Roof insulation

alexwhit · 30 April 2008 at 12:35PM

I am thinking about putting some flooring for some storage in the loft as well as increasing the insulation that we have in there. the house if a 1950s terrace and can be cold. i was wondering if there is anything i can put directly under the roof and not on the floor of the loft. at the moment you can see the roof slate tiles. i was thinking about putting some of the polystyrene type insulation in the joists something like Kingspan Thermapitch TP10 Roof Insulation from b&q. Will this be ok to do?

foxwales · 30 April 2008 at 1:58PM

You can buy big silver sheets which are padded that you can attach to the roof joists with a heavy duty stapler. It helps reflect heat back into the house and makes your attic space look like a big space tent! Cheap and easy to fit!

benjus · 30 April 2008 at 2:14PM

By the way, what are you planning to do to get both a decent level of insulation to the loft floor and have flooring for storage? Putting the flooring directly over joists is not ideal as you are not going to get anywhere near the recommended depth of insulation and you will get "cold bridging" where the insulation does not cover the joists. For optimum insulation you should insulate between the joists then insulate over them at right angles (assuming you're using rolls of insulation) - but you can't lay flooring if you do this.

I saw some products advertised that claim to combine an insulating layer with a board suitable for storage, but I couldn't find anything at a sensible price and available locally. In the end I bought a load of pre-treated 4x2 lengths and layed them over the joists at right angles (to effectively make another layer of "joists", nailed to the original joists), then insulated between the new "joists" and laid the flooring on top. I don't know if there's a better or more cost effective solution.

adaze · 30 April 2008 at 2:14PM

Don't forget about ventilation...

alexwhit · 30 April 2008 at 2:22PM

benjus wrote: »

By the way, what are you planning to do to get both a decent level of insulation to the loft floor and have flooring for storage? Putting the flooring directly over joists is not ideal as you are not going to get anywhere near the recommended depth of insulation and you will get "cold bridging" where the insulation does not cover the joists. For optimum insulation you should insulate between the joists then insulate over them at right angles (assuming you're using rolls of insulation) - but you can't lay flooring if you do this.

I saw some products advertised that claim to combine an insulating layer with a board suitable for storage, but I couldn't find anything at a sensible price and available locally. In the end I bought a load of pre-treated 4x2 lengths and layed them over the joists at right angles (to effectively make another layer of "joists", nailed to the original joists), then insulated between the new "joists" and laid the flooring on top. I don't know if there's a better or more cost effective solution.

I was going to lat the floor over the top of the existing insulation on the celing and then put the roof insulation on as well. for what i can remember there are ventalation "holes" in there. i might do what you have done with the 4x2

alexwhit · 30 April 2008 at 2:32PM

benjus wrote: »

By the way, what are you planning to do to get both a decent level of insulation to the loft floor and have flooring for storage? Putting the flooring directly over joists is not ideal as you are not going to get anywhere near the recommended depth of insulation and you will get "cold bridging" where the insulation does not cover the joists. For optimum insulation you should insulate between the joists then insulate over them at right angles (assuming you're using rolls of insulation) - but you can't lay flooring if you do this.

I saw some products advertised that claim to combine an insulating layer with a board suitable for storage, but I couldn't find anything at a sensible price and available locally. In the end I bought a load of pre-treated 4x2 lengths and layed them over the joists at right angles (to effectively make another layer of "joists", nailed to the original joists), then insulated between the new "joists" and laid the flooring on top. I don't know if there's a better or more cost effective solution.

Was it this you was looking at?

http://www.space-insulation.com/board.html

robnye · 30 April 2008 at 2:35PM

foxwales wrote: »

You can buy big silver sheets which are padded that you can attach to the roof joists with a heavy duty stapler. It helps reflect heat back into the house and makes your attic space look like a big space tent! Cheap and easy to fit!

this is used when loft conversions are done..... we had it, the loft looked like the inside of a space ship,until they covered it up with plasterboard and plaster..... room is toasty most of the year........ (exceptionally colds are warmed by putting heating on

alexwhit · 30 April 2008 at 2:36PM

foxwales wrote: »

You can buy big silver sheets which are padded that you can attach to the roof joists with a heavy duty stapler. It helps reflect heat back into the house and makes your attic space look like a big space tent! Cheap and easy to fit!

Can you remember what it is called?

benjus · 30 April 2008 at 2:45PM

alexwhit wrote: »

Was it this you was looking at?

http://www.space-insulation.com/board.html

Yes, that was one of the products I saw... available from B&Q here:

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9374253&fh_view_size=6&fh_start_index=24&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB&fh_search=insulation&fh_eds=%c3%9f&fh_refview=search&ts=1208721736205&isSearch=true
At £35 per square metre I didn't fancy it!

alexwhit · 30 April 2008 at 3:01PM

it does seem a little steep. i think i will just get some 4x2 and top up he insulation then add the floor. at the moment there is no felt under the slate on the roof. will this have to be done first or can i use anything else and use it directly next to the slate?

foxwales · 30 April 2008 at 3:08PM

http://www.wickes.co.uk/FOIL-INSULATION/Thermal-Insulation-Foil-Roll/invt/210022

Thats the stuff; cheap as chips and easy to fit!

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Roof insulation

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