Loft insulation: clearance and refitting

Plad22

Hello all forumites ,
 I am planning to re insulate my loft , so please any ideas on  DIY would be appreciated from start to finish. I was hoping go give it out to a professional trader but i cannot afford the quote! £105 an hour per 3 workers over 3 days ... plus getting the materials. The loft is pretty dusty and messy but there are no pest or structural damage. I just need to clear the old insulation which has come off in places , creating patches and lay new ones. Then put some plywood on it. I have seen some Youtube videos on it and i am quite hands on with home cleaning
My first sight of the loft : it was an eyesore, very dark and dingy( lol) we were not allowed to check 8 years ago when we moved in, no wonder. Over the years it has probably deteriorated , now house is so cold and i think a good place to start is clearing the old debris and buying new ones.
 My main concern  is that  i saw wires clipped on the Timbers and i wonder if turning of the circuit board will completely cut off all supplies... i don't want to risk any electric disaster while clearing(lol).
 Please if anyone has done a similar DIY before , i would be grateful if you can guide me on, decent material to for optimum insulation, and how to do it safely.
 Thank you all for listening, any questions, Im here

onomatopoeia99

Lofts tend to be dusty and messy.  I'm a bit concerned about the insulation "coming off" as it is usually rolled out on the floor of the loft between the rafters so can't "come off".

Doing it all is just unskilled labouring which any able-bodied person can do, and some (like me) with disabilities that don't limit them too much as well.  Domestic wiring should be PVC clad unless very old, so unless you have a go at it with a sharp object will not come to harm. Turn it off at the consumer unit if you are worried, but if you damage it then turning it back on would be unwise.

Clear everything out first and dispose of it, calculate how much you need to reach a depth of 275mm (typically a 100mm layer between the rafters and a 175mm or 200mm layer above at right angles), head down to Wickes (other DIY sheds are available) in a van and buy it, possibly also buy a big pair of scissors there as well to cut it up if you don't have any, and get laying.  That's it, exactly what I did a dozen years ago in my bungalow and it made a lot of difference. Being a bungalow there is a lot of loft space so it took me several weekends of work (more than half of that time was clearing what the elderly couple I bought it from left behind) and a lot of insulation.

If you want to board it out that's more complicated and expensive, particularly as the size of board you can get up there is limited by the size of the loft hatch..

Chickereeeee

If you are going to lay Rockwool, or similar, I recommend getting an insulation knife (I used https://www.amazon.co.uk/Insulation-Cutting-RockWool-Cutter-Stainless/dp/B09S247LKX/ref=asc_df_B09S247LKX/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=588076632935&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10673837167784705890&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006548&hvtargid=pla-1653572159225&psc=1) instead of scissors.

It makes a lovely clean cut.

Plad22

@ omometoeia99, Thank you for your kind response, this definitely gives me the validation i needed (lol) as an unskilled person with basic housekeeping skills. 
 Yea im charging my touch lights right now  to use up there and  i will turn off the consumer unit. Go up the ladder and start clearing out. Bin bags ready.
 The area is about 64 cm /square, mid terraced house. I hope to finish clearing by this weekend ! Im going to do it gradually. after clearing , will head up to Wickes ... thank you very much!!

Plad22

Also , I saw a black water tank up there, I've not checked if there is water inside, do i just cut it up as i dont know how it got there in the first place, because the space  entrance to the loft  is not so wide. 

CliveOfIndia

Plad22 said:

Also , I saw a black water tank up there, I've not checked if there is water inside, do i just cut it up as i dont know how it got there in the first place, because the space  entrance to the loft  is not so wide. 

Sounds like a water storage tank.  It used to be very common to have a storage tank in the loft, this would provide a reservoir to feed the taps.  They tend to be less common these days, instead all taps are fed directly from the mains.

So the first thing you need to do is establish if it's still used - the plumbing may have been altered at some point in the past, meaning it's now redundant.  Simple to check - run a cold tap in the bathroom, you should start to hear the storage tank starting to refill.  Usually the tank would supply most of the taps in the house, but one tap (usually in the kitchen) would be mains-fed.  Also, check whether there's actually any water in the tank.

If there's no water in it, you can probably assume it's no longer needed - but it would probably be a good idea to ask a plumber to take a look, just to be on the safe side.

Once you've established that it is safe to remove then yes, just cut it up and chuck it.  The reason it won't fit through the loft hatch is that it would have been installed when the house was being built, so it was "built-it".

TELLIT01

Just make sure you are fully suited and masked before starting.  You really don't want to be breathing in the dust.

FreeBear

onomatopoeia99 said: If you want to board it out that's more complicated and expensive, particularly as the size of board you can get up there is limited by the size of the loft hatch..

With 275-300mm of insulation, loft legs will be required if boarding out the space.

Don't worry about the wiring - As long as it is clipped in place, and you don't go nailing through it, no need to turn the power off.

For cutting insulation rolls in to narrow (non-standard) widths, I use a cheap saw to hack a slice off the roll before unwrapping it. Most rolls come pre-cut at nominal 400mm & 600mm widths to suit standard joist spacing. I find the stuff easy enough to rip to length by hand, so no need for knives or scissors.

sgun

I wouldn't do it on a hot weekend. It's a messy job and much worse when you're dripping with sweat. Wait until winter comes back in July.

Chickereeeee

FreeBear said:

onomatopoeia99 said: If you want to board it out that's more complicated and expensive, particularly as the size of board you can get up there is limited by the size of the loft hatch..

With 275-300mm of insulation, loft legs will be required if boarding out the space.

Don't worry about the wiring - As long as it is clipped in place, and you don't go nailing through it, no need to turn the power off.

For cutting insulation rolls in to narrow (non-standard) widths, I use a cheap saw to hack a slice off the roll before unwrapping it. Most rolls come pre-cut at nominal 400mm & 600mm widths to suit standard joist spacing. I find the stuff easy enough to rip to length by hand, so no need for knives or scissors.

Easy to rip, but (rockwool) leaves a rough, fragmenting edge. The saw/knife I mention gives an impressive neat cut.

Incidently, Rockwool is a crazy price at the moment. Fibreglass (e.g. Knauf) is somewhat cheaper.

Plad22

Thank you all for your amazing responses and support

TELLIT01  and sgun, I have just return from a local store  where i got DIY gloves, glasses and Masks and yes its very hot    and yes, im very tired but i am determined to start today. , will see how it goes, They said tomorrow will be very hot so i will skip tomorrow and come back when its bearable. 
CliveOfIndia, that was a very useful information, i will go and check out the tap and listen if its refilling,  (lol) i was checking the loft for other exit under the floor the first time i saw it.
Thank you all , I really appreciate, I will keep you posted