Loft Insulation... Where to put it

[Conanius]

So.

We are in the process of buying a property which, according to survey, could do with some more loft insulation. No problem. Its got some, and onto of the 'some' the loft is fully boarded. That will offer... some level of insulation.

We've been told one option is to raise the boarding in the loft, put down a load of insulation, and then raise the rafter depths and reboard over the top. This will obviously lose us some vertical space.

We might be looking into doing a loft conversion in the near future, so doing this isn't preferred.

What about doing the loft insulation that goes onto the back of the roofing felt (on the uprights) opposed to the floor ?

Is this as effective as the floor based loft insulation, and will doing this make any difference if there is already this existing insulation in place?

I don't want to do work now that will create a load more work later if we decide to do the loft conversion, so help hugely appreciated !

Help !

 

[Derek W]

Depending on what level of 'loft conversion' you want to do check here for my comments on that subject along with other folks inputs. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18605601

You may have to increase the depth of the floor ties when you 'convert' at a later date so it may be possible just to put the insulation at floor level just now. If you want to put the insulation in at coomb / sloping ceiling level so that you're forming a 'room' for the future you'll have to leave at least a 50 mm airgap over (assuming it doesn't have a fully breathable roof membrane) to prevent moisture build up within the roof space.

 

[£15]

Loft conversion in near future = do nothing now?

Sincerely, save the time, effort and expense and leave it as-is. At least for now. It'll take a couple of years for loft insulation to pay for itself and if you rip it all out to convert your loft 'in the near future' it'll all be for nought.

I wouldn't let a 'surveyors' report on the (lack of) insulation worry me in the slightest when it comes to buying a house.

Our house had next-to, and in some places zero, insulation. We considered a loft conversion but after moving in and what with all the other jobs that needed doing, it's gone on the back burner for several years. That was a year ago, so we had one winter of (probably) higher heating bills.

So, I opted to board-out the central area, just enough for my needs (minimal insulation, but stuff on top is probably just as good) and then got BG to insulate the rest for free. Which means it's paid for itself already!