EPC report is not at all good so I'm looking for advice.

[BML]

Although I put 300mm wool type insulation in the loft twenty years ago I then covered it with chip board so I could store stuff.
The EPC report suggest 275 mm more insulation but I'm not inclined to clear the loft and remove the chipboard so I wondered if there is something like foam insulation I could place between the roof timbers.

I'm still wondering about the sheet insulation I read could be attached to the outside of the building!

 

[JohnD]

Although I put 300mm wool type insulation in the loft twenty years ago I then covered it with chip board so I could store stuff.

Do you mean you squashed it down to some lesser thickness?

Do you have cavity walls?

Do you have any floors of uncarpeted wood?

What draughtproofing do you have?

What improvements does the EPC suggest?

 

[cdbe]

You can put pir (celotex) on top of the boarding and then lay something like hardboard on top to form a surface you can walk on. Insulating the rafters is not recommended for your situation.

 

[BML]

I know that there are adverts about filling the gap between roof timbers with a spray foam but have no idea if it works and wonder about depriving the timber of air but I would really like to know about cutting some sort of foam to a size that allows air but provides insulation.

 

[jeds]

I know that there are adverts about filling the gap between roof timbers with a spray foam but have no idea if it works and wonder about depriving the timber of air but I would really like to know about cutting some sort of foam to a size that allows air but provides insulation.

I would strongly advise against spray foam to rafters. Every one of these jobs I've seen - mostly several years afterwards - has been a disaster.

The problem with placing insulation at different points is that it can cause condensation issues within the layers. By far your best option here is to remove your boarding and add to the insulation at ceiling level. If you do replace the boards, leave a decent gap between the top of the insulation and the boards to allow airflow across the top of the insulation.

The standard for loft insulation has been 300mm for quite a while but I have specified 500mm in many cases and I've seen 600mm specified elsewhere. The obvious disadvantage is that it makes the loft very difficult to access.

 

[BML]

I dare say that installing 300mm or even 600mm insulation and a suspended floor above that is quite possible even if it does reduce the headroom but its quite impractical for me.

 

[Old Salt]

Why are you concerned by the EPC report, selling, buying, renting or just saving on heat loss?

 

[foxhole]

EPC is pure guess work , got a poorer than expected rating on my last property , queried it and found it is assumed original roof is uninsulated ( had refurbished entire property with new roof ).Pointed out to surveyor there was no original roof as it was all replaced to regs . But made no difference to his rating.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I know that there are adverts about filling the gap between roof timbers with a spray foam but have no idea if it works and wonder about depriving the timber of air but I would really like to know about cutting some sort of foam to a size that allows air but provides insulation.

The spray foam is really bad news. Avoid!

EPC's are often notoriously wrong, often nothing more than a guess.

 

[ETAF]

when i had 1 as part of selling a house - he was not on site for very long and most just seemed a template and guess / default setting if not known.....
but that was back in 2017

 

[BML]

Many thanks for your reply's. I didn't want to say that I felt my EPC report was a trifle subjective in case it looked as though I was a bad loser although remarks such as, "Your Double Glazing looks rather dated" did cause me to raise an eyebrow.