Loft insulation in Merritown
Full depth over the ceiling, a proper edge at the eaves, and an itemised written price before anything is ordered.
The site visit is free and so is the written itemised quote. Thomas Hannen prices every job himself.
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Merritown lofts are usually topped up to 270mm in total: two layers of mineral wool, one between the joists and one cross laid over them. On an open site the edges matter as much as the middle, so the perimeter is held down without blocking the eaves. Storage is lifted clear on legs, and the pipes to the tank are wrapped. The walls are on our Merritown insulation page.
A loft in Merritown shows its need for work in the rooms below it and in the timbers. A room that never warms through. A loft where the insulation is thin, uneven and clearly has not been touched in years. And damp, spotted as mould on the roof timbers or a musty smell when the hatch comes down. Merritown sits on open ground with very little in the way of shelter, and wind does things in a roof space that people do not expect. It moves loose material, it strips heat off the edges of a ceiling, and it drives rain at the verges. We look before quoting. The site visit is free and so is the written itemised quote.
The work
Depth in the middle, and a proper edge all round
Why the edges come first here. On an exposed Merritown roof, air blowing in at the eaves passes through the outer face of loose material and takes heat with it. The middle of the loft can be at full depth while the last metre before the wall plate is doing almost nothing.
So we work the perimeter deliberately: depth carried right into the corner, the outer edge held down rather than left fluffed up, and vent trays used so the air runs over the insulation instead of through it.
What is up there already. Most Merritown lofts have one settled layer, thinner than it started, patchy, pulled back around cables and missing altogether at the edges. Wind blown material ends up in ridges and bare patches. If it is dry we straighten it, close the gaps and keep it as the first layer. Anything wet or contaminated with droppings goes into bags and leaves with us.
Material and depth. Mineral wool in a roll does most of it, glass wool or rockwool, friction fitted between the joists, then a second layer laid across them at right angles to 270mm finished. The cross laid layer is what takes the joist itself out of the heat path. Batts suit uneven centres, loose fill goes where nobody can crawl, and rigid board such as PIR or Celotex is for tight headroom. Sheep wool and multi-foil are exceptions rather than the rule.
Ventilation without wind wash. The eaves have to stay open, because cross ventilation is what keeps the timbers dry, but open eaves on an exposed site also mean a lot of air arriving. Vent trays do both jobs: they hold the air gap under the felt and they stop the draught ploughing into the insulation behind. Where a roof is on breathable membrane the detail is slightly different, and a ridge vent helps where the eaves cannot be opened up.
The hatch, the tank and the storage. The hatch gets insulated on the back and draught sealed, which on a windy site is felt immediately on the landing. A tank and its pipework now sit in an unheated space, so both get lagged. Cabling comes up on top of the wool and is clipped there, since wiring that cannot shed heat carries less current, and any recessed light below takes a fire rated cover. Where the loft is used for storage, loft legs lift the boarding clear of the second layer so the depth survives and the loft ladder still reaches a solid platform. Sloping ceilings and dormers follow the rafters, with a clear gap kept to the underlay.
How it runs
Topping up a loft: how the day goes
Thomas comes out, climbs into the loft, checks the depth and state of what is there, and prices it himself. The quote lists the survey, clearing and bagging what is up there now, the material and its depth, keeping the eaves clear, the hatch and any pipework, and disposal.
Dust sheets go down on the landing and stairs before anything goes up. Rolls of mineral wool go between the joists first, then a cross layer over them to reach full depth. Water pipes and tanks in the loft are lagged, and the hatch is insulated and draught-stripped. A clear gap is left at the eaves so the roof can ventilate. Bags of old material come down and leave with us. Damp timber, a roof leak or a wiring problem found up there gets photographed and priced for you before anyone deals with it.
Insulating a loft is not development, so there is no planning application, as Planning Portal guidance on insulation explains. BCP Council is the building control body, and Approved Document L sets the standard. No conservation area covers Merritown, and the council's own list confirms it. HMRC VAT Notice 708/6 covers the VAT position.
Cost
Hatches, trusses and eaves: where loft time goes
We do not charge by the square metre. The floor area is easy; the edges and the access are where the time goes.
The hatch and the space. A wide hatch you can reach from a ladder on the landing is quick. A small trap, a hatch over the stairwell, or a loft you have to crawl across takes longer.
What is up there. Old, flattened or damp material has to be bagged and taken out first. A loft full of boxes or boarding has to be cleared and put back.
Joists and trusses. Joists with an open run are straightforward. A trussed roof with lots of bracing means cutting and fitting around every member.
Ventilation and edges. The eaves have to stay clear, pipes and tanks need lagging, and downlighters need covers so the insulation does not sit on them. That detail is most of the labour, and Approved Document L sets what the work should reach.
The windward side. Wind from the south west can push through gaps at the eaves and verge, so those are checked as part of the job.
Put these to any other installer: how deep, and in how many layers? Does the old material come out first? Does the price cover the hatch, the pipework and the eaves, or just the open floor?
If the loft is wet
A damp loft or water on the felt
Ring, rather than using the form. Droplets on the underside of the felt, black mould on the rafters, or insulation that feels wet all point to warm, moist air getting into a loft that cannot breathe.
After a south westerly gale, look in the loft as well as at the roof, because driven rain can get in at a lifted verge and soak the insulation. We look before adding anything, since more insulation in a loft that cannot ventilate makes it worse. Loft jobs run Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. An unanswered call is returned as soon as we can get to it.
Worth knowing
On open ground the wind gets into the insulation itself
Merritown has almost no shelter from the wind. The most exposed face of a roof in this spot looks south west, straight into the weather, and that changes one specific thing about a loft. Wind entering at the eaves does not stop politely at the wall plate.
It runs into the outer face of the insulation and carries heat away, and it lifts and shuffles loose material until the depth you paid for is in the middle of the loft rather than at the edge where the wall meets the ceiling.
What we do about it is not more material. It is a proper edge. Depth carried fully into the corner, the outer face of the perimeter held down instead of left loose, and vent trays set so the incoming air runs above the insulation rather than through it. The eaves still ventilate, the timbers still dry out, and the last metre of your ceiling actually works. It costs almost nothing extra at the time and it is close to impossible to add later without lifting everything.
Who you are dealing with
Who lays your loft insulation
Our Boscombe base is 3.6 miles from Merritown, and BCP Council handles planning and building control in Hurn parish. Across this part of BH23 we also insulate lofts in Matchams, Hurn, West Parley and Ferndown.
The work is done by Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719. It belongs to Thomas Hannen, who is the one climbing into your loft to price the work. A customer verified by Checkatrade marked us 10 out of 10. Nothing is charged for the visit, or for the written quote that itemises the job. Before you book a visit in Merritown, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.
Planning at a glance
Do you need planning permission in Merritown?
Most repairs in Merritown need no application at all. What decides whether a change to the outside of your house does is who the council is, whether a conservation area or a listing applies, and whether the place sits in a protected landscape.
| Question | In Merritown |
|---|---|
| Who decides | BCP Council is the planning authority for Merritown. BCP Council's heritage pages set out what it controls. |
| Conservation area | None covers Merritown, so a like-for-like repair is ordinary maintenance. |
| Listed buildings | Yes, there are listed buildings in and around Merritown. If yours is one, work can need listed building consent. |
| Protected landscape | No National Park or National Landscape covers Merritown. |
Questions
Questions about loft insulation in Merritown
How quickly can somebody come out?
Ring and we will agree a time for the visit on the call. Scheduled work runs Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. There is nothing to pay for the visit or for the written quote.
How long does the work take?
A day for most houses. Clearing and bagging the old material is the morning and the two new layers go down in the afternoon. Storage to move, or boarding to lift and reset, adds a day.
We already have insulation. Is more worth it?
Usually: it settles, not fails, and out in Merritown the edges get thinned by wind as well, so the U value of that ceiling ends up well short of what Part L expects. Cross laying over what is there costs less than clearing it out.
Will insulating cause condensation in the roof?
Only where the air has stopped moving. Out in Merritown the wind normally does the ventilating for you, so when a loft goes damp it is usually a blocked eaves run or a fan discharging into the roof space. Both are quick to put right and both matter more than depth.
Does it help with the heating bill?
Yes, and on an exposed site the draught side of it matters as much as the depth. A thin ceiling is one of the larger heat losses in most houses, so a full depth ceiling is the thermal gain people notice, and it lifts the fabric score on an EPC.
Nearby, and next door
Loft insulation near Merritown
Nearby places we also cover for loft insulation, with straight-line distances from Merritown, and the other trades we offer in Merritown itself.
Loft insulation nearby
Our other trades in Merritown
Loft insulation guides
Part L: do you have to insulate when you re-roof? Loft condensation or a roof leak: how to tell PIR board vs mineral wool: which insulation?Everything we do in Moordown Loft insulation, all areas Every area we cover
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Get the loft measured and priced
Thomas comes out, gets into the roof space and puts what it needs in writing, line by line. Both are free.