How To Insulate Your Loft
How To Insulate Your Loft
How To Insulate Your Loft
In this era of global warming and financial austerity, it's more important than ever to ensure your home is as energy efficient as possible. One of the best ways to achieve this is to install loft insulation, as up to a quarter of a home's heat is lost through the roof.
Loft insulation works instantly to drastically reduce the amount of heat escaping and consequently pays for itself very quickly. It also can add to the resale value of the house and when you add in the possibility of a government contribution, investing in it should be top of your list.
But how easy is it to install and what are the pitfalls to look out for when planning your insulation project?
The traditional method of insulating the loft is to use loose fit' insulation. This involves the scattering or electrically blowing mineral wool or cellulose fibres into the loft.. This is very useful method for reaching the difficult to reach parts of the loft. If you have any existing insulation in your loft, it's very likely to be loose fit.
The major downside of this process is that the product is quite itchy and can irritate the skin and throat. For this reason, most people hire a professional to carry out the installation. If you do decide to go ahead and install this type of insulation yourself, you MUST wear protective clothing and goggles at all times.
For the purposes of this basic overview, however, we'll look at the modern and safer way to insulate your loft; loft insulation blanket.
Loft insulation blanket is totally encapsulated therefore there's no need to wear any protective clothing or goggles when installing it. It's much safer and simpler to install yourself than the old method.
Prior to installation, you need to work out how much loft insulation blanket is required. To save time, use a handy online calculator.Once you've calculated how many rolls are required, you can either purchase from your local DIY store (although you may need a van to collect them in!) or buy online and have them delivered.
Once you're ready to start, ensure the area is clean and free from debris before laying down the first roll,. The tools required are a tape measure, a craft knife and a decent lighting source.
Next, unroll the first blanket between the joists and towards the centre of the area, Keep unrolling it until you reach the wall on the other side. Don't insulate under the water tank as this should be insulated separately. Push the blanket around any other cables/pipes etc.
After you've laid the first roll, start unrolling another piece from the other end towards the first one. Where they meet, cut and push the two pieces together.
Repeat until the whole loft is covered. Once you've finished, if it's not already insulated, cut a piece to cover the loft hatch.
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