Insulation in kitchen?

WIAWSNB

blackstar said:

Hello all

We are getting the kitchen ceiling plastered and have taken down the false ceiling.

We were wondering if we should insulate the kitchen ceiling before putting up a new plastered ceiling?

We don't need to and worry about our newly installed electric cabled trapped in insulation as probably 50% of the kitchen ceiling has electric cables running though it? And it's not advisable to have eletrical cables running through insulation or in tight spaces with insulation which undoubtedly would ve the case.

Any advice appreciated

Wow! How on earth did kitchen smells get up through that ceiling...

Well done for tackling this - I didn't expect that level of ceiling carnage.

Do you have a sparky out to look at the wiring? And, what actual lighting do you want in your newly-ceiling kitchen?

What are these round things - are they LED lights? If so, are you keeping them?

And how are you having the ceiling 'plastered'? Are you (a) overboarding on to these visible battens? (b) removing the battens and then overboarding on to the old ceiling? Or (c) removing the battens and old plasterboard, and starting afresh on the ceiling joists?

Step 1 - decide on your lighting, and get a sparky to redo all of that hellish work. If you are going 'LED', then you should essentially have a single transformer - which will sit up inside that old ceiling out of harm's way, and nicely ventilated in that void - and then just a series of ELV (~12V) cables running safely to your new lights.

The supply cables to the LED lamps will not be at risk of overheating, and can be doused in insulation if you wish. The transformer should definitely not have any insulation over it. Mains electric cables should, as a rule, not have insulation over them either, at least not unless you calculate the reduced loading level, but a single lighting cable such as this just isn't going to become remotely warm, so - in practice - wouldn't be an issue here.

As a rule, you shouldn't have cables covered in insulation - certainly not ones supplying sockets, and deffo not high-load like for showers and cookers.

Should you insulate a ceiling, one that's located between floors of the same house? Personally, since it's dead easy to do, I would. Why? Becuase that void above is not passive - it is a void that's open in parts to the wall cavities, and will have outdoor air flowing through it - ergo, it's 'cold'. So, why on earth wouldn't you add insulation to your ceiling, especially as it's a kitchen ceiling, and more prone to having condensation from cooking forming on it?

And the easiest way to do this is to use insulated plasterboard instead of standard stuff. Yes, it costs more, but it's just as easy to fit. Only thin stuff required here - 25 or 37mm, say.

FreeBear

WIAWSNB said: And the easiest way to do this is to use insulated plasterboard instead of standard stuff. Yes, it costs more, but it's just as easy to fit. Only thin stuff required here - 25 or 37mm, say.

Whilst insulated plasterboard is a convenient material to use, a couple of downsides. Fitting downlights will require insulation to be removed to allow sufficient room for the clips to work - This can get messy..

The polystyrene or PIR/PUR insulation is readily combustible and releases toxic fumes when it burns. With a kitchen ceiling, you should be looking at using materials that limit the spread of fire. This is of particular importance if there is a habitable room above the kitchen.