House insulation

Thu 18 Sep 2014, 20:01

Than ks to everyone for their advice and help - hopefully a cosy winter in our house is to come!

Sun 14 Sep 2014, 14:43

You can buy supports which allow you to place boards above the insulation, so that you can store stuff without squashing it.

Sat 13 Sep 2014, 20:59 (last edited on Sat 13 Sep 2014, 21:03)

Simon as I said the minimum should be 4 inches but I have over 8 inches in my loft :)
I didn't suggest insulation board for two reasons. Its more complicated to lay, probably lots of cutting and secondly if its a really old house the fixing and the additional weight of the board might be too much for the rafters. So if Christine wants to put boarding and insulation in the loft best to get the structure checked out first, but just laying a blanket of insulation is extremely simple, a no brainer.

Sat 13 Sep 2014, 19:26

Malcolm's four inches (100 mm) is a bit out of date. Current requirements are for 270 mm - which is why the B&Qs of this world sell the stuff in two thicknesses - 100 mm and 170 mm. It rather depends on whether you want to make use of the roof space as well - in which case fixing solid insulation board to the rafters would make more sense than over-packing the floor with fibreglass rolls.

Sat 13 Sep 2014, 18:43

Thank you both for your suggestions - i'll look into British Gas and also into the possibility of doing it ourselves.

Cheers!

Sat 13 Sep 2014, 15:22

Have you tried British Gas because we didn't have cavity wall insulation as it had been ages ago and not by us so it was over 30 years old. But they did our loft. I don't know your age but Age Concern do things like this for free too.

Fri 12 Sep 2014, 20:52 (last edited on Fri 12 Sep 2014, 20:55)

Well if its easy to get into the loft/roof space then a bit of DIY might be the other option. Its really simple laying insulation, just like laying out a blanket. You can buy the material in rolls from a builders merchant or places like B&Q. Fiberglass or preferably rockwool. There's probably even a brochure there to give you guidance. A pair of disposable overalls, some protective specs, gloves and a face mask just to be on the safe side. Just roll out the insulation strip by strip butted together in the roof space, like laying a lawn. You need a depth of at least 4 inches preferably.

Fri 12 Sep 2014, 18:13

Apparently we don't qualify for lots of the schemes because we don't have cavity walls so can't also have wall insulation. That was the feedback i got from lots of phone calls i made early in the process......

Fri 12 Sep 2014, 14:21

Cant you get this done for free or small cost from one of your energy suppliers?
I thought the government had placed a requirement on energy suppliers to do this

Fri 12 Sep 2014, 14:00

We planned to insulate the roof of our house before the winter but having asked for a quote from a big company we were told that they wouldn't be insured to go into our roof to work as the house is so old and consequently the roof space too dangerous! The house has been standing for many years and seems fine to me, plus old and badly insulated seemed to me to be exactly the kind of house they would be called upon to improve but what would i know........! Can anyone recommend a local someone who might be able to put in some insulation for us despite the danger?!