Old loft conversion/refurb

[terry.shitcrumbs]

Hi. I'm considering buying a house to refurb and sell on. The roof is knackered and the ceilings of the 80s/90s loft conversion will need to come down and be replaced.

Am I obliged to fit current building regs spec insulation in the void between roof and ceiling, or can I refit to same specification as before? I'm concerned that I might lose some headroom if a whacking great thick layer of insulation is needed.

Cheers.

Terry.

[Andy Burns]

I believe that if you do significant work to the roof, you are required to bring the insulation up to modern requirements ... can't find a handy reference though.

[Andy Burns]

[Tim Watts]

If you are essentially rebuilding the roof, why not make the new roof slightly bigger and design in insulation to current specs? (Which I am fairly certain the BCO will require in a job of this type).

If you were merely retiling, he's almost certainly let you off with something "reasonable" but not to current specs - mine did. I proposed

100mm celotex where possible and 75mm where unfeasible (right down at the eaves) and it was accepted.

[Brian Gaff]

Yes lofts can be unbearably hot in summer without a good deal of insulation. Not sure about old houses, but a lot of people around here seem to be raising the height of their roves for loft conversions, so I guess if they are fitting dormer windows as most seem to be then to keep things in the same scale it will all need to be higher. I'd hate to think how much that costs, but people are still doing it on these 1939 terraces with single walls. Brian

[John Rumm]

If changing a significant amount of a "thermal element", then yes the change is supposed to be to current standards. However firstly note that the insulation requirements for a loft conversion are lower than for other circumstances, and that a pragmatic stance is usually taken but BCOs etc, so if you are making things better rather than worse, they are not going to insist you do the impossible.