"news.aaisp.net.uk" NoSpam wrote in message
...
Hi Mary,

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

We saved expanded polystyrene sheets from packing, cut them into slabs
and
fitted them between the wooden members holding the roof. They fitted so
well
that they stayed up by themselves but eventually they were all covered
with
large pieces of cardboard, again from packing. I thought it might get
damp
but it hasn't. That was painted white so reflect light and help to find
things stored up there. It made quite a difference to the warmth of the
house, we thought (although we did no tests) even thought the floor of
the
loft had already been heavily insulated.

Thanks very much. That sounds like a great idea (and cheep too). Result!
How much space did you leave between the polystyrene and the roof
felt/tiles.

It wasn't a fixed sized gap, it was determined by the thickness of the ep.
there was always *a* gap left though.

I remember someone talking about needing 'sufficient'
ventilation for the timbers but I don't really know how much is enough.

Oh, about the length of a piece of string, I imagine. There's always be
somebody who knows exactly how much is needed but since all lofts are
different I'd be suspicious of such deterministic rules.

Do you have any other ventilation to the outside or are there enough
natural
'holes' in a roof to let air in (and moisture out)?

In ours there seems to be sufficient ventilation because nothing is damp.

I forgot to say that the narrowest part of the eaves was also boarded in,
with the least used stored stuff behind and recorded on a computer which has
since died :-) Our heirs are going to have fun. all I can remember are three
small enlargers ... Again, that wasn't cabinet built, there were ahem
'natural' gaps between the panels.

I know that swifts, sparrows and starlings still nest under the eaves (which
we're happy about) but we seem to have solved the ingress of squirrels.

The cavity walls were insulted many years ago - if you haven't done that I
recommend it. The comfort factor is immediately obvious and well worth the
cost.

Mary

Stephen