DIY Loft Insulation Is Easy
Fitting insulation is not rocket science!
If you are still quite mobile and can get into the loft by yourself, you can fit loft insulation yourself in less than half a day!
It is just a case of knowing how to do it properly and leaving a gap at the eaves for ventilation.
Alternatively, buy the insulation yourself and pay a handy man £10 -£15 per hour to fit it for you.
Rolling out insulation is a doddle!
What Depth Of Insulation Is Needed For a Loft?
Your finished height of loft insulation should be around 270 -300 mm.
This equates to a Thermal Resistance R-Value of 6.1 and is the recommended value by building regs.
How To DIY Loft Insulation — Measure First
Measure the outside walls of your home and times them together to give you a rough square meterage of your loft.
E.g a semi detached house measuring 6 meters by 8 will give you 48 sq meters. Deduct 10 % from this figure will give you an approx meterage for your loft.
In this case you will need to buy 45 square meters of insulation.
Alternatively, get into the loft and measure the area in m2 (length x width = number of metres squared) and check the coverage of the rolls.
You can deduct around 10% to allow for ceiling joists
How Many Rolls Do I Buy?
If your loft has existing loft insulation in between the joists, measure the depth of it.
Usually this base layer is a depth of 100mm and comes up to joist level.
This will tell you to buy 170 -200 mm rolls which can be laid over the top of the joists to get you to the recommended building regulations guide of 270–300mm
Get your self down to B & Q or Wickes and purchase some rolls of insulation.
They come in 100 mm , 200 mm and 270mmrolls and should cost you around £25 per roll.
6–8 Rolls will do you fine but do measure properly or you will be left with a load of insulation!
They Should Deliver them for about £30
Preparation For Fitting Loft Insulation
- Remove any stored items from the loft so you can work in a clean and uncluttered space.
- Ensure you have good lighting and use a portable battery powered light if necessary
- Ensure you have plenty of walk on boards to go accross the joists stop you falling through the loft floor
- Measure your cold-water tank so that you can fit an appropriate tank jacket.
- You’ll need to insulate tanks and pipes before you start to lay the loft insulation
How Do I Fit Loft Insulation?
All you need to do is roll out the insulation between the joists ensuring you leave a gap for ventilating your loft at the eaves.
4 inches at both ends to allow for cross flow ventilation will be fine.
The gap between joists is most commonly 400mm or 600mm, so loft insulation rolls tend to be available in a width of approximately 1140mm.
Most come with pre-cut perforations so they can easily be cut into halves or thirds with a saw.
When you have insulated the whole floor , you can have a cup of tea!
Ventilation & Electrics — Take Care
Ideally Insulation shouldn’t be laid over any electric cables but most lofts in the UK are insulated this way as getting a sparky in to reroute cables would be very expensive.
If possible cables should be clipped to the roof joists or gently lifted out of the way and then laid over the insulation once it is in position
Do not fit insulation underneath the water tank unless it is in an elevated position
Loft Storage
If you want to use the loft space to store items, install raised floor loft legs that you can fix boards to, above the insulation.
Leave a minimum air gap of 50mm beneath the boards to prevent any condensation.
Alternatively, cover an existing boarded area with insulation boards.
Should You Insulate the rafters above you?
No!.
There are people offering spray foam insulation for the roof rafters above your head.
THIS IS THE BIGGEST CON GOING!
You will be charged up to £5000 for this SHITE and many old people are being conned into having it done.
This foam insulation is OF NO BENEFIT TO YOU AS ONCE THE HEAT HAS ENTERED THE LOFT IT IS WASTED.
The whole idea of insulation is to stop it entering the loft by laying insulation on the loft floor so that the heat stays in your living / bedroom for as long as possible.
Pay For Loft Insulation Professionally.
You can expect to pay around £1000 if you chosse to have it professionally done
Free Grants Available
You should see if you can get a grant for loft insulation too.
See below.
How Does The Insulation Work?
Loft Insulation – Insulation is fitted on the loft floor to slow down the (rising ) heat from below entering into the loft space and so being wasted.
The insulation acts as a barrier and will keep the heat in your bedroom for a lot longer.
Good idea to insulate your living room ceiling too for this reason.
Wall Insulation – Insulation is added to your cavity walls again to act as a barrier to heat loss.
How Is Loft Insulation Fitted?
Your loft floor will have rolls of Rockwool Insulation rolled out to cover the entire floorspace of your loft.
The total finished depth of insulation will be 270-300mm which is the government recommended level.
The eaves ( where the roof meets the floor) will have a gap at both ends to allow for cross ventilation.
Visit Energy Saving Trust For More On Loft Insulation
How Is Cavity Wall Insulation Fitted?
Your walls are drilled and the inner cavity has bead or other insulating material pumped into it creating an extra barrier to heat loss for your walls.
Visit Which For More Reading On Wall Insulation
