Stop Roof Damage: Insulation Secrets Revealed!

Steven Dickinson
London Flat Roofing
07802300099

During my roof inspections, a common issue I come across is that roofers often neglect to properly "tuck in the roof." What does this mean? It means they haven't correctly installed the insulation behind the fascia board. In warm roof systems, the insulation doesn't run between the joists; its installed over the joists the gap between the joists remains open and is at the same temperature as the room below.
To understand this better, think about your wooden table and chairs. Do they ever rot? No, because they are in a controlled environment. In a flat roof, the air vapour control layer distinguishes between the internal and external parts of the building. Everything above the air vapour control layer is considered external, and everything below is internal.
For effective insulation, the insulation above the air vapour control layer should extend across the roof and connect to the next thermal element. In other words, it should be tucked in all the way around the edges and joined to the walls surrounding the warm roof. This ensures complete encapsulation within the insulation, providing warmth.

When I do roof surveys, whether on new roofs or for people experiencing issues with their roofers, I often find that no insulation has been added around the fascia area. This oversight allows cold air and moisture to enter the living room below.
Remember, just because you have a ceiling doesn't mean the space above is not internal in a warm roof system It is. And proper insulation is key to keeping it warm and moisture-free.

Steven Dickinson
London Flat Roofing
07802300099

@steveroofer
#londonflatroofing
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[markhathaway]

I phoned Steve and he gave me some great advice on my roof for my garden house. It was really helpful to speak to an expert in this area. Many thanks Steve 👍

[ChicharonyPresidente]

Excellent video. Great detail and explanation. You should be a construction teacher. Learned a great deal from watching this. Thank you.

[SBIGDTSM]

Only just come across this, I’m a builder myself, it’s good to see someone else addressing this issue of a forgotten or missed insulation detail. I can’t understand why it’s never picked up by BCO’s. I’ve recently raised the roof height of my kitchen extension that someone else built, I think Stevie Wonder inspected it originally. Anyway, although not picked up by the Bco, I insulate all my joist void ends so I hopefully don’t get any issues. Well explained sir.

[gingercat]

Excellent video and information, finally someone who knows what there talking about, I have learnt a lot today from your video.
Thanks for making this video, you have helped many a diy'er here and maybe some professionals too ;-)))

[kennethgillingham]

Exactly the information I need on Warm Roof fascia insulation. Many thanks.

[drawingboard]

Many thanks for uploading this.  Typical that I viewed it six months after redoing my flat roof and not taking into account several of the points you raised.  Ah well, it will give me an excuse to do it again in a few years :-)

[rosebonner]

Architect here! Great informative video. Thank you.

[rickywanless]

Great informational videos. As a roofer myself I found this and more of the videos very interesting. The company I work for would do well to watch these and pay attention to some of the details you bring to point

[THEGizzardPuke]

All of your videos are most informative and well presented. Great work!
:-)

[tonyjoyce]

Very good Steven, very well explained, you are correct you pointed out some details that I over looked, thanh you on an excellent video, Tony from Dublin.

[wsherratt]

Thanks for an informative video. As a client about to embark on such a project, you have provided guidance that I can use to ensure the roof goes on properly. Warm roof for me!

[chaswarren]

Thanks Steve, great concise explanation.

[buddybeetle]

Excellent detail and info. Many thanks Steve !

[alisonsalt]

Very well explained with good 3d illustration.

[zororat]

Hi Steve, great videos! Hoping you are still answering questions, I've tried reading most but apologies if it's been asked before..
I'm currently starting a new build with a pitched roof. Strangely enough when you search for a warm roof, most videos, info etc. are in the context of a flat roof.
Not a great deal of warm roof examples of a pitched although I have seen a handful of insulation companies i.e Kingspan, Tyvek with demo videos and illustrations of this exact setup, though they leave a lot to be questioned, they do show this is a practised method.
My main concern really is only a problem when you have a pitch and that is the limited shear strength of the very long screws/insulation fixings that have to sandwich the battens to the rafters with this approx. 100mm of soft insulation board in between that provides no stability to these screws. I hope this makes sense and I understand you specialise in flat roofs but it's a question I haven't quite seen addressed before, thank you for your time!

[tinrobot]

Just found this and I am so glad as this is what I am doing. Gone a bit madder than your solution and using Bosig Phonotherm under steels.

[rawlandlondon]

helpful video, how do you fix firring on warm roof?

[AfricanSouthernCross]

Excellent video….thank you for posting this…BRILLIANT !

[tellylgeorge]

Good explanatory video. I went with the cold roof option a few years ago because my dad is a plasterer so we pulled the ceiling down and insulated between joists and added a continuous sheet under joists above the plaster board. Made it much warmer the screws holding the board and insulation up obviously go into some cold joists. What I have found (only when I light my wood stove strangely) after a few months I have small dark shadow marks over the heads of the screw, which I think are probably condensation marks where the warmer air is condensing on a cold screw head. It's the only thing I can think of. Be interested to know if you've ever seen this or something similar before.

[SteveRoofer]

Not down anything below the insulation is a warm space, above is a cold space you vent the cold space above the ventilation making sure there is a flow of air between every joist, normally achieved by running a continues vent at the gutter board and under the flashing to a wall.