Roof insulation is becoming increasingly important. It is surprising how much heat is lost from a building through its roof. Because heat rises if you can prevent your roof from leaking heat, you can save yourself an awful lot of money.
It is important not to confuse roof insulation with loft insulation. Some people think that if they are the same thing. Loft insulation is usually fitted inside the shell of a building, but roof insulation is fitted to the outside of the shell. Typically, it is fitted in between the rafters and the outer skin of the roof, which in most cases is made up of tiles.
Types of Roof Insulation
The majority of roof insulation comes in a roll. It is rolled out across the rafters in a similar way to roofing felt and either tacked or glued into place. However, unlike roofing felt it is specifically constructed to keep cold air out of a building and hot air in the building.
This is achieved because most roof insulating materials are made out of several layers of material. It is designed to be waterproof from the outside, but also to allow moisture and other vapours that come from inside a building to escape.
In its simplest form roof insulation consists of a roll of foil material that reflects heat back into the building. This kind of roofing insulation can easily be retrofitted to a building and its use is growing in popularity. It can be applied within the loft space and tacked onto the rafters.
Installing Roof Insulation
By its very nature the majority of roof insulation has to be installed when a building is being constructed. However, it can also be retro fitted to a building when it needs to have its roof replaced. In the UK, this is happening on a more frequent basis. This is because, whilst it costs money to do so, in the long-term it actually saves money. Energy costs have risen steeply in the past few years and are set to continue to do so. As a result, improving a building’s insulation almost always pays for itself in under a decade.
YBS Insulation makes and sells a great range of roof insulationmaterials and loft insulation products.