Can I temporarily insulate a conservatory roof?

That's mighty impressive .

Is the counter-battening so's the cladding will run sideways and look better?

I wonder if a membrane of some sort should be fitted on these battens before the cladding is added? I'm wondering whether condensation might form in that gap between the cladding and the insulating foil?

What do folks think?

 

Hi DA, yes that's why I've counter battened. I hadn't thought about condensation in that gap, good point, any advice from anyone on this would be greatly appreciated!! I think for the top layer above the foil I will screw some holes from the outside to create an air vent, put some sort of wire mesh over this to prevent insects etc getting in and then some sort of pvc covering to create a roof style shelter for the air vent - (trying to reduce weather exposure) might need to do this for the other layer too?

My conservatory was REALLY cool all day yesterday, but it was hot outside, the difference is amazing! The foil itself nearly burnt your hand to touch but the conservatory remained nice and cool so definitely working very well!!

 

Some form of vent above the foil layer would certainly be useful - it really doesn't matter how draughty it gets up there. I'm sure you can buy vent cover with insect screens built in - just screw/glue them over the holes you drill.

I'm still not sure how to best handle the lower void. What you need to think about is where will the moisture in the air end up - and there is always a lot of moisture in the air. The answer is, wherever is the coldest and least draughty of the room - hence you usually finding droplets on the lower sections of window panes.

So I'm worried that, in winter, the coldest part of your room will still be that void up there above the cladding - air will trickle through the joins in the cladding and the moisture in it condense once it's in that space. Possibly.

I wonder if roofing membrane will help here? It's cheap stuff and would just need stapling lightly to the underside of the battens before being over-clad.

I think, ideally, the insulation layer in the ceiling should be in contact with the cladding with no significant gap. It's called a warm roof (I think), and the idea is that the cladding and the insulation are at effectively the same temp so won't provide a cold surface for condensation to form. Or, if any does form, it'll be on the actual visible surface where it won't cause any problems - and would be removed automatically by air currents anyway (so basically, it wouldn't form...!)

Hopefully pros will advise further.

 

Or possibly even a proper DPM - damp-proof membrane, the plastic sheet wot goes under floors etc to block rising moisture. Cheap, a wee bitty awkward, but you should be able to cut it to size and pin it on to the underside of the battens before cladding. Needs to be sealed to the edges of the connie, tho', and any joins also taped - use tape made for the job. It's gotta be pretty much air-tight.

C'mon, pros - whatd'ya reckon?

 

It's all gone quiet

For people who have already finished their conservatory roof...What have you done with air venting the gap below the foil and your new roof?

 

@@@tumbleweed@@@

What were you planning, Imp? To fit the cladding leaving that batten-thick gap above, before the foil insulation is reached? If so, I would recommend a vapour barrier such as DPM sheet as mentioned before. Cheap, easy to fit - just tape any joints (overlap them a bit first) and also tape against sides. Seal off that void.

 

I am going to start my roof project in the next couple of weeks. My conservatory is a simple lean to. I am planning vertical battons, sheet then cladding so it should be fairly easy. I do have a couple of questions though.

My roof bars appear very close together should I batton each or go every other one ?

I have a sloping window at the one end and I am wondering if it would be easier and more tidy to brick or plaster board it up. I think once the batton and cladding is on it will but up to the glass and look a little silly ?

Regards

Rob

 

Hi Rob.

Possibly best to start a new thread for your own project - 'cos this one is getting beeeeeg.

Anyways, I've no idea what type of roof bars you have - they appear very thin. What do they look like from the outside?

I wonder - for such a narrow room - would you be best off replacing the roof completely? Ie - proper timber rafters packed with insulation and a MDPE or similar external finish? You could then make it to clear the inside windows, it would be solid, well insulated, etc.

Should you go for an 'inside' job as you propose, I don't think the end window is a problem; however much it is covered by the time you finish, just make up a piece of white PCV trim to fill the gap and tidy up between the glass and the new ceiling - almost as tho' you've lowered that top window rail.

But, them roof rails - I just dunno...

 

I had originally thought about a complete new roof but I was worried if the structure would take the weight. I guess out of choice I would opt for a complete new roof but the internal route would be quicker and cheaper.The size of the con is approx 2.5 x 6.0m and the roof bars look like they are about an inch wide.

 

http://community.screwfix.com/threads/glosrob.147845/

 

Yeah that's what I was going to do, argh, do you think that would be sufficient to use the DPM?

Leaving the cladding until last, just boarding the windows now, the boys are getting excited for it to be finished, so am I

I could start up my own business doing this I've really enjoyed it!

 

Very impressive work, Imp.

What to do? I dunno. There are options.

Just to explain - the air around us is full of water. Warm air can hold more water, but when it cools down - as in the evenings - some of that water might be released and condense out on colder surfaces such as windows or a colder wall.

Condensation is usually removed by ventilation - general air flow. So, the possible issue here is that the cladding will not be air tight, so will allow a trickle of air to get past it into that empty void above. What will the air find up there? Probably the coldest spot in the room as well as no ventilation. You cannot ventilate that void because that defeats the purpose of it acting as your insulation barrier to the outside world.

So that leaves stopping the air getting to it in the first place, and for that you need an impermeable barrier such as polythene sheet.

I think - ideally - it would be nice to fill that rafter gap with something like Jablite (Jabfloor) which is expanded polystyrene sheet, but I don't know if it's worth the extra work (especially as the counter-battens have gone up...).

I think you can be confident that what you are already doing will have a dramatic effect on the room's temp stability - it's going to be hugely better insulated than it was before. So it's your call as to whether it's worth adding Jablite too.

But, I would fit a DPM to these battens before cladding them, and make sure it's taped tight to the side walls.

 

TA-DA!! 2 months work inbetween juggling work and the kids! Time to rescue my house from the toy hurricane now! After 7 years all this space can be put to good use!! This is the tidiest it will ever be until the boys are grown up though!

Thank you everyone for the help and advice, especially you DA! Couldn't have done it without it! X

 

Blimey, the weight of the roof tipped your house on its side .

That's mighty impressive, Imp. And, for a girlie, it's bludy astonishing... .

The side wall on the left (or bottom in that pic...) - what finish is that?

And the end wall - the same?

Cor, that's impressive .

 

Realise this is an old post but unable to open up any pictures you posted.
Our conservatory is freezing and are looking at trying to insulate the roof internally. Would appreciate some advice and would love to see the pictures through out the various stages if any one has some.
Regards
Chris

 

http://community.screwfix.com/threads/glosrob.147845/

Maninly from post 9 onwards.

Use 35mm Celotex (foil both sides), StixAll adhesive (or similar), Rockwall (or whatever it's called) lining paper to finish. And an adhesive suitable for the lining paper - I dunno if strong wallpaper adhesive will adhere to ali foil?

You will also need two or three 'T' frames made up from 2x1 timbers to hold the sheets up in place whilst the adhesive sets.

Peasy.

 

Hi DA sorry for the late reply!! It's boarded, plastered and painted, all the way round in the end (just not the roof obviously!!) got a friend to skim it for me, I'm not THAT good ;-) although I did have a few goes!

 

Fab!

Now the test of winter is upon us...

Please keep us posted on how it all goes. I bet it'll be a massive improvement

 

Hi All, I'm thinking of insulating my conservatory with EcoQuilt Multi-foil Insulation. The instructions suggest stapling the foil insulation to the roof members, then fixing battens to the members using self-tapping screws, and finally fixing the final finish to the battens, in my case interior upvc cladding.

The conservatory is Edwardian, with one side being full height brick, and the 2 sides having a dwarf wall. The roof is polycarbonate.

If we use the conservatory during winter, we use a 1.8 KW electric heater, however I'd like to install underfloor electric heating in the future, particularly if I can stretch to solar panels. Like a lot of folks, we get very limited use of the conservatory, and it's mainly acting as storage room for the kids toys.

So, not wishing to hijack this discussion, but for those who've done something similar with foil insulation in their conservatory, did it provide the expected benefits in terms of making the conservatory more usable in the winter and summer?

Thanks in advance, Rich