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Getabuilder Team 125 posts	Original message: posted 19-Mar-08 How to insulate your loft There are three ways to insulate your loft: • roll-out blanket type insulation between and over the joists, • insulation board for boarded lofts • insulation for the rafters to convert the loft into a warm, usable room. The recommended total thickness of insulation is 270mm. This can be made up of more than one type of insulation and can be a combination of new and existing insulation. If your loft is already insulated, check to see how much there is and then top up to 270mm. Between and over the joists This is the most economical way to insulate your loft. In a new home or one where this is no insulation already, a roll-out product is ideal. It is ready perforated to fit the standard gaps between joists (usually 400mm or 600mm) and is easy to divide and fit by hand. If your loft space is not used for storage then lay insulation between and over the joists to make up 270mm thickness. This is the quickest and easiest solution, most lofts can be completed in around an hour. Boarded lofts If your loft space is already boarded over then board type insulation provides a suitable surface for storing boxes. With 100mm of existing glass mineral wool insulation under the boards, simply lay two layers of Space Board Loft Insulation on top of existing loft boards. Warm room lofts If you’re converting your loft into living space, the insulation needs to move to rafter level. A quick way to do this is by fitting two layers of Rafter R32 85mm wool between the rafters to 170mm of insulation - then placing a vapour membrane and plasterboard over the top. Alternatively, if you are not converting your loft but simply wish to make it warmer you can use a single layer of Rafter Roll or JabSqueeze - precut foam panels designed to squeeze-fit between the rafters. Or you can use topup insulation such as Therma Wrap general purpose insulation, stapling it directly to the rafters. Fitting loft insulation Blanket Insulation Start to lay blanket insulation at one side of the loft and unroll the material, working towards the middle. Tuck the end of the roll down into the eaves - but don't completely block them, as it is important for some ventilation to prevent condensation. To prevent freezing, do not insulate under the cold water tank. When you reach the middle of the loft, cut the insulation, go to the other end of the loft and start again, butting up the meeting edges in the middle. Repeat for each joist space and tuck the blanket insulation under any electric wiring to avoid the risk of overheating. Then cross-lay a second layer of insulation above the joists. This needs to be laid at right angles to the first layer to avoid ‘cold bridging’ - through gaps in the insulation blanket. Once laid, be careful to stand only on the joists which will be under the second layer of insulation. When insulating above downlighters, use a Down Light Heat Diffuser. This will ensure the insulation goes around rather than over the down lights and stops them from overheating. Board Insulation Remove all stored goods and coverings from loft boards.Vacuum and clean thoroughly. Lay one layer of Loft Board Insulation to the loft boarded area only. Use a solvent free adhesive to secure. Ensure Loft Board Insulation is tightly butted. Cut boards to fit using a sharp knife. For maximum savings fix a second layer of Loft Board Insulation over the first layer using a solvent free adhesive. If you are going to walk on the floor lay new chipboard over the insulation. Hot water cylinder Most new cylinders now come pre-insulated. If you have an older un-lagged cylinder an insulating jacket is cheap and easy to fit and can save £20 and 150kg of CO2 per year.  Radiators Even something as simple as a piece of foil can help you save energy. A significant amount of heat from a radiator is lost to the wall behind it - but you can recover it by using radiator reflector foil. Either paste the foil onto the wall before the radiator is installed or, if it’s already fitted, cut the foil to a size slightly smaller than the radiator and fix it with adhesive pads. Hot water pipes Insulating hot-water pipes will reduce the time you have to wait for hot water to flow from a tap. The most important pipes to lag are those that run under floor-boards and in the loft. Insulate the pipe that runs from the boiler to the hot-water cylinder too. Cold water pipes Cold water pipes can also be insulated to prevent them freezing. The cistern can be wrapped in a purpose-made jacket or lagged with glassfibre blanket Any pipework can be lagged with split foam tubes, which simply slip around the pipes. Use a double thickness around bends where freeze-ups are most likely to occur. Secure the insulation with tape at intervals to keep it closed. Insulating floors You can minimise heat loss through the floor by laying a good quality carpet combined with thick underlay, or an insulating floorcovering such as cork or cushion vinyl laid on hardboard. If you are installing underfloor heating then laying Aqua Panel thermal insulation under the heating system will direct all the heat up into the room making the system more efficient. Gaps under skirting can be filled with mastic or covered with wooden beading. Pin the beading to the skirting rather than the floor so that the floor is allowed to move. Insulating walls More heat is lost through walls than any other route - approximately 33% in an un-insulated home. Cavity wall insulation is one of the most cost-effective energy efficiency measures you can take in the home. It can reduce heat loss through the wall by around 60% and save you £130 to £160 each year on your heating bill. Cavity wall insulation In most properties, the outer walls consist of two layers, with a gap (or ‘cavity’) between them. Cavity wall insulation fills that gap - acting like a ‘vacuum’ flask to keep the air in your home naturally warm or cool. In new-build properties or extensions, the easiest way to fit cavity wall insulation is at the time of construction, with pre-formed slabs which fit snugly into the gap between the layers of the outer wall. The type and thickness of insulation you need will be dependent on the type of wall construction. In existing properties, cavities can still be insulated. Small holes are drilled in the outer wall allowing glass wool insulation to be blown in at high pressure, to fill the gap. Houses built after the 1920’s are most likely to have a cavity wall that is suitable for filling. A cavity wall insulation service will arrive at B&Q in 2007. Contact your local Energy Saving Trust Advice Centre at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk or call 0800 512 012 for advice on cavity wall insulation and general energy savings tips. Older houses that are not suitable for cavity wall insulation because they have solid walls can be drylined with insulation and plasterboard or insulating plasterboard, which is conventional plasterboard with a backing of expanded polystyrene. This can be up to 50mm thick and will slightly reduce the size of a room. Fitting insulating plasterboard is not difficult - once it has been cut to size, it can simply be glued and screwed into place on the existing wall after skirting boards and picture rails have been removed. However, where there are doors, windows, radiators, electric switches and sockets, these will have to be repositioned or modified to account for the new 50mm layer of plasterboard. Draughtproofing Fitting draught excluders to all gaps around doors and windows will keep your home warmer and reduce fuel bills. Around 11% of the heat in an un-insulated home is lost around doors and floors. There are a wide variety of excluders available, ranging from simple-to-fit self-adhesive foam strips to more durable rubber and brush seals. There are also complete door sets for external and internal doors. Self-adhesive foam strips are inexpensive, simple to fix in place and suitable for windows and interior doors, but should not be stretched when fitting as this will impair efficiency. Draught strips and excluders come in brown, white, wood and gold effect to blend with existing woodwork or door/ window hardware. Nearly 20% of heat lost in an average home can be through the windows. A quick and cheap way to reduce this loss is to apply secondary glazing film to your windows. Apart from windows and doors, remember to fit key hole covers over keyholes and draught excluders over letterboxes. If draughts come in under doors, fit a threshold excluder. These are available as one piece rubber or brush strips, and two-part excluders, where one part is fixed to the door and the other to the threshold - when the door is closed, the two parts interlock to form a tight seal. Safety First While draught excluders help to prevent warm air from escaping, they also prevent fresh air from entering. If your home has a coal or gas fire (or other gas appliances without a balanced flue), a supply of fresh air is needed to ensure they work safely and to control condensation. Introduce fresh air into the house through adjustable ventilators. Ideal for the job Space Blanket Ideal for topping up existing loft insulation, Space Blanket is quick and easy to lay. The insulating material is encased in a protective layer making it easy to handle too. Therma Wrap Therma Wrap loft wrap is ideal to top-up loft insulation that is simply stapled onto the rafters. It is lightweight and easy to use, as it is flexible even round corners. Therma Wrap garage door insulation It is a good idea to insulate your garage if you use it as a workshop or it is an integral part of your house. Insulation will also help keep the garage cooler in summer. Please note Savings sourced from Energy Saving Trust, April 2007. Some alterations that you make to your home, such as a loft conversion, are subject to planning or building controls. Contact your local council or Department of the Environment before making any changes to your home. Every effort has been made to ensure that the instructions given in this leaflet are accurate and will enable you to do the job safely and successfully. Please follow instructions carefully and seek expert advice in the event of difficulty
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