Hi,
I recently bought a terraced house with an attic conversion that is not certified as a living space by uk regulations.
The roof is made of slate, has no sheeting between the baton and rafters, there is damp 'plaster' pushed into the baton and slate joints, and crammed with fibreglass insulation. Also there is evidence of water marks on the fitted plaster board and the cavity seems rather damp. There is also condensation on the slates
I plan to re-insulate and re-plaster the roof, and fit a new lighting/fire alarm circuit.
The conversion already has a fitted stairway and load bearing floor joists, so i plan to do any future work to meet regulations with the prospect of having everything made official should i choose to.
Now a few replies have come in my main question is how best to insulate my setup while reducing the condensation on my slates which has damaged previous dry-wall
So a 'few' questions:
[Concluded] 1) Should i have an air gap between any insulation and the slate, and if so how big, and what is the best way to achieve this? (ridge vents, breather 'trays' etc)
2) I have damp mortar smeared into the slates and baton, someone stated this is known as torching. Given that it is wet and i need ventilation to stop condensation can this be removed or replaced reliably, and what with.
[Solved] 3) I plan to use 6 inch rockwool roll if possible, mainly because it is breathable, is this within regulations or advisable? also is it wise to fit a breathable vapour barrier between the insulation and plasterboard?
[Solved] 4) Do i need to leave a breather space near the eaves to allow proper ventilation into the room ?
5) Am i allowed to run wiring along roof joists or do i need to find another route?
[Solved] 6) There is no way of fitting a fire door into the room entrance, no space at bottom of stairs, or fittings at the top, so i plan to make a removable 'hatch' in the space as appose to boxing off a large portion of space in the room. Will this stop me from ever having it as a proper bedroom due to fire regs?
Thanks for reading my mess of a post.
[original questions, edited after some replies]
I recently bought a terraced house with an attic conversion that is not certified as a living space by uk regulations.
The roof is made of slate, has no sheeting between the baton and rafters, there is damp 'plaster' pushed into the baton and slate joints, and crammed with fibreglass insulation. Also there is evidence of water marks on the fitted plaster board and the cavity seems rather damp. There is also condensation on the slates
I plan to re-insulate and re-plaster the roof, and fit a new lighting/fire alarm circuit.
The conversion already has a fitted stairway and load bearing floor joists, so i plan to do any future work to meet regulations with the prospect of having everything made official should i choose to.
Now a few replies have come in my main question is how best to insulate my setup while reducing the condensation on my slates which has damaged previous dry-wall
So a 'few' questions:
[Concluded] 1) Should i have an air gap between any insulation and the slate, and if so how big, and what is the best way to achieve this? (ridge vents, breather 'trays' etc)
2) I have damp mortar smeared into the slates and baton, someone stated this is known as torching. Given that it is wet and i need ventilation to stop condensation can this be removed or replaced reliably, and what with.
[Solved] 3) I plan to use 6 inch rockwool roll if possible, mainly because it is breathable, is this within regulations or advisable? also is it wise to fit a breathable vapour barrier between the insulation and plasterboard?
[Solved] 4) Do i need to leave a breather space near the eaves to allow proper ventilation into the room ?
5) Am i allowed to run wiring along roof joists or do i need to find another route?
[Solved] 6) There is no way of fitting a fire door into the room entrance, no space at bottom of stairs, or fittings at the top, so i plan to make a removable 'hatch' in the space as appose to boxing off a large portion of space in the room. Will this stop me from ever having it as a proper bedroom due to fire regs?
Thanks for reading my mess of a post.
[original questions, edited after some replies]