heat

[cazmick]

Why doesn't the heat from the rooms below our loft hatch rise up into the loft when the hatch is open??

While up in the loft, which i am working on it's freezing cold, yet at ceiling hight just below the loft hatch theres nice warm air that hits you when standing on the ladder. I know that heat rises, but why won't it come up through the loft hatch.
How can i get this hot air to rise up into the loft?? If i could do this then i would not need to try and find alternative methods of heating the loft area.

 

[Thermo]

think about it your loft is large and the trap hatch is probably 450 x 450, that means that any heat rising through the loft hatch is minimal compared to the volume of air in the loft. Add to that the fact that the air in the loft is or should be constantly changing to avoid condensation, through ventilation and you have a cold loft. Unless you are a bat and spend a lot of time in the loft then i would suggest it is an unwise move to try to heat the loft by using the air from below, as its a large expensive area to heat. take a small room heater with you if you are that cold when you work up there, or put a jumper on or work quicker!!!!

 

[cazmick]

Thermo. We will be sleeping up there at times when the sea is cold and rough, so would like it nice and warm in the winter, or we may as well stay on-board and freeze..

 

[Thermo]

are you on a boat? what sort of house are you in if not?

 

[cazmick]

Hi Thermo.
Yes mate, We have just sold our house, got about two weeks left here and we are buying a boat to live on for a few months each year throughout the summer.

The loft we have been working on is at my mothers home, which is a small private one bedroom flat.
It was a house, but is now two flats and my mother owns the top one.
The loft is quite large, insulated and boarded out and used as an auxiliary room, this is where we will stay for a few weeks each year, if the weather gets bad next winter, or should we feel like a break from the sea etc.

It's quite nice, we have a couple of hammocks fitted from the beams and a few of the normal home luxury's up there.

 

[masona]

Why not convert the loft into bedroom but will need building regulation or planning premission if the roof size is altered. This is very important because if there is a fire below you cannot get out.

 

[felix]

Having read all this, I think I know why not much hot air is rising into that loft. It's all boarded out, insulated and, consequently, almost airtight. If you want a large volume of warm air to come IN, you need a second, equivalent sized hole for cold air to go OUT.

Masona is right about the lack of any fire escape. Does your mother smoke? I know it's a small risk but I would plan ahead. Keep a few tools up there with which to smash an exit hole through the roof. An axe would be a good start.