How to deal with limited roof cavity access?

[brodymcl]

 

Hi All

new homeowner here

need to enter the roof cavity to install insulation bats and remove/replace excess coax cable points with cat 6 data cabling.

Man hole entry is pretty standard however the house is quite old so the roof is very low to what I’ve seen in newer homes.

Few metres into the cavity the trusses from the garage start intersecting with the rest of the home making a normal crouched approach quite difficult without falling through the drywall. 

I’m essentially after some ideas and inspiration if anyone else has had similar problems and how to go around it and make the job a lot easier as I’ll be needing to enter and exit this space a lot over the next few weeks.

(photo attached was taken from manhole during pest and building inspection)

[EricL]

Hello @brodymcl 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us and thanks for sharing your question about your roof cavity.

A family friend of ours had the exact same issue where they did not have enough room to manoeuvre inside the roof cavity. They hired professional insulation installers, and they actually removed the edge of the roofing tiles in order to access that low section of the roof. It was an impressive technique, and they finished quite fast. However, I'm not sure if it will work on galvanized roofing. But before installing your insulation, I suggest checking your local council's rules and regulations in regards to installing insulation.

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.

Please remember to wear personal protections such as appropriate clothing along with disposable coveralls, gloves, goggles and a proper mask.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Nailbag]

Hi @brodymcl 

It definitely makes it more challenging with a metal roof and widely spaced trusses. Resting several planks of timber across the trusses will allow you to navigate starting from the furthest point working your way back. It will be a terribly slow process if you tried to bring in all the batts in through the manhole, and then you may not have access to all areas of the roof space due to valleys. So you will need to lift several roofing sheets at stratigic points to drop in the batts as well as position the ones in those far reaching low points. The open sheets will also allow a lot of good working light in. Obviously you need good weather and definitely not on a windy day and with at least one helper.

Thats the process, but whether you should do this yourself due to the obvious safety concerns is another matter. I would recommend getting a few quotes first and then way up affordability vs the challenges of DIY.

Regards Nailbag

[Dave-1]

Morning @brodymcl 

Its a ballance over speed and getting the job done and doing it yourself.

When I have run cabling around the roof space I have generally used myself as a "plank" think of a slug spanning several joists. I have wanted to take some flat pieces of timber up into teh cavity to help with the running of things so maybe you could do the same, something light but wide (Ply but depending on the distance spanned between joists maybe pine, I would keep that in mind) 

I am not keen on removing tiles/roofing, mainly as I dont have the experience.

I would take my time bring insulation up through the manhole and gradually work from the hardest areas back, leaving the easiest ones todo last. Much like painting a floor. I would also take up some timber dowl or resonable solid timber trip to help extend the length of your hands when setting the insulation in place.

Lastly, Turn off teh power before climbing into teh ceiling space, I mean at teh main circuit breaker for lighting and power. It is just a matter of caution as crawlinga round you dont know what has been done previously and do not know what may be exposed. 

I ended up with some bruises from being that plank but thankfully managed to diostribute my weight evenly and no holes into the house

Dave

[R4addZ]

hi @brodymcl 

Sorry to be the one to pour cold water on things but it is illegal for you to install ethernet gabling (Cat5/6 etc) It has to be carried out by a registered tradesperson. Get one in to do the cabling and watch how he/she goes about it to give you an idea of how to install the insulation. A word of warning, make sure the power is off before entering the roof space, it can be dangerous in there.

[brodymcl]

Thanks mate, Iam an electrical tradesperson w/ structured cable certification all my experience however is in the mining/industrial sector. Climbing through roofs is new to me hence the post.

[brodymcl]

Thanks @Dave-1 @Nailbag @EricL 

I’ll have a crack with some Timbers as suggested I’ll only need it for the small sections I’ll need to crawl through. Insulation install will be put on the back burner in the meantime while I run the cabling. 

[Nailbag]

Your most welcome @brodymcl 

I would also take the opportunity before the batts go in to update any of the lighting and in-ceiling heating and cooling. Once there has been a lot of traffic in the roof space, sort be surprised if the internal ceiling starts to show some stress. That will be your next repair job.

Regards Nailbag