Loft insulation top up - removal of loft boards

J30

Looking for a bit of advice please. Applied for the great British insulation scheme to top up my loft insulation which is really old and thin (freezing cold house in the winter 🥶🥶 )

Loft is boarded currently and have been told I would need to remove the boards myself before work can go ahead. 

The company doing the work are “topping up” my existing insulation. 

Removal of the boards seems easy enough as it’s a case of removing the screws and carefully lifting the boards which are quite thin anyway. 

However I don’t know how old the insulation is (only lived here a year) and whether it contains asbestos. 

Do I need to be careful and concerned in case it does? Or would it only be a concern if actually lifting and moving the insulation currently down (which I am not). 

Again, it’s just removing the floor boards so that the existing insulation can be topped up with new insulation. 

Thanks

Netexporter

Loft insulation has been either glass fibre or rockwool since I was a lad and I'm in my 70s. I've never heard of asbestos being used for that purpose.

born_again

You will be lucky to be able to relay the boards after it has been topped up, as it will be well over the joists.

J30

born_again said:

You will be lucky to be able to relay the boards after it has been topped up, as it will be well over the joists.

Not fussed about relaying boards afterwards. I don’t use the loft anyway so it’s no issue. 

Swipe

What's the reason for removing the boards? Why can't they just lay it on top?

mmmmikey

Swipe said:

What's the reason for removing the boards? Why can't they just lay it on top?

Leaving the boards there leads to damp problems as the water vapour escaping through the ceiling consdenses.

Reed_Richards

Although it's almost a dead cert that you won't find asbestos in your left, the fibres can cause irritation so best to war a mask and gloves.

Gerry1

Don't use a Covid mask, use a close-fitting moulded one with a valve that lets you breathe out unimpeded.

J30

Reed_Richards said:

Although it's almost a dead cert that you won't find asbestos in your left, the fibres can cause irritation so best to war a mask and gloves.

Thanks for the advice. Not planning on actually touching the existing insulation but yes you are right, there will be a lot of dust and fibres in the air!