Re: Insulating attic in old house
Against the creepy crawleys you can get some sort of boilersuit with a hood, they come in white, are disposeable and some times seen on TV when the authoritys are catching chickens, check the recent TV news from Turkey. These boilersuits cost around €5-10 each. Adviseable is a dust mask as well as gloves.
On we go: After you found the timber structure sturdy and worth it you check with your plaster board supplier for " hangers " , these are strong metall wires divided in two pieces with a bended piece of bended steel plate in between the two. These hangers are screwed with one end into the roof joist at center. This is done on a distance of about 40cm.
When this job is finished your room looks like a modern art gallery with these things dangling down from the ceiling.
Then you fix roof battons onto the other end of these hangers, paralel with the original ceiling beams/joists.
When you have these roof battons fixed then you level them. Here comes the metall plate holding the two hanger halfs: it gives you the possibility to change the height( or lenght) of each hanger. So you get an absolute level ceiling .
Leveling in small rooms is done with the aid of a spirit level, in larger rooms a laser level or a hose filled with water is used. The latter costs around €5-10. The laser is more expensive but can be hired as well, I have seen them in Lidl for €20 as far as I remember. I use the hose for that job, cheaper and less dangerous because there is no chance to burn out parts of the retina.
Then you get the electrician in, for the ceiling lights and maybe vents etc..
Fix all the way around the walls at the height of the new ceiling roof battons as well.This will give you the ability to screw the plaster boards secure to the wall. Quite often the amateur accustic builder saves on this, thinking tape and plaster will hold the ceiling. Which is wrong.
After that you lay your insulation on to the roof battons .
Which material you use doesn't matter, as long as it is doing it's job. Electric PVC insulated cables need protection when using EPS (Aeroboard etc.) which can be provided with a short piece of plastic pipe or ducting.
Sheeps wool or rock wool can be aplied directly to PVC cables.
Done so you aply the plaster board sheets. Better use screws than nails, nails are tricky for the amateur.
Check the plaster board manufacturers home pages for detailed advise on material and workmanship, some material providers have brochures, Collins DIY (library) is also a good resource of knowledge.
When using rock wool or glass wool then wear a mask, better use the wrapped and packed rolls of rock wool. B&Q sell them from the company Knauf , some advice how to use rock wool is to found here:
http://www.eurima.org/using_mineral_wool/practical_tips.cfm (thanks to our moderators who foud this site!)
When you closely look at the pictures provided by Eurima then you will see that they use no mask when working with the WRAPPED mineral wool. Otherwise always use a mask and goggles!