ᐅ Pitched Roof / Insulating the Attic Yourself

Hello, we are currently in the initial planning phase and are consulting various design and general contractors. One of them, without us asking, directly suggested that we insulate the attic of the truss roof ourselves.

From a technical point of view, this is not a problem, but is this unnecessarily complicated, so that they deliberately want to pass it on? Or is it a well-intentioned suggestion?

Google how a truss roof is constructed. It’s much harder to access, so he probably won’t want to deal with that. A truss roof is also significantly cheaper. Keep that in mind when comparing prices.

He explained it as simply placing insulation wool on top and then laying chipboard panels over it. What puzzles me is that he suggested this approach on his own. Or is there something special about a binder roof that requires applying it directly like that?

That's true. But first, you have to get proper access.

Let me explain it like this:
Act 1
The house needs some kind of roof to keep the rain out. The typical “clueless homeowner” usually has at most a general idea or opinion about the outer shape of the roof, especially if no living space is planned in the attic. The contractor tries to meet this requirement as cheaply as possible, because what even the most uninformed person understands easily is the final number — you get to make the “thumbs up or down” decision.

Act 2
The building regulation “energy saving ordinance” requires the house to have a “thermal envelope” (the boundary between heated interior and weather-exposed exterior). This must be located somewhere, in the case of the cheapest roof, above the top floor ceiling.

Act 3
Unfortunately, creating the condition required by the building regulation — which the building authority will check for compliance between the plans and reality — involves a lot of tedious work, and the labor costs can easily “more than offset” the choice of the cheapest construction method (to put it in official terms).

Act 4
This is where the magic word “DIY labor” comes into play: nowhere else will you find the cat so eager to chase its own tail as here. Any resemblance between the proverbial cat and the “cost-conscious” clueless homeowner is purely coincidental and fictitious. However, I cannot guarantee the truthfulness of that last statement 🙂

EinHauslbauer schrieb:

Hello, we are currently in the research phase and are checking out various general contractors and design-build firms.

You’re brand new here and might want to consider making your house design ready for price inquiries to be “fed” to the critical eyes of the local experts here (?)

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

11ant schrieb:

3rd Act
Unfortunately, at this point, achieving the condition required by the building regulations and subject to inspection by the authorities to verify that plans and reality match involves tedious, hard work, the labor costs of which can easily outweigh the savings from choosing the cheapest construction method (as they say in corporate speak).

So, is it really a damn hard job to install the insulation wool up there?

I understand what a truss roof is, its advantages and disadvantages, etc. But I didn’t really imagine that insulating up there would be such a demanding task. Hence the maybe somewhat "silly" question 😉