Old roof and very dirty loft- need some advice

Hi,

We have a house that was built in the 1030's. To me it appears to have the original roofing. My problem is that we recently boarded out our loft to store some belongings and already our things are covered in thick black dust. It has got so bad that when we open the loft hatch and pull down the ladders we have to put a sheet down to stop the carpet getting covered in this thick black dust.

I'm sure that this "dust" is actually dirt coming in from outside. Our roof is tiled but has no felt or any sort of insulation on it. When I go in the loft I can see each of the tiles from the inside and whilst there are no gaping holes I can see chinks of daylight through the gaps in some of the tiles.

Someone had suggested foam insulation on the inside of the loft as a solution but I'm a little cautious about that as I seem to remember reading that it can lead to more problems with the woodwork in the loft..?

Anyhow I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas for a solution? I need to stop the dirt coming in, and no doubt stop my expensive heat from escaping!!

Thanks

thus black dusty dirt is usual in an unfelted loft. Dirt settles on the tiles and blows in through the gaps.

It is possible to staple a breathing membrane to the rafters to hold it back. I believe I heard that the fabric used for weed suppression under gravel drives is sometimes used.

I expect your roof will need to be replaced soon, so when this is done, the new membrane under the tiles will keep it clean.

Don't have that terrible foam sprayed on.

Thanks for that I may give that a go for now. If I can put off getting the roof replaced for a while that would be better.

If your roof doesn't leak, leave it alone! That you can see daylight might not be relevant when it comes to water runoff. Stapling a membrane to the inside of the rafters (maybe only in one part of the loft) would be a good check of whether the dirt is coming through the tiles though do ensure that you still get airflow through your tiles. If you attach a membrane that is not breathable enough you can cause a condensation problem, and all your stored stuff will be ruined by water rather than dirt