Loft Insulation 2023

Mabel2012

All the threads on loft insulation are from 2017 and older so I'm posting to try and find out the up to date information on grants, I'm a pensioner who does not receive pension credit or any benefit except the state pension. I also have a company pension but it's not huge as I had to finish work early for mental health reasons.

I live in a circa 1936-39 first floor (top maisonette) that had loft installation installed in 1984ish. It met the standard at the time but is now inadequate. The underside of the roof is not boarded and the loft is a very cold, dusty and hostile space. There are four cold water tanks there, 2 old heavy zinc or perhaps asbestos water tanks that are likely to be the original water tanks and 2 lightweight plastic tanks that were in use until my flat and the ground floor flat installed gas combi boilers around 2000. There are no water pipes in use in the loft.

Are there grants for pensioners and would they cover the loft floor insulation and (thermal?) boarding the underside of the roof.  I'm also having to deal with some misted double glazed windows and decorating the inside and outside of the flat. I have neglected things due to my mental health. Finding money for all of this is a challenge as is the motivation to get things done. 

I have a long lease and am responsible for all maintenance costs for my flat and if the freeholder arranges any work that affects both flats we pay the cost as well as a management fee.

I would appreciate posts from other pensioners in my situation and their experience with grants for loft/roof insulation.

FreeBear

You may find some grants under the ECO4 scheme - You would need to contact your energy supplier to see what is available.

Your local council may also have some funding available under the Warm Homes scheme, but it can be a bit hit & miss as to what measures they will fund.

Chickereeeee

In Bournemouth, the Local Authority recently had a company running an insulation scheme - mostly loft and cavity insulation. The qualifications were (mainly) EPC rating of E or worse, and income less that £30k. They were not strict about the income (they did not check, perhaps because we are both retired).

Maybe yours does too.

Mabel2012

Chickereeeee said:

In Bournemouth, the Local Authority recently had a company running an insulation scheme - mostly loft and cavity insulation. The qualifications were (mainly) EPC rating of E or worse, and income less that £30k. They were not strict about the income (they did not check, perhaps because we are both retired).

Maybe yours does too.

Thanks for replying. I looked in the Government website and I have to enter my details and wait for companies to contact me. I would rather know the grant criteria before I get an avalanche of calls. I don't have an EPC rating as my flat hasn't been sold or rented this century. Noise from Gov.UK and others suggests that there is lots of help to make homes more energy efficient. Even landlords and tenants are eligible as of course are social housing tenants.

FreeBear

Mabel2012 said:

Chickereeeee said:

In Bournemouth, the Local Authority recently had a company running an insulation scheme - mostly loft and cavity insulation. The qualifications were (mainly) EPC rating of E or worse, and income less that £30k. They were not strict about the income (they did not check, perhaps because we are both retired).

Maybe yours does too.

Thanks for replying. I looked in the Government website and I have to enter my details and wait for companies to contact me. I would rather know the grant criteria before I get an avalanche of calls. I don't have an EPC rating as my flat hasn't been sold or rented this century. Noise from Gov.UK and others suggests that there is lots of help to make homes more energy efficient. Even landlords and tenants are eligible as of course are social housing tenants.

*This house doesn't have an EPC either - The last time it was sold, there was no such thing.. And when I was looking at Warm Home funding, they were all for fitting trickle vents and a bunch of other things to "improve" air flow. Sorry, but I have spent way too much time plugging all the cold draughts, and the last thing I want is some 'erbert putting holes in the walls & windows.

Fortunately, I can just about afford the cost of insulating the place if I do all the grunt work myself. May take a bit longer, but at least I won't have the draughts.

ThisIsWeird

Hi Mabel.

Sorry, I don't know about available grants, although from what you describe you would surely qualify? As suggested above, I think your local authority would be the first place to contact, and I'd have thought a switched-on person there would at least have some good suggestions even if their own help is currently limited. Surely, given all the noise by our political parties, such help is absolutely going to be on the cards!

Anyhoo, a couple of points based on what you've mentioned. First, the 'hostile' loft. That's good! It should be cold and blowy up there, as that 'through ventilation' keeps all the exposed timbers nice and dry and free from rot. The loft should not be warm, cosy and draught-free, at least not unless it's been properly converted into a habitable room - a completely different (and expensive) task. That  current draught needs to remain! You do not insulate, board or seal the underside of the sloping roof.

'loft insulation' means to insulate the loft floor, ie the maisonette's ceiling, to keep as much warmth down in the house as possible, and stop it getting to the cold loft in the first place. If anyone turns up and suggests spray-foaming the underside of the roof, then please show them the door

Can you roughly measure the depth - thickness - of the existing loft insulation layer, and take some photos if possible?

The other point is the 'misted' double-glazed window units. As I understand it, these 'blown' units still retain virtually virtually all of a good unit's thermal properties - the 'mist' is largely a cosmetic issue. If your windows are otherwise in good order, seal well, have a decent DG unit thickness, then please don't expect to notice any increase in heat retention once the faulty units are replaced. 

Apart from adding more loft insulation, I suspect the two biggest improvements you can have made is to (a) draught-proof your floor (almost certainly T&G floorboards, and almost certainly percolating air like a sieve), and (b) adding a layer of internal wall insulation to all the outside walls. The former will obviously require your flooring (carpets, etc) to be lifted,  a suitable sheet laid, and a particular focus made to the floor perimeters to seal the leaky gaps under the skirting boards, but should otherwise be a cheap move. The wall insulation will be more disruptive and costly, but should be transformative. That's serious 'grant' territory.

Good luck. Perhaps ask at CAB too? 

And no 'foam'! 

Mabel2012

FreeBear said:

*This house doesn't have an EPC either - The last time it was sold, there was no such thing.. And when I was looking at Warm Home funding, they were all for fitting trickle vents and a bunch of other things to "improve" air flow. Sorry, but I have spent way too much time plugging all the cold draughts, and the last thing I want is some 'erbert putting holes in the walls & windows.

Fortunately, I can just about afford the cost of insulating the place if I do all the grunt work myself. May take a bit longer, but at least I won't have the draughts.

Good luck with the work. I don't want to block or reduce airflow as that leads to mould and black walls and ceilings.

Mabel2012

ThisIsWeird said:

Hi Mabel.

 Surely, given all the noise by our political parties, such help is absolutely going to be on the cards!

ThisIsWeird, thanks for your reply.

I looked into getting the loft insulated a few years ago. I submitted my details to a Gov website and was contacted a few days later by an Insulation contractor. They weren't interested in fibreglass between the joists as the loft wasn't empty. They wanted to use the spray foam instead. I declined their offer and gave up on the idea. The high energy prices has made me think again. Like you, I thought there would be lots of help now because of all the noise on the climate emergency. I was despondent when I saw the latest post on here was in 2017.

My maisonette covers a similar floor area to a large 3 bed house. The loft has many cross beams and is hard to navigate.I plan to have the blown DG panes changed as the frames are ok and all windows close and lock well.

I have underlay and carpets in all rooms except the kitchen and bathroom. They are normal 1930s floorboards. The ground floor flat is occupied and heated. I don't think about insulating the outside walls. It would be a big job and something I don't want to do on a whim.

I must contact my local council but I have to be in the right head space to do so.

ThisIsWeird

Mabel2012 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Hi Mabel.

 Surely, given all the noise by our political parties, such help is absolutely going to be on the cards!

ThisIsWeird, thanks for your reply.

I looked into getting the loft insulated a few years ago. I submitted my details to a Gov website and was contacted a few days later by an Insulation contractor. They weren't interested in fibreglass between the joists as the loft wasn't empty. They wanted to use the spray foam instead. I declined their offer and gave up on the idea. The high energy prices has made me think again. Like you, I thought there would be lots of help now because of all the noise on the climate emergency. I was despondent when I saw the latest post on here was in 2017.

My maisonette covers a similar floor area to a large 3 bed house. The loft has many cross beams and is hard to navigate.I plan to have the blown DG panes changed as the frames are ok and all windows close and lock well.

I have underlay and carpets in all rooms except the kitchen and bathroom. They are normal 1930s floorboards. The ground floor flat is occupied and heated. I don't think about insulating the outside walls. It would be a big job and something I don't want to do on a whim.

I must contact my local council but I have to be in the right head space to do so.

This is now making me quite cross.

You wanted loft insulation - which is correct, as it would reduce the loss of heat through your house's ceilings to the cold loft (and the loft should be cold and draughty...). Instead, these folk wanted to pointlessly spray foam on to the underside of your roof?! This would not make your house even a fraction of a degree warmer. And it would risk rot being caused to your joists. What the hell is going on?

To be fair to these guys, tho' - they cannot be expected to work around junk, er, I mean neatly stored loftish goods. So you need to consider this before trying again.