Help! Need to do some Major Gap Sealing in an Attic Conversion Bedroom

Thargor

Hi, Im not great at DIY and I need a way to seal up my new bedroom, its a rented room and its basically just an old attic with sheets of plywood and carpet covering all the rafters and stuff, its a really nice room, its totally silent and really bright (velux windows) and roomy with its own fridge, couch, coffee tables chairs and a double bed for the same price as a shoebox in other houses. The only problem is the work is amateurish and there are a lot of gaps I want to seal up, the worst of them are like this:



Thats where one of the walls meets the roof so obviously it needs sealing badly, both to keep heat in (theres no exposure to the outside here thank God, its all internal), and to keep cooking smells out from the kitchen on the ground floor, which can be pretty strong if someones making curry or whatever.

So whats the best way to go about it? I tried duct tape but it just dries up and falls away, Im not going sawing plywood or anything like that, theres a Woodies across the road so is there some specialized type of tape or something I could use? I dont care what it looks like as long as its functional, any help much appreciated, thanks.

gsxr1

architrave. And some time and attention to detail.

TBH i dont mean to demean your work , but you could start again and build a stud wall . Then sheet it like the ceiling that is already there. It would look 100 times better.

Thargor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architrave

What?

I didnt build it, Im renting it, I cant do any construction here, Im just looking for some kind of tape or something designed for this kind of thing.

yellowlabrador

Is that place legal? You'd be freezing in the winter.

Thargor

Well I was in a smaller room downstairs in winter and its a nice warm house even in the hallways and on the landing, its not exposed to the outside at all those are internal gaps you see in the pic.

ronaldo84

maybe expanding foam? cut back when dry and fill over with filler and sand down and paint

Paul.C

Tape, are you mad?:eek: Even though its rented it doesnt look like your landlord cares as if he did he would have ran the chippy. Id imagine he did it himself! Go buy a lenght of architrave €5 or a lat (2x1) €1 planed all over. Dont buy rough wood as it will look crap. measure it up and chop it. Dont worry about getting holes in the wall 2-3 pins would hold it up.

Question: is the door to that room a fire door?

I would be surprised if it was. If your landlord gives out about your construction, then tell him that his premises not fire regulated which is against the law.

1 picture says a thousand words!

brendankelly

Paul is on the right track. I would suggest quadrant (A curved piece of timber) Just ask your builder provider. The gap on the top seems to be about 15mm so get a quadrant that covers the gap, a little saw, and a few panel pins and bobs your uncle.

ronaldo84

Thargor wrote: »

Hi, Im not great at DIY and I need a way to seal up my new bedroom, there are a lot of gaps I want to seal up, the worst of them are like this:

what is that wall made up of is it a timber stud partition with a slab nailed on??

Thargor

It seems to be that 1-2cm thick fibreboard or MDF or chipboard or whatever you call it, theres a banister out on the landing and its nailed to that, its a really big attic that stuff just makes up one wall.

Paul.C

Il take a wild guess at batton or stud with mdf screwed on. edit: too late

ifah

My question is what is on the other side of that partition - are you not worried that you could be sleeping in an absolute deathtrap. What means of escape have you, any smoke alarms, what about carbon monoxide monitors .....

Paul.C

Fire and smoke safety would definitely be a concern. As for carbon monoxide poisoning, Id say theres plenty of "vents" by means of massive gaps lol:D:D

Thargor

I dont get the fire safety concerns, Id still have to exit the same way everyone else does in a fire in normal bedrooms, down the stairs and out the door. Is it because of smoke rising? Well I have a working smoke alarm yeah and I have 2 big velux windows to get out onto the neighbors roofs in an emergency so Im not worried about that. Im going to try this quadrant thing at the weekend so, thanks people.

sotoole1

best advise to to use expanding foam
or move out