Problem with attic insulation

blarney60

Hi everyone,
Got attic insulated last year and I'm left with a problem. If you look at a side view of the house there is an attic conversion in the middle so either side of that room ( the front and back ) are used as storage areas. That means there are two triangular areas at front and back of house used as attic storage areas. The guy I got to do the work put fibergalss at either side of the conversion and double foil sided Quinntherm on the floor. I wanted to quinntherm put along the slope of the roof but he didn't want to do it that way.

Last winter I found puddles of water in different spots on the foil of the Quinntherm and the roof beams were wet ( although not saturated ) with water dripping onto the stuff stored there and the floor.

Last week I got in contact with the guy who did the work as I don't want another winter of a problem and his answer was that he did the job right and in all his years of doing insulation he has had no complaints. He said the attic needs venting but to me that wont fix the problem. I think the only way to do it is to move the Quinn therm to between the roof beams running down the roof.

What do you think...will that fix the problem as this area will then be the same heat as rest of house? Is it sensible and how would you do it? To me if you vent the area will still be cold and not suitable for storage. Some of our stuff was destroyed by dripping water, can't have that happening again.

Any comments appreciated as I want to be sure about how to fix it!
Thank you
Kevin

TheDriver

Sounds like ventilation is indeed required, could you not put in some roof vents?

custom_build

Ventilation of an attic space is best practice, in fact there should be a cross flow of ventilation to prevent damp/rot. Ventilated roof tiles are an easy option if the area around the soffits are air tight.

newacc2015

Call U-Value for their opinion. They sell insulation, but are experts on insulation. I need a bathroom recently with horrific mould/dampness problems and they told me what was the best way to insulate it to control the dampness. It was totally different to what other tradesmen said. But they all agreed it sounded like the best way to control dampness

Call U-Value. Very rarely does a tradesman admit he messed up on a job.

MicktheMan

blarney60 wrote: »

1.Last winter I found puddles of water in different spots on the foil of the Quinntherm and the roof beams were wet ( although not saturated ) with water dripping onto the stuff stored there and the floor.

2.Last week I got in contact with the guy who did the work as I don't want another winter of a problem and his answer was that he did the job right and in all his years of doing insulation he has had no complaints. He said the attic needs venting but to me that wont fix the problem.
3. I think the only way to do it is to move the Quinn therm to between the roof beams running down the roof.

4. What do you think...will that fix the problem as this area will then be the same heat as rest of house? Is it sensible and how would you do it?
5. To me if you vent the area will still be cold and not suitable for storage.

1. I assume you have ruled out a roof leak. These puddles are the result of condensation forming on the cold roof structure generally due to lack of appropriate ventilation.
2. "the guy who did the work" is correct.
3. This will have no effect
4. The whole reason for insulating the attic is to slow down the heat conduction from the house into the roof space.
5. Insulated cold attics are not suitable for storage. Don't store anything in there that you wouldn't store in a timber garden shed.

Roselm

Well if the insulation is placed between the roof beams against the roof(and the insulation is removed from the floor of the attic) this will make the whole attic space warmer as the heat from the house will get into the space.
This will presumably help the condensation problem as warm air carries more water so it is less likely to condense.
The OP will still need ventilation however. I think the amount of ventilation required was increased in the regs late last year or early this year?

tommy100

Yep blarney your wroing here. Sounds like lack of ventilation along the line where rafters meet bkock wall. That area should be left open to ventilate attic. I use to insulate homes and the amount of people that ask to insulate rafters but dont need it??

Just wondering did you stuff edges (along cavity wall) with insulation. If it is you must remove this insulation to allow air in. If your insulation gets damp then it really looses its insulation value, thus your house is less insulated.

Also dont put any storage on your insulation it significantly reduces its insulation value. 200m squashed down to 50mm = equals 50mm, not 200mm insulation