Roof insulation

Well, you'll be pleased to know that today has been lovely.  The sun has been shining and it has actually felt quite warm - I think it got up to +4 at one point, but the sun just makes all the difference.

This afternoon we have been getting on with the insulation in the roof of our bedroom.  We have to put 2" between the rafters (which we've done) and then 3" underneath, then plasterboard, etc.  Above the purlin (the beam running across the middle of the roof) we are actually going to put 4" of insulation.  When we were doing the roof we had to put big steels along the purlins to help them out - you can just see it in this picture.  The steel is most chunky in this section of roof because the original purlins were most dodgy in this bit and if we stuck to the specified 3" insulation you would be still able to see the steel.  So, we might as well up the insulation and hide the steel in one go.  If all goes to plan, you should just be able to see the bottom of the purlins running across the ceiling.

Oh, those steels were a nightmare for us for quite a long time.  The structural engineer specified the size and told us we'd think of a way to get them in!  We had them made locally and then they sat in front of the caravan for some time.  I don't know how many nights we spent wondering how on earth we were going to get them onto the roof and into place.  They varied in size and so we started with the smallest.  Luckily, because the house is built on a slope, the scaffolding at one end was about head height and so it was fairly straightforward to put things up there, nip up the ladder and then move them to where they were needed - no carrying big, heavy things up ladders which was brilliant.  So, once the steel was up there we balanced two pieces of wood from the scaffold poles across to the purlin, lifted the steel up and then slid it gradually down the wood.  The worst part was when we had to tip it over the end of the wood, hoping we'd got it in just the right place - each end just balancing on the wall.  All this was actually relatively easy with the smaller steels, but the two big ones (in the picture) sat in front of the caravan for ages and every time I walked past them my stomach churned.  Though it was hard, heavy work ( we could only just carry them between us), we did it using the same method as the others and, oh boy, what a relief it was!  Definitely a beer and a curry celebration!  We had had numerous offers of help, but were so nervous about what we were doing we didn't feel we could involve anyone else!

Actually, not true, Laura helped us with one set.  In the middle barn some of the rafters were good enough to keep which meant that we couldn't put the steels in from outside and so had to haul them up inside using ropes and a ladder.  While Laura and I hauled on a rope each, Bob manouvered the steel rung by rung up the ladder.  All went well until one of the ropes snapped!!!  Luckily everyone was standing well clear (we do think about Health & Safety sometimes - see even hard hats!) and the steel jammed against a stone in the wall and we were able to sort it out, but after that Laura was suddenly not too keen on the job! 

Anyway, we managed all the steels with no injuries and hopefully, apart from covering them up with plasterboard, we don't have to think about them ever again!