Options
The roof covering - Clay tiles or Slate?
Staying with clay tiles
Switch to Slate
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Can just get on with the work. – i.e. do not need planning permission.
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The Hall “look and feel” will remain as is albeit looking somewhat fresher.
Pros:
Pros:
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Will be about £10K cheaper?
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Most of the surrounding buildings are roofed in thatch or slate so slate would not look out of place. (Pitch too slack for thatch + maintenance too costly)
Cons:
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More expensive overall and heavier.
Cons:
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Would need planning permission – has its own cost and no guarantee we would get it. (Note: about 5+ years ago Teignbridge District Council (TDC) gave guidance that didn’t support change to slate.)
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Adds minimum 12 weeks delay to starting the grant funding effort and subsequently delays start of the works.
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There are questions around quality of slate and likely longevity compared to the clay tiles. Good quality slate isn’t cheap.
Insulation:
There are numerous materials that can be used - some examples are: sheep’s wool, cellulose, Rock wool, Kingspan/Celotex, fibreglass, wood fibre board….).
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We have two basic approaches,
1) Warm loft space.
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Insulate the whole of the roof slope by adding insulation to the underside of the tiles/slates (warm loft space). This will raise the height of the building by about 100mm (4”). Wood fibre board ought to be a good material for this but can be difficult to fit to undulating roofs due to their rigidity. Difficult to say how much of an issue this will be for us.
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Any warm loft space approach will also increase the load on the roof.
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2) Cold loft space.
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Apply insulation in the attic space above the ceiling (cold loft space). The latter one whilst easier to undertake would leave the area of sloping ceiling visible from inside the hall uninsulated and would need to be resolved.
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It may prove difficult to avoid some cold bridging.