Insulation needed- but Windows or Flat Roof?

jay0109 · 30-05-2016 10:15PM #1

Hi

recently moved into a 1970's built house and despite it having a C rating, it's cold! The living room especially.

Part of the living room has a flat roof (4.2m wide, 1.4m long), all the walls under which are entirely glass. I spoke with the chap who carried out the BER and he said the flat roof was drylined but couldn't establish at the time whether it was insulated or just plasterboard.
He also said the large ceiling to floor 6mm gap wood framed windows have an overall u value of 3.1.
The rest of the living room is dry lined and insulated.

I'm smashed after buying this house and don't have a lot of cash to spend.
I've contacted a few roofers and a couple of glass companies but given that the boom times are back in Dublin, I'm getting very little response. The flat roof being so small is probably putting the roofers off.

So my question is....any one hazard a guess on whether the flat roof needs insulation and if that could solve most of my problems.
Or do I really need to get the glass and window frames replaced?

If anyone has being in a similar situation, your help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Dudda · 30-05-2016 11:02PM

Any lights in the flat roof area? If you do you could turn off the power at the mains and look behind the light into the roof void. While I've never used one I did see one of those inspection camera tools in an Also or Lidl magazine over the weekend you could also use. If it's an empty void with little or no insulation you can pull down the plasterboard ceiling and put insulation between the timber joists and put back on insulated plasterboard and repaint. This would be cheaper and you wouldn't need a roofer.

You probably need to do the window as well but I'd start looking into the ceiling void.

jay0109 · 30-05-2016 11:15PM

Thanks for getting back to me. No lights in the roof area so no way of looking into the void.

Insulation needed- but Windows or Flat Roof?

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