Feezing Cold

[rosiew]

Morning Answerbankers.
We live in a bungalow with a dormer upstairs. We have had the loft insulated about 4 years ago and Cavity Wall around 2 years ago. The draught that comes from the dormer to downstairs is incredible. We can feel it at the bottom of the stairs. Has anyone got any ideas, we thought that maybe it needs insulating on the roof walls, what is this insulation called?, is it Rafter rolls. We have phoned a few insulation companies and they do not do it. Help before i turn into a snowman.

[Zacs-Master]

Without seeing the physical position of the dormer it's difficult to say what the cause / remedy is. You could try asking the original builder to come back but after 4 years it's doubtful whether they would be interested. You could also ask a n other local, reputable, builder to come and have a look. Their investigations may require making small investigative holes in either the Walls or ceiling.

[buildersmate]

The product you are referring to is probably multifoil. This is a very thin product (perhaps 20mm thick) with multiple layers of foil and quilt that purports to have an insulation value equal to much thicker products. It is often used in loft conversions.
The issue you will have is that you do not want the insulation to take up more space than necessary to insulate the side-walls of your dormer, and any area under the window that has a vertical face to the outside.

In the loft area of the dormer, the company should have insulated that with whatever product they used 4 years ago - go and check. If done with fibreglass, you should be stuffing as much of the material as you have space for (within reason) - at least 300mm. Fibreglass is cheap (compared to rigid foam or multifoil) but it is not so good an insulator for the same width. However where space is not a premium (and lofts are a good example) it is still the best value.

Here is a website run by the multifoil industry that may help you - YBS and Actis are 2 of the manufacturers.
http://www.confederationmultifoil.org/

[The Builder]

As was said, it really does need someone sensible to have a look at it. It sounds more than a simple lack of insulation. I'd be inclined to look around the roof void underneath the dormer for wind getting in through the roof somewhere.

[rosiew]

Thanks guy's. I will get Mr Rosie w to read your comments when he gets home