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Roof insulation help

4 replies

Thegreatestshow · 22/01/2019 08:43

Calling pigletjohn or any other building experts. We need to insulate the space between our flat roof with sloping sides and the ceiling before we all freeze! Do we need to take down the ceilings to do this or could it be done better/more cheaply by injections? Don’t want to spend a fortune on this as I know insulation can be a diy job (at least it could in the absence of a ceiling!). Inside of roof I am told is lath and plaster.
All advice greatly appreciated as would any idea of very approximate cost and recommendations of people who might do this in zone 2 west London. Thank you v much!

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PigletJohn · 22/01/2019 09:42

Don't use squirty foam. it glues the tiles, timbers and plasters together so that repairs are nigh on impossible, and it tends to hold damp so you get rot.

If your roof is going to be repaired or retiled, that's a good opportunity to add insulation from above, while the space is exposed.

or if the plaster is cracked and sagging, pulling it down (a dirty job) and replacing is a good time to insulate from below. Lath and plaster is probably about a hundred years old and sooner or later will fall down.

Usually I prefer mineral wool, which is non flammable, but in your case I would go for foam slabs, cut and fitted very accurately, because it has about twice the insulating power of the same thickness of wool.

The least expensive option would be to get a plasterer to fix insulated plasterboard (which is bonded to foam slab) to the existing ceiling, and preferably skim finish it. Plastering a ceiling will cost some hundreds, it gets better value the more rooms you have done at one time. This board is not so thick so the insulation will be less, but you will notice the difference.

Thegreatestshow · 22/01/2019 10:31

That’s fantastic thanks v much pigletjohn! You are amazing! We will likely try the plasterboard. Would pulling down the ceilings cost a lot more do you think - there are 2 rooms which would need doing and what type of labourer would be beat to pull down and put in insulation? Would a plasterer do it? We are thinking of pulling down the walls inside the sloping part of the roof to make cupboard space too

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PigletJohn · 22/01/2019 12:28

it's such a horrible dirty job that builders would use a labourer they don't like much. The other work is mostly for a plasterer so if you can get personal recommendations for a local firm they may know someone to do the dirty jobs. The whole room needs to be emptied and you need bins, sacks and a builders canister vac in there before you start. And dustsheets outside the door. IMO it would be the best job, though.

Thegreatestshow · 22/01/2019 15:08

Thank you! Now I feel v sorry for the labourer! So maybe I could ask a plasterer to do it instead of a builder. Would there be a big difference in price between the two jobs do you think?

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