Should I insulate the roof on the inside or outside

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I am renovating my house and am completely redoing my flat roof: ceilings, insulation and roof covering (I am planning to use EPDM rubber). In case it is relevant, I am living in the Netherlands.

My plan was to use rockwool on the inside as insulation, but now my builder is suggesting insulation on the outside. He wants to use 50mm (2 inches) PIR insulation.

Does anyone have ideas on the following:

  1. Is there a good argument to go with insulation on the outside of the roof instead of on the inside?
  2. Is PIR insulation better than rockwool?
  3. Or … should I insulate both the inside and the outside?

Best Answer

Dow (manufacturer of XPS panels) recommends their panels OVER the flat roof waterproofing. You do have to cover with an aggregate or a green roof. The practice is called "inverted roof"

PIR panels are similarly rated for inverted roof use.

PIR is "better" than rockwool in U-value vs thickness :

Mineral wool fibre loft insulation (sold as Rockwool), would also need to be 270mm deep to achieve a U-value of 0.16. Mineral wool fibre is claimed to be less irritating to the installer’s skin than fibreglass, although my own experience is actually the opposite. It is also more expensive than fibreglass, and would cost around £8.20 per sq m. ... The most thermally efficient insulation material is polyisocyanurate, or PIR, sold as lightweight rigid foam boards – Kingspan, Celotex, and some other brand names. The 0.16 U-value could be achieved using a PIR board 175mm (6¾in) thick. excerpted from Jeff Howells article in The Telegraph

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