Anticon for our colorbond roof?

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to get everyone's opinion on Anticon

Some say not to bother and that normal insulation will be enough? Others say have both? to have both is toooooo expensive

What do you think?

thanks

Nina

get normal skarking,
with the money you save spend in on the good insulation batts for above celing.

We didn't get it, even though it was recommended due to our site being close to the coast..
Figured insulation would do the work, and money better spent elsewhere.

Hi Nina,

I've asked my architect, whose brief was to design a passive house, exactly the same question. He said both Anticon, or a similar roof blanket (there're a couple of others) AND the ceiling insulation for the optimal effect. Besides thermal insulation you should consider that the rain noise on a tin roof without Anticon would make quite a racket.

Chris

i love the rain on a tin roof its the reason im having tin not that we see much rain anymore lol
we just used sizilation/sarking but we are putting R5.0 batts in roof only because we got em on ebay for $15.00 a bag lol

Anti-con is mandatory here under metal roofs. I still hear the rain quite well under my roof which has anti-con under the meatal and R3.3 batts on top of the ceiling.

It doesn't seem to be as much an issue in the drier states such as Vic, SA and WA

When you say "mandatory here" do you mean NSW or just your council?

L

Hi Littlemoscow, this whole insulation business has done my head in - u speak to 10 different building industry people & u get 10 different answers, many of those in the industry just bag their opposition or simply don't know what their selling, claiming ratings that r doubtful when compared to gov website - its all been a pain in the neck for me.
HOWEVER - remembering ur in perth & i'm as far south as u can get, my b/permit requires me to achieve 3.5 insulation rating - from memory i think urs is 3.0 in perth - that said, after weeks of hesitation, i finally gave up on aircell product & used anticon under colourbond roof. now as yet i haven't got doors or windows in & i can tell u the difference the anticon is making is far better than the pithy ceiling batts i put in 20 years ago!!!!
down here we can achieve 3.5R by adding ceiling & anticon together - don't know if thats a common standard or not - check with ur council.
the problem i know have is a raked ceiling (narrow cavity & high to get at) which runs into a vertical ceiling edge, then turns 90 deg flat back to the wall. this is Mrs V's dream - my nightmare!!!
i've spent last week trying to get this right, have just fixed up the rake, now having hells delight trying to get the 700mm vertical sides right.....
basically the way i see it & i'll happily stand correcting:- aircell sheeting products r cheaper, but not highly rated for ceilings, fibreglass is cheapest per m, seems to have improved in effectiveness, good fire rating, itchy to install & some people worry about FG being health concern. poly (polar/tontine) more expensive, no allergy problems, easy & safe to install but some say has fire concerns..?..? i wouldn't use wool in a confined space, & some people have had a few interesting experiences with it, not on my list. i wouldn't use blow in, i'm worried about weight factor, have heard a few concerns by builders & gyprockers.... thats what i found so far....
i got to get mine in new week, but i'm still not sure what....
so goodluck, but do ur sums very, very, carefully.
cheers tony

thanks everyone for your replies

T&V, I know exactly what you mean. Everyone we speak to gives us a different opinion. The last guy we spoke to said that we should go for Anticon and if later we feel that we need bats as well, we can do it ourselves when we have the money. I think this is a good advice considering that Anticon cannot be installed later...

But it is so expensive, we were quoted $4.5K for our roof. It hurts

Nina

ok this is my take on insulation
if you are living there forever i would use the highest rating possible in the roof along with a roof blanket of some sort and vents at opposite ends to allow the heat to get out of the roof cavity.
ive been told those whirlybird things get noisy after awhile and will drive you nuts as they have ball bearing parts that wear away and cause the sound
also if you are using batts dont squish them down or you will loose your rating.

Hi Nina, just looked up my files, on 18/1/09 i was quoted aircon at $5-20 sq m (18ms roll $93-50) u should get it cheaper in perth - no freight like we have. if ur up to that stage, r u putting roof on urself or getting contractors. i went for contractors, cos after i priced, colourbond, gutters,downpipes, anticon, fasterners ect & erection, i found pro roofers could do job lot more economical than me....i recon they get better trade discounts.....
440 sq m ground plan (roof area is always bigger cos of slope on ridges & valleys : rule of thumb add 20%) say 528 sq m roofing cost me $23,000 all up = $43-50 m2. hope that gives u a few comparisons - cheers tony

NSW as far as I've been told. Personally I think anyone would be silly not to install it if you have ever seen how much condensation forms under metal roofs

Thanks T&V for your message and figures.

our roof is about 450m2 and without insulation it will cost all up 16K including all roof plumbing and wirly birds. My DH rang one of the suppliers of anticon in perth and was told that to buy it without installation it will cost us 2700. so the roofie was going to charge us 1800 for installation. we told him that it is too much and managed to get it down to 3500. so the total for the roof comes to just under 20k, I think it is pretty good.

Shelley, thanks for the advice about the wirly birds, we will have to think about it

Hi Nina, providing they do a good job, & i'm sure u will be there to "keep them honest" it seems a very good & fair price to me. i may be teaching u & DH to suck eggs, but couple of things i'd watch out for -NO materials to be cut with angle grinders!!!!! when they finish put a hose up on roof & make sure water runs DOWN the down pipes NOT away from outlets & pool in the middle of guttering. all ladders to be protected so paint on gutters doesn't get scratched - the match up paint NEVER dries to the true colour. be fair, but keep & i on them - its ur house & that roof has to work for many, many years. once roof is on, be sure to put in temp storm drainage away from side of building ( stop pad getting eroded) until u get storm water disposal hooked in properly.
good luck, very important to get the roof on b4 winter - u can do a lot inside on a wet day cheers tony

thanks for the good advice Tony, we will definitely take it on board

That works out as about $44.44/m2. Pretty good! The 3 outfits I've asked for a quote came pretty close to each other, at approx 13Ks for a 220m2 roof (on the pitch), which is $59/m2 - 25% more!!. Now I'm not sure if I should try for more quotes or haggle with those 3 . Getting the roof right is vital and after getting badly burnt on the cheap quote for the slab, that proved very expensive, I 'm wary of the too cheap.

Chris

Nina
Anticon is a good product, you have made a good choice. The extra cost you will get back in heating / air con in the first 3 years. Make sure they install it correctly ie with an air gap. You need battens ON TOP of the anticon, then metal on the battens so you have an air space. Alternatively, make sure it 'sags' between the roof timbers. Put the best fat batts you can in the roof, but 3.5 will do the job. Cost wise you could go for plain sarking with fat batts at higher thean 3.5 but the result will be about the same.

Hi, I have heard that if we installed anticon we can have Government rebate of $1800. Is that right ?

the advice i got prior to the election was quite specific - if its a new house there is no grant for either anticon or similar or for any insulation. insulation is a requirement of ur building permit.
the grant only applies to retro fitting.
hey lambchoppa - how do u lay out anticon sheeting without roof batters? my roofers put battens on then roll anticon down the roof slope over the battens, with appropriate sagging....they only lay out one run a time so the roof cladding went on straight away so no moisture got on the anticon. those in the industry who looked at my roof were satisfied with the method. i can't invisage what holds a 1150 strip of anticon in place if the battens aren't there - what am i missing.
Nina have a look at my post in Heating & Insulation forum - i've done a bit of product testing of my own & found a few claims about fire retarting in some batts is a bit different to what i expected...suggest u do the same b4 u decide on ceiling insulation. i was also told by one of the states largest builing hardware firms that there was a 2 to 3 week delay in supply of batts. found a similar type of batt with different brand name & a full range of batts were available in store. if u have any trouble in this regard PM me & i'll explain further. cheers tony

Hi Nina,

What're you paying for the whirlies ? I was told or read it somewhere that they're no good and that the eco-vents are much better, because they open only when the roof heats up above 35 degs and close down when the temp drops to 18. I'm getting 2 of them from MBR, painted in my roof colour, at $226/pop.

Chris