On 16/05/2019 17:29, Mathew Newton wrote:
On Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 5:15:34 PM UTC+1, Andrew wrote:

If your house was built in 2007 then it should have had foil-backed
plasterboard on all the upstairs ceilings.

Is that 'should' a 'should' or a 'must'? The document isn't clear on that point.


Ahh. Building regs are notorious in their choice of words. I think in
the world of the BCO, 'should' means 'I won't sign it off until you
comply' !!


Note also that even if it were a 'must' then if that requirement only came in around 2006/2007 then it still might not apply to a 2007-built house if that house was built against plans agreed before 2006.

Is this
a house built by one of the large national builders, or a small
local outfit ?.

Persimmon.... (Enough said! ;-))

Oh dear. I bet if you drilled some holes into the cavities you would
find :-

1. no insulation
2. inch thick expanded polystyrene slabs chucked in loosely
allowing air to circulate on both sides
3. Plasterboard offcuts to avoid paying a landfill disposal
tax.

Sadly its too late to make a claim from the NHBC, who probably
did the building control. Your local authority BCO would have
spotted this and enforced remedial work.

Thanks everyone for the comments; I'll keep an eye on things and so what happens.


I think the addition of vents into the lower third of the flanks
(there are special vents for retrofitting) and maybe a ridge
vent would help.

I suspect that painting all the upstairs ceilings with oil-based
paint to create a vapour barrier would help, but you would have
to move out while the fumes clear. Don't try this without
doing some research.