Hallo all.
I am a new member and this is my first post.I have been very impressed by everyone's kindness in offering advice.
I wonder if anyone can help me with this?
I have a friend who wishes to convert her attic into living space. The roof - beams, joists, tiles etc. seem to be in perfect order - no leaks at all - but there is no semipermeable membrane. Common sense suggests that it might be foolish to start putting insulation and plasterboard in without this.
Money is tight. Good builders round here are hard to find. I think it should be possible to have the tiles removed in stages, stacked on another part of the roof and the membrane installed, and the tiles replaced. Is this feasible? Does anyone have experience in having this done? How much (sq. meter price) might this reasonably cost?
There are also some govt. schemes I believe for helping with costs of insulation. Anyone have experience?advice here?
I would be very grateful for any help or advice. Thanks
Clare Hilgemann
Dear Tony,
thank you very much for you reply...very kind of you. Your roof does sound very expensive and I think I have found a builder who will do it for a lot less.... If the tiles do not need to be actually lowered to the ground the work will go a lot faster and the builder seems willing to do the roof in stages. Apart from the membrane (and later on the insulation etc.) there are no material costs, just labour. But all information gratefully received.
Thank you again
Clare
Thank you for your reply,Brian. I think perhaps you are looking a little on the black side tho. I spoke to a builder today and he seems to think taking the tiles off in stages will be ok. I did my own roof in two parts and have no leaks. Far from not wanting to fit a membrane my builders insisted and I am glad they did. Unfortunately these buildeers are not available to my friend.
Thanks again
Clre
Cheers Tony, deffo not slates then. Up north here in Finisterre it's all slates. I figured you must have tiles because of the battening but thought I'd check.
Tony, Are you really talking tiles here (clay/concrete things) & not slates? Just so as I'm clear as I begin this adventure!
Cheers Matey. As one who is contemplating the same painfull journey to who knows where you fill me with fear & trepidation!
Most roofs need to be done in one go. It is expensive to buy materials, roof tiles are scarily expensive alone. Work charges are lower than other countries BUT they charge by the day and often take longer than their devis. Most roofers do not like membranes and will go to extremes to talk you out of it. Some of the insulation work I have seen is shoddy and the wrong type used sometimes. Get it wrong and the plasterboard is doomed. So, warn your friend that it is unlikely to be cheap or easy.
As for the schemes for getting assistance, well they are hard to achieve. To get anything out of the departmental people responsible beginning with advice or information is a terrible waste of time and effort. We have tried several times without success.
Sorry, not meaning to be a wet blanket, simply being straight. With a bit of luck you'll get some more positive info out of other people but I doubt cheap will come to it :-(