DIY loft insulation

[Misty9]

My loft space is large (3 bed semi) and partly boarded with thin insulation already. Survey picked up that increasing it would be a good idea, and with energy prices on the rise I'm now thinking about it. But how easy would it be to do myself? I'm looking at supasoft recycled plastic insulation. It has a decent loft hatch and ladder, and no significant damp that I know of. Quite a bit of crap up there from the last owners, annoyingly, and two water tanks, one of which is on a raised platform. So I wouldn't be able to lay it over the whole area would I?

Oh, and I'm scared of spiders...! DIY or get the professionals in?

It’s pretty easy. We are useless at DIY and managed to do our own. Just wear protective gloves and long sleeves as the insulation we used caused a bit of a rash.

Yes it's easy to just roll out, especially as a top-up. Although be aware that the difference going from -some- insulation to -more- Insulation won't be dramatic; you might not even be able to tell the difference in room temp or energy consumption/bills.

Having done it myself, topping up from around 100mm to 200-250mm I'd say it was borderline not worth doing.

@FurierTransform

Yes it's easy to just roll out, especially as a top-up. Although be aware that the difference going from -some- insulation to -more- Insulation won't be dramatic; you might not even be able to tell the difference in room temp or energy consumption/bills.

Having done it myself, topping up from around 100mm to 200-250mm I'd say it was borderline not worth doing.

Oh, really? Hmm, food for thought

How thin is it?

What is the depth of the timbers in the loft floor joists?

Is the old insulation yellow fibreglass?

Can you see the undersides of the tiles or slates, or is there a layer of black felt or grey porous membrane?

You may be able to get a grant for this.

If you do it yourself I would suggest you also wear some eye covering, and a mask (there's loads of these just lying about the streets these days) and long sleeves.

(and don't do it on a hot day)

If you use MMMF (man made mineral fibre), even if you wear long sleeves, wash your arms with cold water afterwards. This will wash off any fibres safely, as warm water will open your pores where it can then irritate you.

I used to sell insulation, and we all did this after stock take days!

The supasoft recycled stuff I'm looking at says it's non irritable, but I'll bear all this in mind as I'm super sensitive to everything!

@PigletJohn I'll have to brave going up there to answer those questions, but I'm pretty sure the roof is felt lined already.

This stuff naturalinsulations.co.uk/product/supasoft-insulation/

"The supasoft recycled stuff I'm looking at says it's non irritable, but I'll bear all this in mind as I'm super sensitive to everything!"

that's good

I was going to suggest the brown stuff treated with ecose, which does not shed irritant dust and fibres.

The yellow fibreglass is very troublesome.

A felted roof will keep dirt out so it should be pretty clean. If not, consider hoovering it round (a builders vac is suitable).