insulating between floor/ceiling

[Chris]

Hi,

I am thinking about putting a proper floor in my loft, but I am a little confused about insulation.

Recently when I was fitting spotlights in my kitchen, I noted that there is no insulation in the void between the downstairs ceiling and the upstairs floor.

So, if I put in a proper floor in the loft, there will be a void between the upstairs ceiling and the loft floor - will this need to be insulated? I am thinking the answer is no, IF the roof is insulated, but if the trusses and felt are left exposed with no insulation, the void between the loft floor and the upstairs ceiling should be insulated.

Any thoughts?

Cheers Chris

[meow2222]

thats about it. If the loft is warm, insult the roof. Its only if the loft is never heated that its a bit cheaper to insult the loft floor.

NT

[Lobster]

"Roof, you are one stupid ugly bastard. And you can stop grinning, Floor, you're a pillock as well."

[The Natural Philosopher]

Got it in one.

If the loft space is ventilated - a 'cold' roof - you need insulation under the boarding.

[Phil L]

This is not required, unless you want upstairs to remain cold.

If there is loft insulation down already it will need to be removed otherwise the heat from the rest of the house will not reach the loft, by the same token, you will need to insulate under the roof, not just for heat retention but also to make it less like a sauna when the sun shines.

[Dave Fawthrop]

|Hi, | |I am thinking about putting a proper floor in my loft, but I am a little |confused about insulation. | |Recently when I was fitting spotlights in my kitchen, I noted that there is |no insulation in the void between the downstairs ceiling and the upstairs |floor. | |So, if I put in a proper floor in the loft, there will be a void between the |upstairs ceiling and the loft floor - will this need to be insulated? I am |thinking the answer is no, IF the roof is insulated, but if the trusses and |felt are left exposed with no insulation, the void between the loft floor |and the upstairs ceiling should be insulated.

What do you intend to do with the floored loft? If you want to make it into a bedroom/habitable space there are lots of rules you must obey, headroom, access, strength of joists, windows, and so on.

If you want the loft just as storage space the job is a lot easier. IME it is best to leave the insulation on top of the habitable areas as it is (as thick as practicable), and let the temperature of the loft do what it likes, baking in summer, freezing in winter.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember [e-mail] saying something like:

Your rafters are bent! And your father smelt of cheap pine!

[meow2222]

heh. How do you work out the U value of that?

NT