste from lagging pipes and scraps of insulation just chucked in random spaces is pretty common. No one is going to be looking at the mess, so many never bother to clean up on the job.

The only worrying thing is the ducting - That should never vent to the loft space and should be routed to the outside. Rigid smooth wall ducting is much more preferable to the flexi stuff you have - You get better air flow with rigid ducting, and if the joints are glued, it won't fall apart like it has in the second image. I'd recommend getting the ducting fixed/replaced. Also have a look at having a mechanical heat recovery system fitted at the same time - No point in pumping warm air out during the winter months if you can reuse some of the heat.

Doozergirl

Er.  How's the extension?  It's so sloppy up there  it undermines all the good stuff that builders do if they don't take any pride in how it looks behind the facade.  I'd be so disappointed if my guys left something like that or ran plumbing that way.  

Leaving the tank up there isn't a big deal because it doesn't do any harm up there but you need to trace all the rest and make sure it goes to where it should.  It doesn't look like it does! 

Ducting should, of course, go to outside. 

oh_really

FreeBear said:

Waste from lagging pipes and scraps of insulation just chucked in random spaces is pretty common. No one is going to be looking at the mess, so many never bother to clean up on the job.

Lazybasterditis.

Mutton_Geoff

The fan is fixed to the rafters with electrical tape. The heat in a loft could easily melt the glue on the tape and the fan fall into the insulation. It could jam then overheat. It should not vent into the loft cavity. I am very fussy about rubbish left in lofts and avoids, that is a pretty shoddy job.

I'd get the electrical cables clipped to the joists neatly and get the extractor venting out via a soffit or gable.

chrisw

I wish my loft looked like that! I have several skip loads of junk in mine.

11fernsroad

Thanks a lot for all your advice.

This weekend I am getting an electrician who will be sorting out all loose wires and cables as well as getting ducting of extractor fans connected to a vent on the soffit.

What else needs to be done?

Is it worth getting the loft boarded up over loft legs or so? We dont really use the loft for any storage so far.

11fernsroad

also anything I can do  to make the in line extractor fan sound minimal?

Doozergirl

11fernsroad said:

also anything I can do  to make the in line extractor fan sound minimal?

Change it for a quieter one? 

knightstyle

Are the water tanks lagged?  If not they should be.

Davesnave

knightstyle said:

Are the water tanks lagged?  If not they should be.

There is nothing in the tanks. OP has a combi now. I can't see the tank too well, but if it's good and you can get it out, flog it on eBay or similar. I got £30 in a matter of hours for mine.

To make the fan quieter probably means a better model fixed to a beam  with some damping under the fixings to isolate its vibrations. If you haven't had mould problems so far up there, you either don't use the fan/shower/bath much or the ventilation is pretty good.