You can lose up to a quarter of your home's heat through the roof so it pays to insulate your loft. Relatively simple to do, just follow the steps below

Tools and materials
Protective clothing, gloves, mask, blanket insulation of required thickness, heavy duty scissors.

Preparation:

• You will need to measure the area of your loft in square metres to calculate how much insulation is required.
• In the UK the recommended thickness of insulation is between 150mm and 270mm and can be achieved by double layering insulation rolls of lesser thickness. The choice on the thickness of insulation depends on your usage of the loft space i.e. storage requires boards to be laid over the joists. Consequently in this situation the insulation thickness can not be higher than the joists.
• Check the width between the joists so that the insulation material you purchase fits snugly between the joists.
• Clear the area and lay down some boards to provide a platform to work from. These boards should rest across the floor joists. Do not stand between the joists as this will be the ceiling below, not designed to support weight.
• Ensure adequate lighting is available in the loft - a torch in the mouth will not be enough so run an extension lead into the loft and hang a suitable light from a beam.
• Repair any cracks or holes in the ceiling below to prevent the escape of warm air.
• Insulate the water tank and/or surrounding pipe work to help prevent any water freezing in colder weather.
• Wear protective clothing, gloves and mask as the insulation material can often irate the skin, eyes and throat on contact.

1. Using the boards laid across the joist as a support platform, start at one end of the loft and unwrap the first insulation blanket material roll.
2. Trim the end of the insulation material at an angle so as it will fit against the slope of the roof

N.B. Be careful not to cover and block the eaves of the roof which are there to allow adequate ventilation in to the loft.

3. Unroll the insulation material and position it between the joists being careful not to compress it.

N.B. Do not lay the insulation material over light fittings from the ceiling below or electrical cables. Cut sections out of the insulation material to sit around light fittings and lift up any cables, clipping them to the joists so as the insulating material lies underneath.

N.B. Do not lay any insulation material under the water tank as heat rising from the house will help to prevent any freezing in the colder weather.

4. At the end of the first roll of insulation material, butt join it to the beginning of the new roll of insulating material and then unroll the rest of the material along the joists.
5. Continue to do this working your way across the length of the joists. When you reach the opposite roof, trim the insulation material to fit under the eaves as in step 2.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 moving you way across the loft, trimming the insulation material to fit any odd areas as you go.
7. Cut a piece of insulation material to fit on the back of the loft hatch by fastening it to a piece of old sheet attached to the hatch with pins or staples.

Reproduced with permission from www.ProblemSolved.co.uk. The website contains 70,000 reliable and recommended tradespeople from plumbers to interior designers and everything in between!

Please note all advice provided by www.ProblemSolved.co.uk Ltd is intended to provide general guidance for the personal use of the reader, who accepts full responsibility of said guidance. If in any doubt about the information provided the reader should consult a qualified professional before proceeding.