week 17 and 18: existing roof extended

rafter extension

The rafters to the existing pitched roof have been extended now that the concrete gutters have been removed. This will allow the roof to extend sufficiently in front of the external wall insulation. The Intello air barrier membrane beneath the rafters is Tescon taped to the existing timber wall plate to reduce the air leakage out of the cavity head (see drawing in previous post).

rafter insulation

We are also insulating between the rafters to provide insulation continuity between the external wall insulation and the loft insulation. The rigid insulation panels are squeezed tightly between the timbers and extend approx 0.5m above the (future) loft insulation. This means that they should also serve to provide a ventilation channel into the loft. This ventilation is necessary to remove any condensation from the cold loft space, and is often provided via proprietary ventilation channels.

New, matching roof tiles have been sourced. These will soon be fitted along with the new fascia and gutters – to be continued.

week 17 and 18: extension roof progresses

vapour barrier being laid

The vapour control layer to the new extension roof is now laid. The roof will be a warm roof construction, so the insulation will sit on top of the vapour control, followed by the final waterproof membrane. Before that, the roof light kerbs are cut in. The studio space below the roof will need very good natural daylight and we can’t fit windows along the long (party) wall. So, we are fitting three large roof lights instead.

rooflight kerb

The kerbs are flat pack units from Velux. Whilst they are fine for accommodating the Velux window units, they are not as well insulated as I would have expected. We will need to review the abutment of the kerb with roof insulation to see how we can add/improve the performance.