Ultimately we're going to get a roofer in to do this work but I've read around a bit and would like some advice about what we should do before we get some quotes...
The front pitch of the roof on our Victorian cottage (photos/diagram below) has no felt underneath it (the rear appears to have some felt but it's not clear how far it goes as our loft hatch is actually under next doors rear pitch), and neither pitch has any insulation, so our attic bedroom gets freezing in winter and boiling in summer.
We'd like to get a vapour barrier put in at the front (and may be the rear) and also insulate so that it's warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
There's no real loft to speak of, so I presume the options for insulation are strip off the tiles, apply insulation (kingspan etc. between the rafters), add vapour barrier and replace the tiles, or strip the lathe and plaster ceiling off and replace with insulated plasterboard?
I'd prefer to leave the ceiling intact if possible but our rafters are only 8cm deep, given the 50mm air gap specified in building regulations, is it possible to get enough insulation in, or to avoid cold bridging should we think about having the ceiling done as well?
Should we also consider adding extra insulation over the flat areas of ceiling in the bathroom, front and attic bedrooms and on the short walls (don't know what they're called) in the attic room?
The work we think needs doing is at follows:
- vapour barrier on front (and maybe rear) pitch
- insulation added front and rear
- re-clad and insulate dormer
- relay tiles/slates and replace any that need it
- redo flashing on chimney
- new outlet for the extractor in en-suite - the en-suite is over next door and the extractor vents through the front pitch but I'm not sure how effective the flow is
- add extractor fan in bathroom
Is there anything else that we should add to the list?
Also there's restricted head room coming up the stairs into the attic, if we wanted to make the restriction less by making the dormer 18 inches wider would we need planning permission - I rang our local planning dept about this but they weren't very helpful so I guess I need to try them again.
Thanks
Andy
The front pitch of the roof on our Victorian cottage (photos/diagram below) has no felt underneath it (the rear appears to have some felt but it's not clear how far it goes as our loft hatch is actually under next doors rear pitch), and neither pitch has any insulation, so our attic bedroom gets freezing in winter and boiling in summer.
We'd like to get a vapour barrier put in at the front (and may be the rear) and also insulate so that it's warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
There's no real loft to speak of, so I presume the options for insulation are strip off the tiles, apply insulation (kingspan etc. between the rafters), add vapour barrier and replace the tiles, or strip the lathe and plaster ceiling off and replace with insulated plasterboard?
I'd prefer to leave the ceiling intact if possible but our rafters are only 8cm deep, given the 50mm air gap specified in building regulations, is it possible to get enough insulation in, or to avoid cold bridging should we think about having the ceiling done as well?
Should we also consider adding extra insulation over the flat areas of ceiling in the bathroom, front and attic bedrooms and on the short walls (don't know what they're called) in the attic room?
The work we think needs doing is at follows:
- vapour barrier on front (and maybe rear) pitch
- insulation added front and rear
- re-clad and insulate dormer
- relay tiles/slates and replace any that need it
- redo flashing on chimney
- new outlet for the extractor in en-suite - the en-suite is over next door and the extractor vents through the front pitch but I'm not sure how effective the flow is
- add extractor fan in bathroom
Is there anything else that we should add to the list?
Also there's restricted head room coming up the stairs into the attic, if we wanted to make the restriction less by making the dormer 18 inches wider would we need planning permission - I rang our local planning dept about this but they weren't very helpful so I guess I need to try them again.
Thanks
Andy
