How To Insulate A Roof Space

The rafters are joined together by a horizontal ridge board at the top and tied together by ceiling joists at the bottom.

How to insulate a roof space.

Look for water stains on the roof sheathing or damp or moldy spots on attic joists and existing insulation as a clue to where leaks might be. It creates a breeding ground for mold and mildew and ruins the air trapping pockets that block heat flow. Mineral wool rolls are ubiquitous and cheap meaning a whole roof on a standard home could be insulated to the recommended 270mm with a spend of little more than 200. Box out light fixtures.

As well as insulating the roof you will have to insulate any gable walls party walls and chimneys in the loft space. So fitting insulation in your loft attic or roof space is a great way to improve your home s cosiness factor. This means insulating between or below the sloping beams that form the construction and support a sloping roof. Before fitting any insulation to the sides of a pitched roof space any repairs to the roof should be completed once the insulation is in place it will be harder to spot any leaks inside the roof and any leaks will soak the insulation itself.

Insulating the rafter space will give you a warm loft. This will help to avoid your roof space becoming. Insulating at rafter level is considerably more expensive than most standard loft insulation. Insulating a roof is perhaps the easiest of all the energy saving home improvements.

For example cathedral ceilings built with 2x12 rafters have space for standard 10 inch batts r 30 and ventilation. It lasts for more than 40 years and should pay for itself many times over in energy bill savings as the cost of loft insulation is comparatively low. For a warm roof solution you will need to install insulation in the plane of the roof pitch that is immediately below the sloping roof. If you leave these uninsulated then the heat will bypass your new insulation making it largely ineffective.

Most codes require a specified minimum amount of headroom and it s tough to meet this requirement when insulating a finished attic especially since most. Unvented hot roof design cathedral ceilings are also an option. Water is insulation s enemy. The hot roof design allows more insulation to be installed in the roof cavity as the need for a vent space is eliminated.