On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 22:00:31 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:

Hi,

Nope.
Most of the attic boards are sound.
The problem isn't condensation, but water getting under defective/slipped
tiles, running down the tar-paper, and pooling against the 'gutter' of
tar-paper that's against the bottom board.

You definately want to avoid this kind of thing.

Unfortunately, not.
It's plasterboard, with no barrier that I am aware of, just 150mm of
loose glass-fiber, with boards on the top.

Is there special paint that can be used instead, on the insides of the house,
and then painted over with normal magnolia/...

Not really worth worrying about condensation if it's not a problem
now. You might get some if you replace the felt paper with something
less permeable to water vapour though.

Would simply leaving the bottom board off the attic, and replacing with
a shorter one, so there is a small gap work?
(obviously there would have to be a carrier over this to keep the tar-paper
off and provide a vent.)

Difficult to know without seeing a picture. It might be well worth
finding a local roofing specialist and paying them for an hour of
advice, if you're going to spend a lot of time and money on this.

If the roof was insulated with polystyrene or similar boards on the top,
would this not greatly help?

It's easier to add insulation above the ceiling if you're not using
the loft space as a room.

cheers,
Pete.