Loft Insulation?

[julezboo]

Hey all

quick question from me again ( i really dont have a clue!)

We are in the process of buying our first home, its been long and winded and Im sick of it and ready to move again already!

Before our mortgage company will release the funds we need to get the loft insulated to stop the condensation from causing damp (i know the house is slowly falling apart!)

We already live in the house that we are buying it was MIL's but she was useless at getting things sorted.

Who insulates lofts, ive looked on yell.com and its just giving me a list of builders merchants where i presume we get the insualtion from but can anyone fit it ?!

You can do it easily yourself if it's the fibre-glass on a roll. It comes encapsulated these days in a reflective foil 'bag' which also helps with the heat retention properties and so you can just roll it out without getting prickly whilst you're doing it, or fibres getting all over the house. Buy it in any major DIY warehouse place. Don't pack it into the eaves as your loft space absolutely needs good ventilation and will rot very quickly without it.

The problem with this approach is if you need the floor of your loft to be clear for storage. Then you'll need insulation attached to the pitched parts of the roof. There are ones you can easily pin up yourself (look in somewhere like Wickes or B&Q or your local builders merchant. Some of the really good ones are specially designed to be good insulators but thin and can be simply stapled up! They are more expensive though but worth it.

I'm a bit worried about the condensation though (and this was one of my fields before I became a mum). Where is the condensation forming? Putting insulation in the wrong place might make it worse!

The choice of position is also down to whether you want your paid for heat to be heating the loft space or not.

thanks housebird

the black spotting is at the front top of the house, i thought it was because the gutters where blocked at first, but we sorted that problem and its still there although not getting worse. its only in one room which is odd, but there is always alot of condensation on the windows upstairs, we have an old boiler system that when we turn the hot water on the heating comes on upstairs, its always quite warm upstairs heating or not! The man we spoke to on the phone said its to do with heath rising and not having enough insulation in the loft.

I dont understand it all me, ive just spoken to mortgage company who said we need to get a damp and timber report done before they will release the funds and proof the works been carried out within 3 months of completion ! Im getting all stressy already we was meant to complete this week but looks like we've got no chance now! Ive rung a few names on the wood preservation list but no one is there or are getting back to me!

homebird even

I would look at the schemes that are operated via local district councils to insulate houses. There is some information on the Energy Saving Trust website. My MIL will have to pay between £250-£260 to have her roof insulated to modern standards (270mm insulation) and in her area that figure is the same whether you live in a mansion or a small terrace.