Search the Community

Hi, I live in a little cottage in Wales which was renovated from a disused barn 20 years ago. It's attached to an un-renovated barn built in the same style as itself. For a couple of years now whenever the wind blows a certain way there's this annoying knocking sound to be heard upstairs, i.e., in my bedroom. The following five links are for files in a Dropbox-folder, which are some resources to help explain this problem. knocking noise emulated, visual.mp4 knocking noise emulated.mp3 knocking noise actual.m4a roof-noise presentation.pdf spring knock The file-upload size here can't quite accommodate all of five of those files, though it can a few of them; so I'll attach right here "roof-noise presentation.pdf" and "knocking noise emulated.mp3", and then "knocking noise emulated, visual.mp4" at the bottom of the post (as the thumbnail for it is massive), in-case someone can't access Dropbox for some reason. roof-noise presentation.pdf knocking noise emulated.mp3 knocking noise emulated.mp3 Page 1 of the PDF titled "roof-noise, presentation" shows what it looks like from outside, page 2 what it looks like inside upstairs, and page 3 is an aerial-view taken from google-earth—the cottage being the building marked in pink on that page. The MP3-file titled "knocking noise emulated" is my best-attempt at re-creating what the noise sounds like: I did that by recording myself letting a small plank of wood fall against a wall, so that it bounces a little as it hits, and then editing the recording in Audacity to alter the pitch and pace to try and imitate the noise itself. The MP4-video-file titled "knocking noise emulated, visual" just shows me doing that, to give you a better idea. Sometimes the knocking is a bit faster, sometimes a bit slower. The M4A-audio-file titled "knocking noise, actual" is a real recording of the noise itself, using the best microphone I have available, which is just an Ipad; but, this recording is so poor that it's easier to hear the whispers of ghosts in paranormal clip-compilations on YouTube than it is to hear the knocking noise in that recording; the clearest instance of the noise in that recording comes about 15 seconds before the end. Sometimes it sounds like the wind pushes whatever plank is making the noise against some surface for a few moments, before it lets it gently fall back to its default position, the plank making a knocking noise both as its held by the wind in that way and as it relaxes back; the MP4-video-file titled as "spring knock" is just me trying to better describe that by emulating it with a plank of wood against a wall. The noise sounds like some loose plank hitting against something when being blown by the wind... I haven't determined any sort-of pattern with regards the direction of the wind: I thought at first that it only happened when a wind from an uncommon direction blew—the prevailing-wind being westerly—but that's not the case, and the noise will occur no matter which direction the wind blows from, it seems. It seems that if the wind is particularly strong then the noise won't occur. A workman visited me to inspect the building but couldn't immediately see anything the matter with the fascia of the roof etc. . His only thought was that the gable-beam of the adjoining barn, which is marked-out in image 4 on the first page of that "roof-noise presentation" PDF, was a bit loose, and so he put a bolt through it to fasten it, but I don't think that helped much with the problem actually. The fourth page of that "roof-noise, presentation" PDF shows the interior of another disused barn which is nearby to my home. I imagine that its roof is constructed more-or-less identically to my own. I include the images on that page of that PDF just so that anyone who has any ideas about what could be going on inside the roof can reference them as they explain their ideas. knocking noise emulated, visual.mp4

Hello, I have a number of wooden items running from side to side in my loft. However, I am unsure if this diagonal beam in the picture attached is doing anything? For context, my very old loft satellite was affixed to it. Now, one side is in the brickwork attached to my neighbours wall and the other side connects to the eaves of my roof. My question is, can I remove it? What function does it serve? And what about the other wooden pieces in the background, can they be removed? I understand there probably is some level of function. But, the main annoyance is the diaognal beam that is floating mid air across the loft. It has some wobble to it when you lean on it, so it doesn't feel that sturdy. any advice is highly appreciated!

I live in a new build Taylor Wimpey property that was built 5 years ago. I had my loft boarded about two years ago and then recently went into my loft to find that all my stuff was covered in mold and the sagging was wet and the point where some sort of taping was applied between the overlaps. I have since purchased vent flaps and moved insulation that was blocking ventaltion into the property. I have noticed that my timbers frames are really wet at the point where the black sagging touches the joists. I am really struggling to know if this is due to condensation or another issue? please see pictures

Hi, My house I brought is 1920's and previous owner fitted ASHP air system only for heating. Now house insulation is poor so why it was fitted I do not know but this was around 10 years ago. My question is in my loft the ducting runs all over, is insulated. But the actual loft insulation is very poor. Can loft insulation be laid over the insulated ducting, or would this cause potential condensation issues?. Any help would be really appreciated.

Hi everyone, I'm currently having an extension built onto my house and due to the works ongoing and the fact that we are living in the house for the duration, the boiler had to be moved from the kitchen. There weren't any other realistic options other than to put it into the loft. I've read that there are regulations surrounding boilers installed in lofts - adequate loft access and boarding to allow for servicing etc but I was wondering if someone could tell me if these regulations are required prior to sign off or just a guidance. The builder has used his own gas safe plumbers to do the work and tells me that he'll be able to sign off the work. He said that only a 'fussy' plumber would refuse to service it as it is. If it's a case that boarding is a non negotiable requirement then I'll insist on it. He's certainly charged me enough for the work - approx £2.5k which seems extremely high to me. Please see the attached photo. Any advice on the regulations would be great. Thanks, Dave

Hello everyone, I have recently moved into a 1960's mid-terraced property. I had a full survey done at time of purchase and nothing came back of any concern. I went into the loft for the first time and spotted that some brickwork is loose and missing on the party wall on one side of the property - as identified in the attached pictures. I was wondering if anyone can tell me if this is something to be concerned about and could pontentially become an issue over time? Everything else in the loft looks to be in good order, such as the timber supports and i cannot identify any cracking along chimney breasts or other walls. Any help would be greatly appreciated, unfortunatley I do not have a great deal of knowlege in this area. many thanks,

Hi im trying to build a self contained 2 bed flat in my loft for my son. Havent started anything yet but these forums seem like a helpful to be.

Hi guys/gals, I’m a newbie on here so hope I’ve put this in a relevant place. Next March/April the loft conversion and rear extension are kicking off on my 2 bed end of terrace bungalow. Me and my brother will be doing about 70% of the work, I’m and Electrician and also can do plumbing, getting in a friend to do the roof and rear dormer (as it’s a truss roof). so getting to the point, me and my brother will be removing all of the existing tiles and bringing down all trusses and existing joists. Tell me if this sounds hopeful, but I was looking at getting a 20M x 15M tarpaulin and covering the entire roof, and just putting in a temporary ridge to let the water slope off. This will have eyelet holes and be fixed to external walls. Firstly, would you recommend rear and front scaffolding at eaves height to remove the tiles/roof (if so, any idea on costs)? Or could we just have a movable tower hired? secondly, I need to talk to my chippy friend about this really, but would we need scaffolding for the new timbers being installed? I was thinking that the ceiling joists would be installed from wall plate to wall plate and then that would give us a floor to stand on for installing the rest above? Once all in I can put down the breathable membrane to make it water tight. thankyou in advance for any advice. Here is a picture of the plans just to give you an idea.

We're planning on using our attic space as a playroom and I can't work out whether the temperature will be balanced or if it's going to be too hot up there in the summer and too cold in the winter. The house is an MBC build (0.11 walls, insulated roof and slab) which is currently in build, with triple glazed alu-clad windows (which are fixed apex windows in the attic). We're putting UFH on the ground and first floor but nothing in the attic. The MVHR unit is going up here so we can add vents into this space and there will be a number of rooflights, probably double glazed. Will this be enough to create a usable temperature up here? If the whole house is 3G, are we made to put double glazed up here (to cut costs)?

Hello, I'm new to the forum, will soon have a house in need of insulation... Will post my questions in the relevant forum!

A bit late in the day but I've decided to swap from a cold to a warm loft, using Icynene under the felt between the trusses. However I also now realise I need to seal the inner blockwork to help give some air-tightness. Current options: * cement render the blockwork - maybe plastering later, should I convert the attic to a habitual space in the long term future * 1 part water to 4 part PVA mix hand painted onto the block work - tedious and there are 4 large gable ends to do, unknown long term consequence of doing so What are the options to seal the inner blockwork to increase air tightness? (Does not need to be particularly pretty) Thanks Paul

Why do electricians never allow enough slack on loft cables so they can be raised above 300mm of insulation. Its not as if 10”-12” of fluff is the cheapest and quickest way to meet a government requirement, oh wait… I’m not too fussed about the lights, low load, yadda, yadda. However the electric sockets for this room are distributed via the loft not under the floor. I’m not sure if it’s a radial or a ring main circuit. One of the cables has actually been fed through a hole in the ceiling joists. This seems like complete *******ery to me, when all the other cables are laid above the joists. As well as the unnecessary damage to the joists it makes it difficult to lay the insulation as there’s a 50mm gap between the cable and the ceiling. I either squeeze the 100mm loft roll under it and lay 200mm above it or just put the full 300mm over it leaving a small air pocket under the cable. As I understand it, the cables should be in contact with a surface like the ceiling or a joist OR they should be open to the air so as not to overheat. Although you would normally consider a bedroom to be a low electrical load room – I must consider the use of more than one high load device: hair dryer, straighteners, curlers, rollers, iron etc. I’ve slapped 100mm of roll over it for the moment as it was bloody cold without it but I wonder what is ALARP before I put the other 200mm over it?