FLOOR INSULATION

[llamekuf]

They ( the householders ) have been told that, because the floor insulation they installed on the attic floor is top quality, they can (and have) have it laid right up to the ends of the attic where the floor meets the roof.
Is the information they have been given correct or should they leave a small gap at the ends?

[The Builder]

Honestly, "top quality"? What's that got to do with it. A Bit of bullsquash there I think, Llamey.

That's fine as long as the roof still has its cross-ventilation..............
........... or, as is the modern way, the roof felt is breathable.

[llamekuf]

Thank you - again - THE BUILDER.

[Clanad]

I have a counter question, though... is there a living space above this "attic floor" you describe or is the insulation laid on top of the attic structure with nothing above.

In the first case, there would be no reason to insulate at that point, except for perhaps sound suppression. If it's the second case and the house is equipped with soffits (extensions of the roof rafters that provide shading and protection to the outside of the walls, then the cross-ventilation TB is required, but is usually (at least here in the U.S.) supplied though attic 'chutes' (plastic 4 foot long insertable channels that ventilate from the soffit into the attic and then out from some sort of installed roof vent. The whole purpose is to keep the attic at the same temperature as the outside air. Especially in the summer, this will extend the life of your roofing shingles (assuming their not slate or tiles)...

[heathfield]

Very few houses in the UK have shingles, Clanad. In our climate they rot too quickly!

[The Builder]

I may be wrong in this case, but usually in this country, when people refer to an attic, they usually a non-liveable roofspace or roof void.

[The Builder]

^^^ usually mean .........

[Clanad]

Thanks, TB... here it is usually a non-liveable space as well, but I was somewhat confused (not unusual) by the reference to an "attic floor", since, here at least, there isn't actually a floor in the attic, rather the insulation is layed on the cieling of the room below. The joists, in other words, are exposed in the attic and the insulation is layed between and over those from the top.

Thanks, heathfield... I did mean the asphalt type "shingles" rather than any wood product like cedar...