Opening loft hatch in winter

[Mimi12]

Without going into too much detail, we've had numerous problems with our tiny and perhaps "over-insulated" loft, resulting in the need to open our (standard) loft hatch slightly in winter as a precaution to prevent pipes freezing (which they have in the past). We have the cold water storage tank up there and 2 air bricks (due to previous bad condensation in summer), which means it can get very cold up there in winter, though the pipes are well lagged now.

As both me and my husband have mobility problems, we're considering easy ways to let warm air into the loft in the winter, without having to keep climbing ladders and lifting the hatch. We've previously wedged it open with wood using a step ladder, but this would now prove to be quite difficult for us. We're thinking of having an adjustable vent panel fitted in the loft hatch, so we can open and shut the vents at the flick of a switch, but would this suffice do you think?

I'd be interested to hear others views on this - or perhaps other ideas to help solve our problem.

Thank you

 

[Burnerman]

Certainly with all the insulating we are recommended to do, loft spaces do get very cold. However, all will be well until the temperature drops to zero, which is pretty rare when the building is occupied.
Anyway, A 'hit and miss' vent (which has a slider control for open and closed) could be what you need....Wickes 713015 for example.
If you want to monitor your loft temperature, consider one of those cheap weather stations that use an outside transmitter, and pop that up there?
Other options are tube heaters (about 60w) can be placed close to the loft tanks.
John

 

[Madrab]

2 reasons I would avoid doing this.

1) You would be heating a dead space that you have had insulated for a very good reason and it can create more condensation.
2)This could cost you a lot of money in extra heating costs in the long run.

If your pipes and tank have been lagged/insulated with an adequate thickness/rating of insulation then you should have no issue with pipes freezing on you.

 

[Mimi12]

Thanks both. We're really not that bothered about about heat escaping and the extra cost involved, just making life as easy as possible for us and trying to prevent problems with frozen pipes that we've had previously.

Although our pipes are now well lagged, our plumber has recommended we open the loft hatch when it's really cold as he's well aware of the problems we've had in the past and how cold it gets up there - peace of mind more than anything I guess!

It appears that a vent panel is perhaps the best idea for us (though I've not read of anyone else doing this) - unless anyone has any better suggestions?

Thank you.

 

[richardrich79]

You could consider pipe warming cable as used on the condensation pipes of boilers see www.traceheatinguk.co.uk/products for examples of frost protection. It can be set-up with a thermostat to only come on when the temp falls below freezing.
Effective but costs more than opening the hatch!

 

[Agile]

We have the cold water storage tank up there and 2 air bricks (due to previous bad condensation in summer)

Thank you

I hope the cold tank has a plastic cover???

Are these two vents to the cold outside needed to be open during the winter? They could have a hit and miss cover on each and closed during the winter.

Don't you have sons and daughters who can help you with some of these little tasks?

Tony

 

[Mimi12]

Yes, it has a plastic cover.

The two air bricks were installed by the insulation company a few years ago in a last ditch attempt to solve our condensation problem. No, they cannot be closed in winter.

Unfortunately we have no children/relatives nearby to help with these problems.

 

[HERTS P&D]

If it is really cold and you can not open the loft hatch, a easy method to stop the pipe work from freezing is to leave the bath tap running slightly.

Andy

 

[xr4x4]

Is there insulation under the tank?

If so, remove it.

 

[Mimi12]

No, there's no insulation under the tank.

 

[Burnerman]

Seriously Mimi, if the house is occupied throughout the winter period its very unlikely that the loft temperature will drop to such an extent - the exception being if there's any pipework running close to an open vent.
It sounds like your problems occurred before you had full pipe insulation anyway?
I do understand your concerns though, living at 900' above sea level in Northumberland!
Your water tanks need to be heavily draped with insulation over the tops, and shouldn't be insulated from below, just so any heat that's there can actually help matters.
One of those tube heaters I've mentioned will keep the temperature up a fraction and can be turned on from down below - I don't know if you're keen on that idea?
John

 

[xr4x4]

...or you can wire them up to a frost stat.

 

[Madrab]

... or reduce the amount of loft insulation to raise the ambient temp on the coldest days

 

[Mimi12]

Thanks for all the replies - I'll have a chat with my other half. If we could only have a combi boiler we wouldn't have this problem, but no-one will install one as we have pipes under concrete floors. Our loft is the bane of our lives and has caused us so many problems/worries over the last few years.

It wouldn't be so bad if we could get up there these days but, even if we could, there's no room to move and the storage tank/pipes are right next to the loft entrance!

 

[Agile]

Do you know why you have this condensation problem?

Its not very common at all unless there is something wrong.

Sometimes Age Concern/Age UK have volunteers willing to go and help people with simple occasional tasks.

Tony