insulating attic

wheres me jumpa

my father wants his attic insulated and i have offered to do it. now there is still the possibility he could get someone to do it. im just wondering how difficult a job this is.

Borzoi

wheres me jumpa wrote:

my father wants his attic insulated and i have offered to do it. now there is still the possibility he could get someone to do it. im just wondering how difficult a job this is.

It's a piece of pi**. A trained monkey could do it.

Just make sure to cover up well, including gloves and face mask as the fibregalss is a real skin irritant.

And top tip: saw the rolls of insulation to the right witdth to fit between the joists using as ordinary hand sawwhile it's still in the plastic packing then simply drop into position and unroll

If you have no intention of using the attic for storage - then go at right angles to the joists for extra coziness

Don't forget to lag any pipes and the coldwater tank in the attic as well - once you insulate the attic these run a much higher risk of freezing in winter.

kadman

Borzoi wrote:

It's a piece of pi**. A trained monkey could do it.

QUOTE]

Very true Borzoi,

A trained monkey could do it, if he was trained by a person that knew how to insulate an attic CORRECTLY.

Many attics have been insulated incorrectly by diyers down through the years that have led to expensive remedial works. :eek:

Rooferpete knows where i'm coming from , as no doubt he has at sometime come across what I'm talking about.

The two things important words missing from your earlier post, are, ventilation, air circulation. The importance of air circulation in an attic, need to be highlighted.

I think Rooferpete is the pro in this area, so maybe he will post his thoughts.

kadman

patrido

if you were renovating to the latest building regs, you would be putting in about 8 inches of rockwool. so you'd be filling the space between the ceiling joists, and then as Borzoi said, laying another layer across the joists.

be careful with wiring and lights. a cable that is enclosed in insulation for 50mm (2 inches) of its length can only carry about 80% of it's designed current. 500mm (20 inches), and it's down to 50%. if a circuit draws too much current through the derated cable, it will overheat and cause a fire risk. consult an electrician if ur in any doubt.

also any light fittings, like downlighters need a free space above them to dissipate heat. dichroic lamps send quite a lot of heat upwards. with downlighters, you can use a firehood, which is a little hood you put over them that maintains an airspace above the light, and allows the heat to dissipate. I think they cost about a tenner each.

Borzoi

kadman wrote:

Many attics have been insulated incorrectly by diyers down through the years that have led to expensive remedial works. :eek:

And I've seen plenty - including my own - laid by professionals, that have required remedial work. Monkey is, as monkey does.

kadman wrote:

The two things important words missing from your earlier post, are, ventilation, air circulation. The importance of air circulation in an attic, need to be highlighted.

True, but as vents tend to be in the tiling or gable end - laying rockwool on and around the joists shouldn't block them

As for rP, he's well able to speak for himself

kadman

Borzoi wrote:

True, but as vents tend to be in the tiling or gable end - laying rockwool on and around the joists shouldn't block them

As for rP, he's well able to speak for himself

Soffet vents, tend to be in the soffet. No use in cramming insulation between the rafters down to walplate level, and blocking airflow here. Novice diyers may not be aware of how important this is. They tend to think of blocking every source of airflow. Not always a good idea.

My reference to Rooferpete, was from a professional point of view to allow an expert in roofing to give his valuable 2 cents worth. It was not intended to offend, or question any one elses opinion. I'd like to know the accepted method from a pro.

As to your own attic insulation. Maybe you had the trained monkeys, you're reccomending, instead of the pro's. If they messed it up, then obviously they were not pro's. :rolleyes:

kadman

Borzoi

kadman wrote:

As to your own attic insulation. Maybe you had the trained monkeys, you're reccomending, instead of the pro's. If they messed it up, then obviously they were not pro's. :rolleyes:

'Fraid not - Castlethorn construction. I mean if you can't trust a reputable building contractor to emply professionals to work to professional standards, who can you trust? :rolleyes:

kadman

I understand where you are coming from Borzoi. Its all too easy to get stuck with amateur's , instead of the pro's.


kadman

Dopey

Hello Kadman,

While on the topic of the importance of ventilation while insulating an attic, how much or little insulation is advisable between the attic floor and the sloping roof?

Our attic conversion is complete and I was considering buying some additional insulation to block up some of the gaps where the roof and floor meet (not sure what the correct name for this is) to prevent excessive draughts and heat loss during the winter months.

Hope you don't mind me hijacking the thread wheres me jumpa.

Cheers,

Dopey :cool:

kadman

[QUOTE=Dopey

Our attic conversion is complete and I was considering buying some additional insulation to block up some of the gaps where the roof and floor meet (not sure what the correct name for this is) to prevent excessive draughts and heat loss during the winter months.

Cheers,

Dopey :cool:[/QUOTE]

Hi Dopey,

I'm a bit confused, if your attic conversion is complete, why have you got gaps where the roof and floor meet. I assume you are decribing this from inside the attic, and not outside.

kadman

wheres me jumpa

thanks for the replies.

we had an electrician in last week preparing it for insulation. so from that point of view its fine.

its a bungalow. which wont be renovated any further in our time. i think i might give it a go. it doesnt need to be the perfect job, just as long as its safe and improves the heat in the house. is it more than a one man job?

Dopey

Hi Kadman,

Apologies fior the confusion and my bad explanation. I'm talking about the area inside the attic. We have storage areas off the main attic room. These storage areas are floored up to about a foot from the point where the roof slopes down to the floor. I can see a gap (day light shining through) between each the rafters when I'm crouched in the storage area and I understand these are left open to allow for air to circulate.

I thought this was what you were talking about when you mentioned the importance of allowing air to circulate.

I was wondering if I could block some of these to reduce draft?

Dopey.

Dopey

Hi wears_me_jumpa,

I put insulation down in a bungalow last year. It's definately not too big for one man. It took me about a day to do it. A few things I would recommend though is to cover yourself up well and get some knee protectors. Alternatively get some chip board and drag it around with you. I got a disposable boiler suit. A friend of mine is a fitter and nicked one from work for me. It can be pretty hot in an attic this time of year so make sure you have a few cold beers in the fridge.

Dopey

rooferPete

Hi Kadman,

Thank you for the high regard in which you hold my opinions expressed on the board, it appears there are a few who don't like what I post, well even I can't please em all

Hi Borzoi,

I believe the quote goes "Monkey Do (does) as Monkey See (sees)" ?

Gable vents do not work unless the have excellent intake and powered extractors, that I have proof of, also tile or slate vents are only effective if correctly placed in the roof area.

As for Monkeys well I will believe they can trained for skilled or any work when the banks start giving them mortgages

Hi Dopey,

The building regs state the insulation must be minimum 50 mm from the roof covering, that was meant as a general guide, there are actual rules that dictate the ventilation at soffit and ridge levels.

However at the risk of more spam it's not worth going into the details, for me that is.

One item I see missing is Do Not Insulate under the water storage tanks.

.

wheres me jumpa

would i need to cover my face?

im going pricing tomorrow. anybody know what a good price would be? is insulation graded in anyway? i.e. are there different types?

gregos

Pete, I would be interested to know more about the problems with gable vents. This is for my own continued education. Would you mind elaborating a little?

rooferPete wrote:

it appears there are a few who don't like what I post, well even I can't please em all

Well, you know what happens if they can't take a joke.

gregos

wheres me jumpa wrote:

would i need to cover my face?

You would. With a proper mask.