Loft Ventilation

[luckystrike]

My roof space in very cold in the winter, especially since I put down extra quilt insulation between the joists and chipboard flooring.

Some things, like leather shoes have also been getting covered in mould.

How should I go about increasing the temperature and air circulation in a safe manner?  I had thought of buying a fan and oil radiator, or even just one of those oscillating blow heaters and putting it on a timer clock for an hour a day or so.

Would this be advisable, or would it be a fire hazzard?  Does anyone have any other ideas?

Thanks

[topman9thnov]

sounds to me like you need some air vents fitting on your roof, two at the front and two at the back, otherwise your roof timbers will end up as mouldy as your shoes, which will prove very costly to put right.

[Clanad]

Allowing for possible language difficulties... the space between the ceiling and the roof should be well ventilated.  An effective but simple and economical method is to install a roof mounted ventilator with a humidity sensor.  I installed one and it is quite simple once the electrical source is routed.  You can set the humidistat (located in the living area) to come on at any desired level.  This is useful since the humidity in the winter and summer seasons varies. 

If there is storage in the area, it's even more important to ventilate. Heating is uneconomical, since the heat will be lost through the uninsulated roof.

[woofgang]

Just to add that it isn't the cold that causes mold but the damp. If you don't solve the damp problem then heating the attic won't help