Loft Insulation Query

Cordie

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Hi

I have a small loft hatch and was advised by the surveyor who called to use the blown fibre method of insulation which for several reasons I declined.

I was then offered the option of having the rolled fibre insulation but because the hatch is so small it would have to be unwrapped first and then passed up through the hatch to the loft.

Is this feasible or would it cause too much of a dust problem and maybe even be unsafe.

Unfortunately I can't afford to do the obvious and have the hatch made bigger but it would be a shame to miss this opportunity to get some extra free insulation as at the moment the loft only has 3 inches far below what is now recommended.

FLAPJACK

I had the exact same problem.

Go to B&Q and look for Knuaf SPACE BLANKET 200mm, it's a roll of wrapped insulation, it's completly sealed in a thinish plastic wrap orange on one side silver foil on the other, lay it silver foil downwards.

To get it into the loft un wrap it from the paper surround its packed in then unroll it and with help lift it a couple of foot at a time into the loft.

No itching or anything as you don't actually handle the insulation. B&Q sometimes do good offers on this product when i bought it it was 2 for the price of 3.

On the question of does it insulate ok...yep we noticed a difference last winter.

Good luck.

FLAPJACK

Just thought if the loft is too small to get into, use a broom handle under the insulation and push it along...being careful not to puncture the plastic wrap.

Cordie

Thanks for the reply Flapjack but I don't have the money to do the job myself it's being financed by a scheme run by edf. From what I understand from the surveyor the rolled fibre when wrapped is just too big to go through the hatch.

globalds

FLAPJACK wrote: »

I had the exact same problem.

Go to B&Q and look for Knuaf SPACE BLANKET 200mm, it's a roll of wrapped insulation, it's completly sealed in a thinish plastic wrap orange on one side silver foil on the other, lay it silver foil downwards.

To get it into the loft un wrap it from the paper surround its packed in then unroll it and with help lift it a couple of foot at a time into the loft.

No itching or anything as you don't actually handle the insulation. B&Q sometimes do good offers on this product when i bought it it was 2 for the price of 3.

On the question of does it insulate ok...yep we noticed a difference last winter.

Good luck.

Silver side up ..

http://www.space-insulation.com/blanket.html

FLAPJACK

Globalds....

Thanks for the link!!!..now I know what i'll be doing tomorrow!!

Cheers

FLAPJACK

globalds wrote: »

Silver side up ..

http://www.space-insulation.com/blanket.html

Just been in the loft....I did lay it silverside up, don't know where I get the idea of the otherway round!!

spadoosh

Just let them sort it out. Theyll tidy up any mess they make so will get rid of any loose bits of the rookwool. Its not particularly dangerous or at leastwont be in the amounts youll be talking about, maybe just a bit annoying to find it lying around a couple of weeks later.

I'd say let them do it.

The guys who did ours were very proffesional, in and out in about an hour. Sealed around the hatch aswell including all exposed pipes in loft.

The annoying thing now is i cant really use the loft as theres about 18" of insualtion down! So if you want storage space plan on what your going to do with regards to loft boards before you have it done. Chances are, im going to have to remove half of it to lay boards on top.

shadybrady

The rockwool insulation is itchy stuff and recommended to use gloves and a mask when fitting.

Given the loft insulation is to go between the joists, cant you cut the rolls to size before they go in the loft ? The rockwool from b&q has cutlines on it for specific widths.

Cordie

Thanks to all who replied especially spadoosh whose forthright answer made me realise I was dithering and worrying over something that was relatively simple.

The job was completed today, as luck would have it the bales could be pushed up through the hatch which was lucky as they only sent one man to do the job when I was expecting two.

Kernel_Sanders

Surely the idea of silver foil is to reflect rising heat from the room below. How does it achieve this if it is facing the roof??