Regularisation - Regs thickness of loft insulation in 2000?

[levelhead]

Hi, new to forum, hoping I can get some advice, I converted our loft in 2000, at that time I used 50mm foiled backed king-span insulation with 50mm air gap. I have now sought Regularisation as hindsight is a wonderful thing, i expected the fire doors that I need to fit but was surprised to hear that the kingspan was not thick enough, they mentioned I needed 100mm thick insulation, is this correct bearing in mind when it was built. If so I will have to rip all the plasterboard back and start again.

The loft has always been warm and we have never had any issues, I know this matters not to the building regs but hoped for some advice

Thanks in advance

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Any idea what the rafter size and centres are?

 

[levelhead]

Will go measure and come back to you, should only take a few minutes

 

[levelhead]

Depth of rafter = 120mm, thickness of approx 36mm
Centers of rafters are 470mm

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Ok, unless anyone else pipes up I shall come back later with compliant insulation thicknesses. In the meantime out of interest why are you seeking regularisation? Selling? Thought of an indemnity insurance instead?

 

[levelhead]

Yes selling, buyers solicitor refused indemnity despite every effort on our part, now biting the bullet and trying to get our money's worth on sale of house, it was converted in 2000, we will need fire doors on every level, mains smoke alarm interlinked on every floor in hallway among a few other things!

 

[levelhead]

A friend has mentioned that there are independent surveyors that can issue Regularisation certificates once work is completed, is this true and would this be wiser than the city council route?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Hi, AFAIK you can use an approved inspector, frankly its anyone's guess as to whether they give you an easier ride or not it will depend on the individual inspector! You could be forgiven for thinking so though!

Regularisation is a somewhat negotiable process, that is a certain amount of assumption may be given by your inspector. If the job looks suspect from the outset he is likely to be more demanding than if his first impression is a good one if you get my drift. The thing to do is to get him in and cross your fingers you don't get a little Hitler and treat him as someone who can help rather than hinder! Frankly if you go Local Authority you'll get little choice in who it is, normally the chap (or chapess) who deals with your postcode. Now don't get me wrong most inspectors are good eggs and very amiable but like any industry you get a few sticklers too. So a softly softly approach is required is what I am saying.

As for your loft ceiling back in 2000 you should have achieved a U value of 0.2 which could have been achieved in a variety of ways. A U-Value is the measurement of the rate of heat loss through a material, the lower the value the less heat can get through (the latest regs demand 0.18 so only a little more stringent nowadays). Your existing roof is achieving a U Value of 0.52.

For arguments sake we'll say your inspector insisted on it meeting year 2000 regs.

Keeping it simple that would mean adding 80mm insulation + plasterboard beneath the existing ceiling

or

removing the existing plasterboard and adding 20mm insulation between the rafters and then adding a continuous 60mm layer beneath the rafters and 1 layer plasterboard.

Both of these solutions will get you your 0.2 but there will be other solutions to achieve compliance.

As mentioned though your inspector may be very reasonable and may accept your 50mm insulation on its own, then again he may expect a gesture say an additional 25mm + board beneath the existing, then again he may want a full upgrade. Nobody can predict that and you won't get a refund if you disagree. As you say though try the private inspector route you may have more bargaining power up your sleeve!

 

[levelhead]

Thank you for the time you've taken to give such a comprehensive reply, that really has helped, we will be making several calls today to get this sorted out asap.

Am I right in saying the private route would be a call to a Architectural Technician or a structural engineer or involve both ? may be getting confused as to the title and how to find one in 'YELL' I saw an old post of yours referring to the above.

Thank you again

 

[levelhead]

Just finished searching on google, 'Approved Inspector' appears to be the actual job title, should have checked before last post, will now try and find one closest to me. Fingers crossed.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Aye you've got it. It would be good to hear back from you eventually what happens with regards to what he wants exposing and any remedial works he insists on (if any). Can give you a cheapy engineer contact if you need to get calcs done as you're in Devon.