Thursday, February 21, 2008

Finishing Loft conversion stud walls and starting insulation

First part of Loft Conversion Insulation

A few photos here showing what was the start of lengthy process fitting the ridgid Kingspan insulation between the roof rafters and the stud wall. Every piece individually cut to fit.
By this time I'd finished the majority of the floor so stand was easy and safe.





This pic showing the the tricky bit of stud work to for the escape window cill. This had to project back over the steel to give the minimum distance from the eves to the window opening required by the regs.


Here we can see the little access corridor to the rest of the attic space taking shape. Included here though as it shows the insulation around the Steel.






Plenty of rockwool insulation went in behind the structural studs, just cheap wickes stuff this time as no additional fire proofing was required. So the total depth of ceiling insulation is about 400mm.



I had to fit battons on the rafters to ensure the air gap of 25mm to the breater mebrane was maintained , so i didn't push it too far up. Surprisingly it was cheaper to buy PSE timber from Wickes and rip it down with my bench saw than it was to buy rough sawn direct from a timber yard. Fitting it was a doddle after I made a jig to getting the spacing and I purchased a cheap electric brad nailer, well worth it.

Another batton then had to go on the under side of the rafters to give something solid for the next layer of Kingspan to attached to.




Here are just some on the trick angle to be cut. They need to be tight to keep the insulation up to spec. Only a few bits needed a squirt of foam filler.

TIP Use a jig saw with a long blade to cut them, far easier than a knife and less messy than a hand saw.









3 comments:

  1. Thanks for the tip. Excellent blog and info. Very interesting.

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  2. Hiya mate, I'm currently doing my own loft. I've sorted out the floor, added extra support and now boarded it. I'm now stuck in terms of some of the supporting timbers. In the centre of the loft there are 2 that meet at a V at the floor. An then either end there are 2 skinny beams (1x2") raised across the loft area. I know thats a kind of vague explanation of the area, but roughly, is there anyway you could suggest the amount of extra support I would need to put in, to remove these central hindrances!?

    Thanks mate

    info@vintageclassiquefurniture.com

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    Replies
    1. Hi Tom, That's a question that is far too risky for me to answer in any kind of detail. There will be a solution but to be sure it's safe (including when a gale is blowing or the roof has a few tons of snow on it) it should be a question for a structural engineer.
      Loading on these timbers can be quite complex and they are normally there for a reason. The V ones, if they go to the purlins are likely to be there because the purlin section isn't enough for the full unsupported span. If this is the case then the purlins can be replaced or beefed up with timber or steel. You really need to ask someone who can do the calculations for you.

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