Roof Vent Madness

[dagoof]

I recently moved into a bungalow and am planning a bit of renovation. The previous owner had had a lot of work done on grants, which I suspect may have something to do with the roofing - there's vent tiles fitted literally every couple of feet the entire way around the house.

I had a roofer out who said there was no godly need for it - is it likely this has been done to take advantage of a blank cheque from the council?
I've been into the eaves and it's like a wind tunnel, can't imagine it's doing the heating bill much good. I'd imagine having some removed/patched over would cost more than it's worth though. Presumably, I could block off the vents on every other one?

On a related note, there's no insulation up there either - ideally I'd put kingspan on the pitched roof as I had done in my last property, but the attic's already converted, so wondering what the next best option is? Was hoping I could do more than just a little fibreglass on the limited amount of floor space that's accessible.

 

[roofspecialistsLondon]

hi is your detached

 

[roofspecialistsLondon]

sorry is your property detached?

 

[dagoof]

Yes it is.

 

[roofspecialistsLondon]

If your roof needs replacing at any point you could lay 10mm insulation on top off your rafters. Then counter batten. Then felt, batten and tile. Giving you a energy efficient warm roof

 

[palaceray]

10 mm would do nothing

 

[dagoof]

The roof is sound, so won't need replaced.

 

[JohnD]

On a related note, there's no insulation up there either

You truly mean there is no loft insulation? You are shovelling money down the drain. Get that fixed before you waste time and money on anything else.

It is no problem having a cold and draughty loft.

 

[roofspecialistsLondon]

Meant 100mm sorry

 

[dagoof]

Get that fixed before you waste time and money on anything else.

Thanks John - any recommendations on how to resolve that, getting past limited accessible space as mentioned?

 

[JohnD]

I don't know. Got any pics?

 

[dagoof]

Not at the moment, but as mentioned the attic's converted, some of the crawl space floored, so only a couple of feet remain accessible around the periphery.

I'd also query the cold draughty eaves, as they'd surely cool the attic room?

 

[danielroofer]

If there is no insulation in the loft then this may explain why so many vents have been put in.

Warm moist air from the house rises, nothing to stop it entering the loft where it then condensates on the underside of the felt. Most roofers will just add more vents to allow the air to escape.

It's hard to tell from just the info you have provided but I would check condensation in the loft during cold icy weather before you go removing all those vents, there could be a legitimate reason why they are there.

The lack of insulation is obviously an issue so as well as fixing this, I would suggest leaving the vents in place but just blocking them off, at least in the short term - if you do get condensation issues you can then always unblock them.

I could be barking up the wring tree, but excessive venting is often a sign of condensation issues, which often happen in small loft spaces during the winter.