Loft insulation in Verwood

Judging what is there. A layer put in when a Verwood house was built in the eighties is usually still dry and still doing something, and if it is even, lofted and clear of the wall plate we can cross lay straight over it and count the depth.

What rules it out is thinning where it has settled, a floor that has compressed it, patchy holes cut round old wiring, droppings from birds that have got in, or a bare foot of plasterboard showing at the wall where the wool is missing. Any one of those and it comes out, into bags at the hatch and away in the van, rather than being sealed under new material where interstitial damp can gather.

Building the depth. The new run is laid across the joists at right angles to whatever is between them, so the timbers stop bridging cold into the rooms below. Two layers, finishing near 270mm. Approved Document L is where that number comes from. The open runs get rolls of mineral wool, whether the merchant sells it as glass wool or as rockwool. Batts drop into the bays that truss bracing creates, loose fill goes where a roll cannot follow, and sheep wool is available if you would rather. The number that matters at the end of it is the U value across the ceiling, which is one of the main routes out for heat in a house of this age, and it lands on the heating bill first and an EPC later.

The corners of a trussed roof. Nearly all the Verwood roofs of this age are trussed, which means a lattice of thin braced timbers rather than a space you can walk in. Access is the hatch, everything is fed in from there and worked outwards, and crawl boards move along with us. It is work at height from the first rung of the ladder. The middle of a loft like that is quick and the last two metres into each corner take the time, which is exactly where a hurried job stops short.

Ventilation, and where it comes from. The wool stops dead on the wall plate. The air gap above it is the inlet for the whole roof and vent trays hold it open, so a suitcase pushed into the eaves later cannot close it. Cross ventilation starts there, works its way up the slope and finds its way out under the ridge, faster still where a ridge vent has been fitted. A breathable membrane hands a modern roof a second route out. The bitumen felt underlay on an older one hands it nothing. Insulating the ceiling takes the dew point up into the roof, so eaves that get packed repay you with condensation, wet wool and black mould on the timbers instead of a warm bedroom.

Tank, lights and storage. The cold water tank is lagged and so is the pipework running to it, because the loft is now a colder place than the one the tank has sat in for forty years. Wiring and cables are brought up onto the insulation. Fire rated covers go over recessed lights and downlighters. You keep the storage as well: legs raise the deck above the work, the boarding goes back on top of them, and the loft ladder is set to meet the platform. A rigid board and a draught seal go onto the hatch. Where a garage or a roof has been converted into a room there is no floor to lay on, so that part goes in at rafter level. The rafters take board between them, PIR or Celotex, with a clear run of air kept over the top. Under the rafters goes a second layer, then taped vapour control, and multi-foil quilt only where a sloping ceiling or a dormer cheek is too shallow for anything thicker.

A bungalow loft covers the whole house, so it is big for the floor area. The edges and access decide the time.

The roof shape. A wide eighties bungalow with a trussed roof has diagonal bracing to work around. A chalet bungalow has rooms in the roof, and the insulation goes behind the walls and in the small voids at the eaves.

What is up there. Old compressed mineral wool is bagged and removed, and boarding for storage has to come up and go back, or be raised on legs so the new depth fits underneath.

The eaves and the edges. The new layer stops at the wall plate and the eaves stay clear for air, otherwise the felt runs with condensation. Boxing over downlighters and lagging the tank and pipework take most of the labour. Approved Document L sets the depth.

The hatch. A hatch in the hall that you can stand a ladder under is easy. An insulated, draught-sealed hatch is an item on the quote.

Ask other quotes what depth and how many layers, whether old material comes out, how boarded areas are handled, and whether the hatch and pipework are included.

Lofts we insulate are in Verwood and its neighbours, Three Legged Cross, West Moors and the surrounding BH31 roads out to Alderholt, about ten miles from where we are based in Boscombe. Dorset Council is building control.

We are Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719. The owner, Thomas Hannen, climbs through your hatch and prices the job himself. A verified customer on Checkatrade gave the work 10 out of 10. We charge nothing to survey the loft, and the quote comes itemised, in writing, free. Before you book a visit in Verwood, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Verwood 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.