Insulation in Minstead

A roof that was never built for a loft. A lot of the houses along the lanes here are old enough to have purlins and heavy rafters rather than a modern trussed roof, which means an attic you can half stand up in, shallow ceiling joists and often lath and plaster underneath. We straighten what is already down, close the gaps at the ends of the runs, then lay mineral wool across the joists at right angles, between and over, so the timber itself stops acting as a cold bridge through the ceiling. Around 270mm finished depth is the usual target, laid loose rather than compressed, because squashed wool is thinner wool. Eco Roll goes down easily in an awkward space and cuts round chimney breasts and old timbers.

Thatch, where we would talk you out of it. If yours is one of the thatched cottages, do not let anybody line the underside of the thatch with foil, board or a sealed membrane. Thatch has to dry in both directions, and shutting it in rots the spars and the fixings from the inside. The right answer is insulation at ceiling level in a breathable quilt with the roof space above it left ventilated, and we will put that in writing rather than take the bigger job. Where an attic has already become a bedroom the insulation goes at rafter level instead: rigid board cut tight between the rafters with an air gap above and a second layer under, taped so the vapour control layer faces the room, or a multi-layer foil quilt such as TLX where the head height will not take it. A dormer cheek is the coldest part of most roof rooms and the one most often missed.

An older Minstead cottage has solid walls with no cavity to fill, so the choice is internal wall insulation, detailed carefully around joist ends and window reveals, or external wall insulation, which is a planning matter here rather than a free choice. Newer houses in the village do have a cavity, and a borescope in the survey tells us whether it was ever filled and whether the fill has slumped. With four in ten households here on oil and another tenth on electricity, the fabric decides how much heat you buy and the loft is worth more than it would be on the gas main. Vent trays go in at the eaves before any new depth, the hatch gets a board and a draught seal, boarding goes back on legs, and downlighters get fire hoods.

No rate per square metre: the area is the easy part and everything round it is the awkward part. A thatched cottage with a small hatch over a landing is one morning; a converted outbuilding with a sloping ceiling and no loft at all is another. Old material to bag and take away, and boarding to lift and put back, come before anything new goes down. Approved Document L sets what the work has to reach. Ask what depth is being laid, whether the old material comes out, and whether the eaves and hatch are included.

We cover Minstead, Lyndhurst, Emery Down, Cadnam, Bartley and the SO43 addresses through the middle of the Forest, with the National Park Authority for planning and New Forest District Council for building control. Send us the postcode if you want to be certain you are inside it.

Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719, which you can look up in a minute. Thomas Hannen's business, and he is the one who comes out to price the job, not a salesman. A verified customer's 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade. The visit and the written quote are both free.