Loft Insulation DIY but problems

bretts

Hi

I was planning to do loft insulation so I saw a lot of videos to make sure I am doing the right thing but when I went up in the loft, the electrician has left a mesh of wires up there which I have no idea about where what goes, basically we added some spotlights in the master bed and those can be seen up in the loft with the wires and I am sure putting the insulation material on top of that is not the right way, can some one please advise as to what should I do in that case, I think it has not been done correctly and I did not see the loft when he left and the insulation is all still in the loft but just rolled to one corner so its just useless.

Thanks

Bretts

new_owner

Dont insulate over wires or spots.

If the wires have some slack they can be moved or the insulation can go underneath.

There is guidance for spots and I think you can get some tubes??
(but dont hold me to that.) that you can insulate around without fire risk.

olias

A good diy tip for spots it to place an appropriately sized terracotta plantpot over them and then lay the insulation over that.

Olias

I_have_spoken

If the wires are so hot they need air-cooling, then something is very wrong indeed!

Halogen down-lighters shouldn't be covered with insulation - some peeps put a terracotta plant pot over them to maintain air flow

I recently added insulation to my loft and up-ended these £2 stainless-steel utensil holders from Ikea to provide an air gap all around the spots.

new_owner

I_have_spoken wrote: »

If the wires are so hot they need air-cooling, then something is very wrong indeed!

I thought the issue with insulation (loft) was more to do with possible moisture not heat but happy to be corrected. I would agree that both stand a slim chance but the better reason is if in the future you need to move a light finding a wire under a loft full of insulation (let along the expression if you called an electrician) ......

A.Penny.Saved

It's not moisture that's the problem with cables in the loft, it's their current carrying ability which is affected by being surrounded with insulation.

With cables which are no where near to their current capability it might not even be a problem insulating over them. I don't think that ceiling light cables usually need to be uncovered, however I could be wrong. I doubt that these insulation firms mess around with light cables when they add insulation up to the current recommended amounts. I don't think that light cables will be long enough to be kept above the insulation.

Spots could be different due to their heat and energy requirement.

bretts

I just found out that we can use loft caps for downlights like these


http://www.allaboutelectrics.co.uk/lighting/fire-hoods-loft-caps.html


Can someone please advise if they have used it as I have about 40 of spotlights to cover and these are expensive as well so would like to get some feedback from member who have used it.

The wires are ok in terms of the heat, I dont think they are heating at all but my rooms are freezing cold, no amount of heating is helping and with worse weather on way I want to get this done sooner than later.

Please help.

27col

Lighting cables in roof spaces are normally going to be extremely lightly loaded, especially if you have low wattage bulbs. So are unlikely to have any temperature problems that affect them. However, it makes sense to move any wires that are accessible and loose enough, so as to position them above the insulation.
Obviously, this does not apply to cables feeding showers, as they will be quite heavily loaded and should be in as cool a position as possible.