Renovating old attic conversion

D13exile

Hi all

After refurbishing the downstairs and upstairs of my money pit, sorry three bed semi, I now want to tackle the attic that was converted about twenty years ago according to my neighbour. At the moment the stairs continues from the first floor landing straight up into the attic with no doorway to stop all the heat in the house getting sucked straight up into the roof space. The ceiling is wooden cladding which I hate.

My plan is to:
- rip down the wooden cladding,
- remove the existing glass fibre insulation,
- build a new stud wall partition to form a new doorway into the attic space,
- put kingspan insulation in between the rafters
- plasterboard the ceiling and new stud wall
- skim finish.

A mate who is a clerk of works also suggested putting a vapour barrier up once the kingspan has been fixed in place and using insulated plasterboard to improve the insulation value. He also suggested that I consider replacing the two existing velux Windows.

Any thoughts, comments or advice would be appreciated before I start.

Finally, the room will be used as a kids playroom, study etc. The head height is just over six feet at the apex, sloping down to the vertical walls. There are steel beams in place and the basic structure has been certified by an engineer.

Gumbo

D13exile wrote: »

Hi all

After refurbishing the downstairs and upstairs of my money pit, sorry three bed semi, I now want to tackle the attic that was converted about twenty years ago according to my neighbour. At the moment the stairs continues from the first floor landing straight up into the attic with no doorway to stop all the heat in the house getting sucked straight up into the roof space. The ceiling is wooden cladding which I hate.

My plan is to:
- rip down the wooden cladding,
- remove the existing glass fibre insulation,
- build a new stud wall partition to form a new doorway into the attic space,
- put kingspan insulation in between the rafters
- plasterboard the ceiling and new stud wall
- skim finish.

A mate who is a clerk of works also suggested putting a vapour barrier up once the kingspan has been fixed in place and using insulated plasterboard to improve the insulation value. He also suggested that I consider replacing the two existing velux Windows.

Any thoughts, comments or advice would be appreciated before I start.

Finally, the room will be used as a kids playroom, study etc. The head height is just over six feet at the apex, sloping down to the vertical walls. There are steel beams in place and the basic structure has been certified by an engineer.

Your Clerk of Works mate should also suggest how to achieve Fire Safety compliance also while doing this. The door at the top of the attic stairs is not there to stop heat escaping, it is to stop the spread of fire into the only vertical escape route in the house.

I would look at your Fire Door requirements in the attic, alarm and detection extension, means of escape etc

Calahonda52

http://www.housing.gov.ie/search/archived/current/category/housing/type/publications?query=loft%20conversion

As noted you need to look closely at fire compliance issues here.

Other than Velux, any other windows?

I presume you still have a hallway....
You will need self closing fire doors throughout