Ceiling insulation and tiles

[p_l_reed]

I was looking round a friend's house over the weekend as he is trying to decide how best to insulate a bedroom ceiling. He has a dormer / bedroom built into the loft (before he moved in) and at one end of the room in an area about 6m x 2.5m, this has a good ceiling but it is under the roof and peering up into the space through a removed light fitting, it looks like was very little insulation put in that space when it was built.

To add insulation now is virtually impossible without either removing roof tiles, taking down the ceiling or, perhaps, blowing insulation in the space as is done for cavity wall insualtion installation.

The best option seems to be to work from inside the room and add insulation below the ceiling itself. The ceiling itself is in very good condition - plasterboard which has been emulsioned. First thoughts are either:

1. Put up ceiling tiles directly onto the existing ceiling. Questions: What would be the best ones to use from an insulation point of view and where to get them? What adhesive to use to get a good bond to the emulsioned plasterboard?

1. Put up insulation on the ceiling and then tile over this. The advantage might be that additional thickness of insulation could be built up first and then the tiles added. Questions: What would be the best insulation to use? I have seen 50mm polystyrene panels in Wicks BUT, before anyone mentions the fire risk, I do know about that and was just using these as an example. Wouldn't dream of using that stuff! Is there a fireproof / resistant alternative to this kind of insulation suitable for the job? It would need to have a smooth finish on both sides. What adhesive to use to get a good bond to the emulsioned plasterboard and then what adhesive to use to fix the tiles to this?

There is plenty of height space to add insulation and then tiles. Obviously, while going to the trouble of doing the job it needs to be done properly and provide the best insulation possible.

If anyone has any ideas, suggestions or comments, they would be gratefully received.

Many thanks,

Peter

[Grunff]

This is a silly idea. Unless the tiles are 2" thick or more, they will not provide sufficient insulation.

Surely the obvious solution is to make an access hole (like a loft hatch), then use rockwool insulation. This will be more effective, cheaper, and makes much more sense than some bizarre "lets stick some sheets to the ceiling" solution.

[Chris Bacon]

Screw on battens, insulate between them with Jablite or one of the better (re. thickness/insulation effect) products, plasterboard over, skim (or fill) and re-paint.

[Rob Morley]

1. Cut access holes (could just be one long hole that spans all the rafters) and stuff in a load of loose rockwool, then patch and skim the hole(s).