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Date Posted: 12/15/2007
Many people want to improve the insulation in their loft but can’t afford to
lose their boarded loft floor – often an important storage area.
There are ways to improve the insulation in your loft and keep your storage
space and this article discusses some of the options.
One of the most commonly faced difficulties is how to add insulating material
to a loft space when the floor has already been boarded and the loft is used
for storage.
When you are standing in the loft, the depth of the void formed between the
plasterboard of the ceiling below and the top of the ceiling joists is usually
about 100mm (4”). Given that current building regulations in the UK require
270mm of insulating glass wool, if a home owner wishes to retain a boarded loft
and does not want to use a “spray-on” insulation product up between the roof
rafters then there is a choice to be made about which direction to take. The
main choices are between:
1. Building the joists up with additional “packing joists” to create a 270mm
void which can then be filled with insulating material and then re-boarded
over.
2. Using a solid insulating board cut to fit in the void that exists between
the joists without raising the level of the loft floor.
3. Insulating between the roof rafters with either insulating board, spray on
insulation products or insulation blanket products.
This article focuses on the first two potential methods.
Pros and cons of the first two potential methods:
Building the floor level up: Pros
1. If you run the additional “packing joists” across the existing joists at 90
degrees, you are able to run wool insulation over the top of the original
ceiling joists) which reduces potential “thermal bridging”.
2. The materials are, in total, probably less expensive that using insulating
board
3. You retain most of your loft storage area.
Building the floor level up: Cons
1. It’s a big DIY challenge
2. The wood required for the “packing joists” may be heavy and difficult to manoeuvre into position
3. You lose some height in the loft because of the floor being raised
4. Insulating with insulation board between the existing joists: Pros
5. Your floor stays the same height and therefore no loft height is lost.
6. You retain your loft storage space
7. There are no heavy timbers to work with
Insulating with insulation board between the existing joists: Cons
1. Its time consuming and fiddly to cut insulation board to fit between
existing joists (which are invariably, even within one loft, are different
widths apart). The cutting to size of the thermal boards usually needs to be
done before they are taken into the loft space as access is usually restricted
but it is also important that any dust resulting from the cutting does not
contaminate the property’s living space
2. Insulation board can be costly (up to £50 -£60 a sheet depending on the
gauge) and care is needed to cut them safely as the resulting dust acts as an
irritant
3. Because you are insulating between the ceiling joists you are (by
definition) not insulating over the ceiling joists. This means that where the
joists run, your insulation is limited to the thermal properties of the joist
timber only and your insulation will be “bridged” by the timber i.e. cold will
be able to be transferred through the timber joists.
4. Where a home has been built with traditional 4” x 2” timber ceiling joists
you are unlikely to get much more than 90mm of insulation board in between the
joists (this will vary from property to property). It might be that if there is
any old fashioned electrical conduit that needs to be worked around, you get
even less than 90mm in.
Issues to worry about include thermal “bridging” when building up the joists to
get the required height or when filling between the joists and re-boarding
straight over the original joists.
From a pure insulation, building regulations and “required effort” point of
view the best solution is getting a professional contractor in to carry out the
required work.
In conclusion:
If retaining storage space in your loft is important then you can improve your
level of insulation but you may have to compromise on the level of insulation
you ultimately have and you have to be realistic about the difficulty and
complexity of the DIY task involved.
Disclaimer:
There are a number of dangers associated with carrying out work in your loft
and great care must be exercised. Follow all safety instructions available from
the suppliers of the materials you decide to use and if you have any doubts
about your capability to carry out insulation work in your loft safely please
consult a qualified builder or insulation contractor.
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Date Posted: 12/15/2007
Insulating your home well can save you a small fortune on your energy bills, by
cutting the amount of heat you lose through your walls, doors and roof. But should
you try to do this home improvement by yourself, or hire someone to do it? This
article weighs up the pros and cons of using a professional contractor versus
doing it yourself.
The Energy Saving Trust in the UK
estimates that the average home can save several hundred pounds off its annual
heating bills, and prevent the emission of over two tonnes
of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, by installing insulation
throughout. Insulation is the single biggest measure you can take to cut the
amount of energy you use in the home. Plus this will also make the average home
more comfortable by making it warmer in winter, and cooler in summer. It’s no
wonder that hundreds of thousands of people a year in the UK are getting
their homes insulated.
When thinking about insulating your home you are immediately faced with the
choice of employing a professional contractor to do it, or attempting a bit of
DIY. At first the DIY option can appear tempting. For example, some types of
insulation, such as loft insulation, are not normally technically difficult to
fit. The materials are readily available in most DIY stores. Plus many people
automatically think that DIY is going to be cheaper than employing a
professional contractor, because with a contractor you are paying for their labour.
However, in many cases they will be wrong because using a professional
contractor is either cheaper or roughly the same cost as DIY. This is because
installing insulation in the UK
is now heavily subsidised by gas and electricity
suppliers, in order that they can meet their carbon emission targets set by the
government. These subsidies are funded by the power companies regardless of
household income, and currently amount to between 50 and 70% of the cost of
having the insulation installed. This usually means that using a contractor
becomes price competitive, or in many cases even cheaper, than DIY.
Plus if you receive certain benefits from the government in the UK, you can get
your insulation installed by a professional contractor completely free. This is
because the government tops up the grants from the energy companies with its
own subsidies to cover the entire cost of the work.
As well as financial considerations, there are other reasons why employing a
professional contractor can be attractive. Firstly, some types of insulation do
require special technical expertise. For example, to install cavity wall
insulation – filling the space between your outer walls with insulation
material - requires special machinery, as well as training. You should always
use a reputable contractor for this. Although not technically difficult,
installing loft insulation is often still a challenging DIY job. The working
conditions in a loft are often cramped and unpleasant. Employing someone else to
go up there is in many cases a much more attractive option!
As well as the technical challenges, DIY can also have a number of safety
issues. For example, the mineral wool that is commonly used to insulate lofts
can be hazardous. It is extremely important to handle it with care, as it can
severely irritate the throat and skin. You need to wear protective clothing,
including face mask, safety goggles and gloves. You also need to make sure that
you do not expose the living areas of the house to the material, either when
you unpack it, or dispose of any waste material.
If you use a reputable contractor, you can be sure that these issues will be
taken care of, with much less hassle for you. You also know that the job will
be done to a good standard, because of their training and experience. In fact,
cavity wall insulation carried out by professionals in the UK comes with a
25 year guarantee if they are registered with the Cavity Wall Guarantee Agency,
which most reputable firms are.
Given all of these advantages, we recommend that most people use a professional
contractor to get their home insulated. It’s generally competitive on cost or
cheaper than DIY, safer, less hassle, and will be done to a high standard if
you choose the right contractor. There are many reputable firms who can be
accessed through the Internet They will offer you a free no-obligation survey,
after which you get a quotation. They also give you access to the attractive
grants and subsidies mentioned above. If you like what they tell you, then you
can simply go ahead and get a date booked for the work, and look forward to a
warmer home and lower heating bills.
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