Loft insulation in boarded loft

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We have a mostly boarded loft (except under the eaves) which is great for storage but I am aware we have very poor insulation beneath it, old house. We have had a massive clear out and now just using a small part for storage of suitcases, camping gear etc.

if we wanted to lay proper insulation, would we need to pull up the boards or could it go on top? Removing the substantial boards would be major job, probably costing more than any insulation saving! However, obviously don’t want to cause any issues with possible condensation or anything else like that eg would condensation form in area above ceiling and below boards if insulation laid on top, or any other problems?

thank you.

Can it go between the rafters in the roof? That's where mine is.

Sort of like this?

@bare thanks, does that help keep downstairs warm, or do you use your loft as an actual room that you want to retain heat in?

I would recommend insulating at ceiling level, as the roof structure itself needs to be well ventilated , as it is cold, so more prone to condensation. You can insulate at rafter level like the pic above, but because of the need to keep the structure able to dry to outside, its a more technical job.

The danger of insulating above the boards is cold air moving under the insulation and taking the heat away - rather like if a sweater is very loose fitting it isn't as warm as a snug one. Which would undo the benefit.
Depending on how the joists, boards etc are arranged you may be able to get a loose fill insulation blown/shoved under the boards so you don't have to lift them up - or at least, not all of them? There is a good one made from recycled newspaper.

You do need around a foot depth to do a really good job, but if you filled underneath them, you could probably top up on top if you wanted. And make sure your loft hatch is draughtproofed while you're at it!

We just bought a victorian cottage with very poor loft insulation (50 - 100 mm) with loose boards on top. I spent about 3 weekends removing the existing boards, adding 300mm mineral wool on top of that and boarding over with a raised floor using Loftboard Store Floor (plastic legs / metal beam which support the boards on top). Cost about 600 quid all in. Can feel the difference in heating efficency already and have a lovely usable stroage loft now. Well worth doing if you are DIY savvy. If not there are companies that will do it for you.

Loft legs and loft lids will enable you to raise the height of the boards above decent thickness insulation.

I’ve used the loft lids to separate insulation from led downlights ( even though the lights said they could be covered by insulation )

www.loftleg.com/

I ordered loft lids off amazon, they will fix your problems. Some companies like https://cleverinsulation.com/loft-insulation-northern-ireland or the company above mentioned offer good solutions.