Play loft - Insulation, regs?
Discussion
Running out of space in our house but could do with a room slightly nicer than a loft space for storing more delicate items and maybe somewhere to keep the kids toys.
Half the loft is just boarded and in the middle of the house is the chimney breast.
I am thinking of putting another hatch in (oversized) and laying another floor and then plasterboarding and skimming the walls/ceiling.
We have power in the loft anyway so will just run an extension across for a lamp and maybe heater.
Its not going to be a proper room - just somewhere slightly cleaner than the normal loft, with some kind of loft ladder.
Finished floor space will be approx 12sqm with a max head height of 2.1m.
Currently there is 10" of insulation between the floor joists and the tiles have some kind of plaster on the back of them that is falling off slowly!
How would you go about insulating up there but without affecting damp?
Half the loft is just boarded and in the middle of the house is the chimney breast.
I am thinking of putting another hatch in (oversized) and laying another floor and then plasterboarding and skimming the walls/ceiling.
We have power in the loft anyway so will just run an extension across for a lamp and maybe heater.
Its not going to be a proper room - just somewhere slightly cleaner than the normal loft, with some kind of loft ladder.
Finished floor space will be approx 12sqm with a max head height of 2.1m.
Currently there is 10" of insulation between the floor joists and the tiles have some kind of plaster on the back of them that is falling off slowly!
How would you go about insulating up there but without affecting damp?
Are you just going to use it as a glorified loft? If so then when you sell it won't be considered as anything else. Therefore you don't need building regs. Batten out your existing rafters and stick some Celotex in between leaving an air void behind, plasterboard then slim. If it's a semi batten out and insulate the party wall as well
herbialfa said:
Are you just going to use it as a glorified loft? If so then when you sell it won't be considered as anything else. Therefore you don't need building regs. Batten out your existing rafters and stick some Celotex in between leaving an air void behind, plasterboard then slim. If it's a semi batten out and insulate the party wall as well
Twas what I was thinking - if it's just for storage space, then go ahead and do as you will. If it's for the creation of a new "room" for domestic use, then yes it's very much building regs time.herbialfa said:
Are you just going to use it as a glorified loft? If so then when you sell it won't be considered as anything else. Therefore you don't need building regs. Batten out your existing rafters and stick some Celotex in between leaving an air void behind, plasterboard then slim. If it's a semi batten out and insulate the party wall as well
Absolutely not at all. My business partner had just this recently on selling his hosue with 'glorified loft'. The building regs man came round and said that because there was power and plaster it was a room and therefore needed to comply completely with building regs, even if he didn't use it as such. He had the room insulated and plaster boarded and a plug socket fitted. He needed to have all that ripped out before the sale would proceed. Road2Ruin said:
Absolutely not at all. My business partner had just this recently on selling his hosue with 'glorified loft'. The building regs man came round and said that because there was power and plaster it was a room and therefore needed to comply completely with building regs, even if he didn't use it as such. He had the room insulated and plaster boarded and a plug socket fitted. He needed to have all that ripped out before the sale would proceed.
Excatly the same thing happened to the house i am currently in. Interestingly, the velux windows could stay, but the plasterboard could not.
Mr GrimNasty said:
My neighbour did the same, only it really was fully furnished/power & TV (said it was for 'storage'), sold a year after no problem, council are fully aware but couldn't give a hoot. Nothing like consistency.
That may come back to haunt the new owners when they sell as a proper solicitor would have insisted that regs come out and inspect it and issue a letter either way.Road2Ruin said:
Mr GrimNasty said:
My neighbour did the same, only it really was fully furnished/power & TV (said it was for 'storage'), sold a year after no problem, council are fully aware but couldn't give a hoot. Nothing like consistency.
That may come back to haunt the new owners when they sell as a proper solicitor would have insisted that regs come out and inspect it and issue a letter either way.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff