1930s Semi Refurb - Part 4 of ... (Edition: Loft Insulation)

[dlockers]

Ah that's good to know! I've already hacked 2 of the 400mm lengths down to size which wasn't fun with a stanley knife. I'll saw it down in the bag going forward. I've also got the added fun of having to remove the old blown insulation first by hand. Potentially odd question but did you find any random bits of slate on your lath & plaster ceiling? I'm wondering whether it was used an an old school form of insulation or sound proofing.

Mate I found all sorts of crap including a dead bird. I guess over 100 years lots of fun ideas were had by ex homeowners. I must have lifted at least 12 different types of carpet, too. Everything but adequate insulation essentially

 

[dlockers]

Am dying. Have managed to get all but two of the hip cellotax down, and 80% of the 100mm. One more big push I hope - although that may mean I need to temporarily seal the old loft hatch versus making it good.

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[dlockers]

Looks like a quality job though!

I cut the mineral wool insulation using big sharp garden shears as then you can chop it quickly and cleanly. Not sure about length wise but width it worked well.

Or compress down with a wooden baton and a sharp knife.

Thanks!

I've not had a reason to try something other than the mitre saw (this one) but if I did I'd be going bread knife + shears for sure.

I really need to have a think now as I only have 5 boards total. 2 are in first-fix position, the other 3 are just "in the way" at the moment. The loft legs are really annoying @ 4 screws each plus semi-correct spacing on twisted joists.

I think I'll try and get the bit in front of the new loft hatch done, as I can then build up the wooden frame/board, as I can then move the ladder, which then lets me do the middle, and then finish off on the old loft hatch area.

Loooooong.

Edit: buying more boards is definitely a 2023 problem.

 

[dlockers]

Looking good @dLockers
How many rolls of insulation did you get through?
Ours looks like it needs redoing, even though it was only done 5 years ago. Whoever did it didn’t do a very good job.

Did you put celotex in all the eaves? Is there any risk to this preventing the loft from breathing?

Thanks,

I ordered 15 and there is 8 left, I think I am cutting it fine on the 100mm and possibly have too much 170mm but it is hard to eyeball (as roll length depends on roll thickness, i.e. the 170mm is 5.68m but the 100m is 7.28m).

I've put celotax in the hipped roof - it is 50mm, and the gap is "theoretically" 100mm, so I should be fine. In reality though it looks like the gap is more like 20mm/30mm. It'll be infinitely better than what I removed though which was wedged in to capacity.

Annoyingly I can't get to two sections so when I take the eaves off to put proper ventilation in, I'll squeeze the remaining bits up.

 

[dlockers]

Looks very much like our loft space. Annoyingly it's fully boarded by previous owner, but the insulation is squashed underneath i.e they haven't raised the floor. It's a big job to take it all up and redo properly, but might have no option if we want to reduce our energy costs.

Honestly I've battled with the idea that if it was boarded it would have stopped me doing this, but I reckon I've had a harder job lifting all the crap and junk he put down than moving a few boards. No excuses, crack on! it should just be easier for you!

 

[dlockers]

Final day tomorrow I hope...altho I washed the cars today and I am definitely suffering from 'delayed on set muscle pain' from all the contorting and forgetting to wear knee pads!

Plan is to get the framing down to insulate and then board the middle, and then get the loft ladder relocated. It is plain sailing then........theoretically.

 

[dlockers]

Almost there but am actually dying now. Lost my gloves and mask midway through but I'm now immune to fibreglass itches however minus 2 years from life expectancy.

Ladder was luckily oversized for where it was before so fitted great. Had some spare wood so went OTT on the loft hatch area lol.

Edit: this is what was under the middle bit by the loft hatch:

 

[dlockers]

Honestly I think the itchiness must be certain kinds of insulation as I haven't really felt it at all. Either that or I have thicker skin

As I've got lots more boarding to do but didn't want to leave any major spots uncovered, my plan is to just roll it back/fold it over itself and whack a temporary bit of wood down.

Yeah the insulation I took up consisted of:
* old carpets
* some weird fibre based sound deadening
* rolls of old underlay
* rugs
* a scalf
* some blown on stuff above one of the rooms (but none of the others)
* an inch of that orange stuff suspended above the joists

I can't imagine the orange stuff did the square root of f all tbh.

Bonus pics:

I ran out of 30mm screws here so some are 25mm


My outrageous loft hatch:


An "in progress video":

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[dlockers]

Woops I posted in the wrong thread! Looking good tho!

You're saying Bernard isn't your pet name for me?