Loft conversion issues

[Castleirwell]

Private building control firms, local authority or NHBC building control all work to the same building regulations ,although NHBC have their own additional Standards which they use, and they should all be impartial enforcing the regs.
As DIY says there should be no draughts; in fact there are rules on air penetration and limiting infiltration ( why are building control happy with their side of things if you are getting draughts from under windows, floors and balcony doors !!!).
The ventilation of the room should be controllable by trickle vents (background ventilation) and opening windows (purge or background ventilation) .
Ventilation of the air space on the cold side of the insulation is to reduce the risk of condensation but that should not enter the room as draughts ,as others have explained.
Others have already advised on an independent appraisal but why not speak to building control or the person who drew the plans for the bldg. regs application and mention the problems first ?

Exactly!? And is somewhat of a concern to me..... I will get in touch with them again .... what I'm trying to do with this thread and my research is arm myself with as much info as possible so I can't be fobbed off.... once I mention Part L, C, etc of the Building Regs that should get their attention....

Thanks for yours and all other's replies.

 

[Castleirwell]

Here's some photos taken with my phone through a number of different spotlight holes showing underside of flat roof, and the insulation.

 

[Castleirwell]

Here's photos of the gap in tiling/cladding of the exterior of the dormer

 

[Leofric]

Why would the private building control firm be working for the builder ?

 

[Castleirwell]

Why would the private building control firm be working for the builder ?

This was something I was told by a loft builder.

If you think my loft company do around 30 lofts per year.... at £700 a pop for the Private Building co.... That's over £20k p.a. of business the builder is giving the BC company.

Why else would my builder recommend them? .... there's something in it for the builder no question about that. Perhaps a financial kick back or BC turn a blind eye here and there.... enough to raise my suspicion and ask questions.

 

[Ian H]

It’s very very close to the gutters. You would struggle to get any insulation in there unless you lifted the floor inside and put some insulation between the dormer wall and ceilings below.

 

[foxhole]

This was something I was told by a loft builder.

If you think my loft company do around 30 lofts per year.... at £700 a pop for the Private Building co.... That's over £20k p.a. of business the builder is giving the BC company.

Why else would my builder recommend them? .... there's something in it for the builder no question about that. Perhaps a financial kick back or BC turn a blind eye here and there.... enough to raise my suspicion and ask questions.

Main advantage with using private is the ease of use, I used one for my build, they were happy in most instance just to recieve photo's of work progress. Saved me lots of time as no waiting around for council officers.They don't work for the builders but with them , subtle but important difference.

 

[Castleirwell]

It’s very very close to the gutters. You would struggle to get any insulation in there unless you lifted the floor inside and put some insulation between the dormer wall and ceilings below.

We did that in fact where we could before the bathroom tiles were laid. My question is - should the slate tiles not be flush/all the way down to the lead flashing? Rather than there being a gap there?

 

[Ian H]

I don’t know. I guess if they touched they could damage the lead over time.