boarding over loft insulation
 

This wills seem a silly question to those of you who probably know but
we had our loft insulated to about 6 inches higher than the rafter with
that roll stuff.
If i was to get it boarded would that mean that as the thermal wadding
became depressed it would also become less efficient/effective?


Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

boarding over loft insulation
 

Janet Tweedy wrote:
This will seem a silly question to those of you who probably know but
we had our loft insulated to about 6 inches higher than the rafter
with that roll stuff.
If i was to get it boarded would that mean that as the thermal wadding
became depressed it would also become less efficient/effective?

Yup, it would become less effective. Do you want storage or insulation?
Thats the choice.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

boarding over loft insulation
 

"The Medway Handyman" wrote:
Janet Tweedy wrote:
This will seem a silly question to those of you who probably know but
we had our loft insulated to about 6 inches higher than the rafter
with that roll stuff.
If i was to get it boarded would that mean that as the thermal wadding
became depressed it would also become less efficient/effective?

Yup, it would become less effective. Do you want storage or insulation?
Thats the choice.


You could insulate under the roof rather than over the ceiling. My loft
storage has the roof insulated precisely because the above-ceiling
insulation was compressed under some chipboard.

boarding over loft insulation
 

"Bruce" wrote

You could insulate under the roof rather than over the ceiling. My loft
storage has the roof insulated precisely because the above-ceiling
insulation was compressed under some chipboard.

OR use more thermally efficient insulation between the joists below the
boards and put carpet on top of the boards - probably get you most of the
way to equalling the thicker stuff elsewhere.

Phil

boarding over loft insulation
 

Janet Tweedy wrote:
This wills seem a silly question to those of you who probably know but
we had our loft insulated to about 6 inches higher than the rafter with
that roll stuff.
If i was to get it boarded would that mean that as the thermal wadding
became depressed it would also become less efficient/effective?


Janet
Compressing it makes it less effective.

Boarding over it makes it more effective, especially in a high wind
situation.

In fact its probably true to say that traditional loft inuslation is
next to useless if you have a well vented roof, and the wind is blowing
hard.

Ive got 7" up there, and the difference when I boarded it up was remarkable.

But for best effect, board it without compressing. Just lay extra joists
at right angles to existing.

boarding over loft insulation
 

"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...
This wills seem a silly question to those of you who probably know but we
had our loft insulated to about 6 inches higher than the rafter with that
roll stuff.
If i was to get it boarded would that mean that as the thermal wadding
became depressed it would also become less efficient/effective?

People worry far too much. The difference between an uninsulated loft and
one with 4" between the rafters is huge (lots of pounds per year) - all
agree on that. The difference between a boarded loft with insulation
(uncompressed) between the boarding and ceiling and one with an extra 6"
laid on top and no boards is pretty minimal (pennies per year) in the grand
scheme of things.


--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)

boarding over loft insulation
 

In article ,
Bruce wrote:

You could insulate under the roof rather than over the ceiling. My loft
storage has the roof insulated precisely because the above-ceiling
insulation was compressed under some chipboard.


funny this should come up, I was pondering this just last night.

Our loft is pretty much boarded out but I'd like to increase the insulation
up there. Don't want to take up the boarding really - and we use it for a
fair bit of storage...storage of some stuff that I'd prefer not to have in
the loft suffering extremes of temp :-(

Hence I was pondering insulating the roof somehow.

Not looking to spend a fortune on this, but what are the options for
making the roof space a bit cooler in the summer and a bit warmer in the
winter? I'm not looking to turn this into a usable room - just make it a
little more stable in temp. Currently roof is just slate - no felt or
anything just bare slates so we get a fair amount of dirt/dust in there
as well. Cutting down on that would be a bonus.

Of course, if it was a bit warmer up there I could start by grand plan
of the uber trainset in the loft (ha, as if that's ever going to happen!)

Anyone else done this and not had the roof rot away etc?

Darren

boarding over loft insulation
 

"Janet Tweedy" wrote

This wills seem a silly question to those of you who probably know but we
had our loft insulated to about 6 inches higher than the rafter with that
roll stuff.
If i was to get it boarded would that mean that as the thermal wadding
became depressed it would also become less efficient/effective?


Another option is to add some elevated storage.
It will depend on the roof construction how easy this is.
If it is modern "W" truss, you can put batons across fixed to the
"vertical?" timbers, then lay boards across those for storage.
Not suitable for really heavy stuff, but keeps the joist area clear for
thicker insulation.
All you need then is a single walkway to provide access.

Phil

boarding over loft insulation
 

dmc wrote:

Hence I was pondering insulating the roof somehow.

Not looking to spend a fortune on this, but what are the options for
making the roof space a bit cooler in the summer and a bit warmer in the
winter? I'm not looking to turn this into a usable room - just make it a
little more stable in temp. Currently roof is just slate - no felt or
anything just bare slates so we get a fair amount of dirt/dust in there
as well. Cutting down on that would be a bonus.

Anyone else done this and not had the roof rot away etc?

Yup, rot is the usual concern, however in your case its quite easy by
the sounds of it, since you probably have ventilation through the slates
with no sarking to block it.

So you can cut rigid insulation board to fit between the rafters, and
then possibly add a second thinner layer over (well under, IFYSWIM) the
lot. Finish with plasterboard if you want to be posh, or just hardboard
painted white for a cheap smooth surface.

If you cut some blocks to fix to the sides of the rafters you can set
the max depth of the insulation and stop it pushing back against the
slates. Aim to leave about 50mm of breathing space behind the slates.

There is a bit more info on how I did mine he

http://www.internode.co.uk/loft/insulating.htm

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

boarding over loft insulation
 

dmc wrote:
In article ,
Bruce wrote:

You could insulate under the roof rather than over the ceiling. My loft
storage has the roof insulated precisely because the above-ceiling
insulation was compressed under some chipboard.


funny this should come up, I was pondering this just last night.

Our loft is pretty much boarded out but I'd like to increase the insulation
up there. Don't want to take up the boarding really - and we use it for a
fair bit of storage...storage of some stuff that I'd prefer not to have in
the loft suffering extremes of temp :-(

Hence I was pondering insulating the roof somehow.

Not looking to spend a fortune on this, but what are the options for
making the roof space a bit cooler in the summer and a bit warmer in the
winter? I'm not looking to turn this into a usable room - just make it a
little more stable in temp. Currently roof is just slate - no felt or
anything just bare slates so we get a fair amount of dirt/dust in there
as well. Cutting down on that would be a bonus.

Of course, if it was a bit warmer up there I could start by grand plan
of the uber trainset in the loft (ha, as if that's ever going to happen!)

Anyone else done this and not had the roof rot away etc?

Darren




I used 50mm Rockwool slabs between the rafters, which left a 50mm gap
between it and the slates. There is now virtually no difference between
summer and winter temps up there, and no adverse effects after 10 years
or so. 25mm Celotex would probably do the same job, and that has a built
in vapour barrier, but 8x4 is too big for my loft hatch.

boarding over loft insulation
 

In article ,
TheScullster writes

Another option is to add some elevated storage.
It will depend on the roof construction how easy this is.
If it is modern "W" truss, you can put batons across fixed to the
"vertical?" timbers, then lay boards across those for storage.
Not suitable for really heavy stuff, but keeps the joist area clear for
thicker insulation.
All you need then is a single walkway to provide access.



Don't think it's a w Phil, it is a 1935 detached house with pine rafter
etc. but not much head room most of the height in the middle of the
roof. Might board a few bits just so i can store some boxes up there.
Tiny roof hatch so it will have to be cut small enough to get the planks
up there. The idea of insulating the inside of the rafter sounds good as
well as our house is quite cold in the centre up the stairwell. (We
ought to have bitten the bullet and upped our central heating system
from gravity feed I guess)

Janet

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

boarding over loft insulation
 

"Janet Tweedy" wrote


Don't think it's a w Phil, it is a 1935 detached house with pine rafter
etc. but not much head room most of the height in the middle of the roof.
Might board a few bits just so i can store some boxes up there. Tiny roof
hatch so it will have to be cut small enough to get the planks up there.
The idea of insulating the inside of the rafter sounds good as well as our
house is quite cold in the centre up the stairwell. (We ought to have
bitten the bullet and upped our central heating system from gravity feed I
guess)

Janet

Is the hatch near a wall?
If so some cheap brackets and planks (which should fit thro the hatch) would
provide useful storage but keep the joist area clear for insulation.

Phil

boarding over loft insulation
 

Stuart Noble wrote:
dmc wrote:
In article ,
Bruce wrote:

You could insulate under the roof rather than over the ceiling. My loft
storage has the roof insulated precisely because the above-ceiling
insulation was compressed under some chipboard.


funny this should come up, I was pondering this just last night.

Our loft is pretty much boarded out but I'd like to increase the
insulation
up there. Don't want to take up the boarding really - and we use it for a
fair bit of storage...storage of some stuff that I'd prefer not to
have in
the loft suffering extremes of temp :-(

Hence I was pondering insulating the roof somehow.

Not looking to spend a fortune on this, but what are the options for
making the roof space a bit cooler in the summer and a bit warmer in the
winter? I'm not looking to turn this into a usable room - just make it a
little more stable in temp. Currently roof is just slate - no felt or
anything just bare slates so we get a fair amount of dirt/dust in there
as well. Cutting down on that would be a bonus.

Of course, if it was a bit warmer up there I could start by grand plan
of the uber trainset in the loft (ha, as if that's ever going to happen!)

Anyone else done this and not had the roof rot away etc?

Darren




I used 50mm Rockwool slabs between the rafters, which left a 50mm gap
between it and the slates. There is now virtually no difference between
summer and winter temps up there, and no adverse effects after 10 years
or so. 25mm Celotex would probably do the same job, and that has a built
in vapour barrier, but 8x4 is too big for my loft hatch.

Cut rafter gap width sections ought to go through most hatches though.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

boarding over loft insulation
 

In article ,
John Rumm wrote:

Yup, rot is the usual concern, however in your case its quite easy by
the sounds of it, since you probably have ventilation through the slates
with no sarking to block it.

Yep, ventilation isn't a problem in our loft :)

So you can cut rigid insulation board to fit between the rafters, and
then possibly add a second thinner layer over (well under, IFYSWIM) the
lot. Finish with plasterboard if you want to be posh, or just hardboard
painted white for a cheap smooth surface.

I was thinking hardboard - this doesn't have to be particularly pretty.

If you cut some blocks to fix to the sides of the rafters you can set
the max depth of the insulation and stop it pushing back against the
slates. Aim to leave about 50mm of breathing space behind the slates.

There is a bit more info on how I did mine he

http://www.internode.co.uk/loft/insulating.htm

Ah yes, I've read all that before :). You mention you found a cheaper source
than the local merchants - anyone in particular? Seems that a couple of
places sell seconds - I assume this would be cheaper still (cheap == good for
this project!)

Cheers,

Darren

boarding over loft insulation
 

dmc wrote:
In article ,
John Rumm wrote:

Yup, rot is the usual concern, however in your case its quite easy by
the sounds of it, since you probably have ventilation through the slates
with no sarking to block it.

Yep, ventilation isn't a problem in our loft :)

So you can cut rigid insulation board to fit between the rafters, and
then possibly add a second thinner layer over (well under, IFYSWIM) the
lot. Finish with plasterboard if you want to be posh, or just hardboard
painted white for a cheap smooth surface.

I was thinking hardboard - this doesn't have to be particularly pretty.

If you cut some blocks to fix to the sides of the rafters you can set
the max depth of the insulation and stop it pushing back against the
slates. Aim to leave about 50mm of breathing space behind the slates.

There is a bit more info on how I did mine he

http://www.internode.co.uk/loft/insulating.htm

Ah yes, I've read all that before :). You mention you found a cheaper source
than the local merchants - anyone in particular? Seems that a couple of
places sell seconds - I assume this would be cheaper still (cheap == good for
this project!)

ACPO Wholesale in Benfleet. Typically doing 50mm PIR foil faced seconds
at £10 per 8x4' sheet equivalent[1] (they may supply bigger sheets like
12x4'). Drop me an email if you want the number and I will find it.

[1] at least that was the price when I ordered a van load for doing my
workshop toward the end of last year.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/