Loft Insulation!

Loobysaver

I'd been waiting with interest for my mate to have her loft insulation done as I need to get mine done too.

Anyhow, it's done and they have done a good job, however she is unable to board it up there now as the insulation is soooo thick. She did ask about it and they said it defeats the object as if you squash it all down the insulation doesn't work as well. Also the insulation criss-crosses across the joists.

The thing is I need to keep mine boarded for storage etc. I've been putting mine off as we need to rip up all the old boarding so they can come and do the insulation.

Do you know if the energy companies will do thinner insulation or is it just not worth doing in that case?

weekendwarrior

Your friend can board the loft but you need to increase the depth of the existing joists by addin a piece to the top of them, it has been covered here-

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/forum1/loft-insulation-t1301.html

lovelyjubbly

our loft is boarded as we store all sorts up there, we have used the same sort of kingspan boards that we used to insulate between the beams under the tiles in the loft, it is hard foam with silver on both sides, it works a treat, it is stiff and cuts easily, we then loose boarded over the top.not sure if it meant for this, but did see it on a programme on tv, I think it was the being green programme on bbc, just google the word kingspan and see.

Canucklehead

Hi

Probably expensive but have a look at this..http://www.knaufinsulation.co.uk/output/products/page_392.html

If you scroll down there is a PDF you can download.
What you want is a total of 123mm of Supadeck with 100mm of fibregalss between the joist below it. This gives you the same insulation value as 270mm of fibreglass and meets building regs.
HTH
Corgi Guy.

cattie

My loft was insulated with a material called Artec double, which is very thin, but gives the insulation qualities of a conventional type of insulation.

This was recommended to me by the person who was going to board my loft as it means you don't have to have the joists raised & is very clean, quick & easy to lay as it comes on a roll & is foil backed. I believe it came from Screwfix.

bluflashlite

Living on State Benefits means you can sometimes qualify for grants from many local councils to improve energy efficiency in your home. I had a boiler that was around 10 years old & seemed to have a mind of it's own when it came to my having any control over it! I was forever calling up my landlord to come fix the darned thing, so I contacted the Energy Efficiency Council to come check-it-out. Result? Big smiles for me & the landlord with a brand new FREE eco-friendly boiler, fitted by a "recommended" company.

Now the EEC folks also checked my loft & said the insulation should be thicker than it was. Another grant was approved, so I cleared my part-boarded loft for the work to be done. The "approved" company came and ripped up the boards and laid the padding across all the joists, leaving me with only one board, which was secured ON TOP of household wiring and in grave danger of damaging it! :eek:
When I protested that I could no longer use my loft for storage, as I had previously, they told me it was "Building Regs" & there was nothing I could do. Now because I use my loft as a storage "room" & they had rendered it "unusable" without once warning me of the fact, I went APE! I told them that I would never have given them authority to "remove-use" of any room in my home & that INCLUDED my loft! :mad:

The fitting Co. adamantly spouted a lot of very inventive nonsense about why the padding "HAD" to be across joists rather than in line with them, even though I pointed out it was now going to be very dangerous for the contractors who annually check my boiler to go up & check the header-tank without being able to see any safe footholds! :eek:

On making a complaint to the Energy Council folks (I said "I need it safe & I need the storage space, so take it all up again if that's my only option!") they came back & confirmed that the contractor was wrong - it's only a guideline to lay padding across joists, not a regulation! If it makes anything "unsafe", of course they should heed "SAFETY FIRST"!!! So a very unhappy contractor had to come back & relay the lot in-line with the joists.

(I subsequently relaid/improved the flooring, so my "storage room" is bigger, AND I'm saving money too, cos upstairs room temps are noticeably higher than before even when boiler is off!)

Moral:
Don't let "know-it-all" contractors fob-you-off.....call their bluff!!

Poppycat

When we had our last house done warmfront contractors not only laid the insulation over the joists but over boxes, including Christmas tree

I have now moved house and have very little insulation, warmfront have approved a grant for insulation but I will keep my eye on them to make sure the above doesn't happen again.

I would rather lay it myself even though it has health implications for me, than having to undo the the work they did (like last time) and fit the insulation between the joists.

I did compress the insulation for boarding out last time but, I did fit extra insulation on the roof with Kingspan.


That Artec double is called Airtec double
http://www.screwfix.com/search.do?fh_search=Airtec&cm_mmc=Google-_-Brands-_-Brand%20Names-_-Airtec%20Double#

Poppycat

We been told that our loft grant for our new house (very little insulation) will be again laid over the joists, and they wont budge even when we said that we increase the height of the joists as instruction by the energy trust

benood

If you want to try and pick up kingspan on the cheap try googling seconds and co - I bought quite a bit and saved about 30-40%.

Poppycat

Thanks I will check it out.

crutches

JUST HAD A 14YO(WELL LOOKED IT) LAD UNROLL 2 ROLLS LENGHTHWAYS ACROSS ALL JOISTS AND THEN LEAVE WITHIN 5 MINS.NOT IMPRESSED WITH HILLSERVE AT ALL.NOT EVEN INSULATED BACK OF ACCESS PANELL.WE HAD LOADS OF STUFF THERE AND WON'T BE ABLE TO USE FOR STORAGE NOW.the teen whose room we dumped all the stuff in will be back soon.I'm disabled and DH HAS 5 kids to look after.

very pee'd off.
he ripped a roll in the middle to get over access door gap and all the fibres are drifting over my fridge/cooker.is this healthy?