Heat Insulation Material - Kids Bedroom?

[Mark_Dathorne]

Hi,

My kids bedroom is the coldest room upstairs and now is the time to do something about it but I am not much good at diy.

I need to lay some form of insulation in the attic over the kids bedroom.

1) What material is advised? (Any pointers to suppliers?) 2) What do I need to look out for? (someone mentioned moisture traps!)

My wife - a better diy-er than me- was looking for info about polystyrene balls as that would be easier to lay?

(It's a 1930s house in Bedford, if any use?!)

Thanks for any help.

Mark Dathorne

[BigWallop]

Normal Fibre glass wool will do the trick. It is cheap from most DIY stores. If you lay it in between the joists it does everything you need for you. It does make dust when cut, so wear a mask to cover your nose and mouth, and glasses over your eyes if you're really sensitive. It is easy to cut with big scissors or a sharp modelling knife. Don't press it down to firmly, because it is the bulk that creates the insulation above the ceilings.

If the attic has boards on the floor, then lift them up and lay the wool in, then place the boards back down. It's that simple really.

[Lobster]

To answer your question with another question - first you need to tell us what insulation, if any, is already up there (what type, and how deep?)

David

[Mark_Dathorne]

It looks like old fibreglass wool. Very thin in places.

Do I need to remove the old stuff or just add to it?

Thanks all.

Mark

[Lobster]

No, just add to it. The current standard (for new builds) is I think 270 mm of glass fibre (or it is if you use Wickes insulation!) so you'll be way down on that. You can buy the stuff in rolls of different thickness, so you can work out for yourself what you need to add in order to bring yours up to a decent level. BigWallop's given you a good rundown on what you need to do; the only thing I'd add is that you'll find that adding another layer of insulation will take you above the level of the ceiling joists... if you're going to go the whole hog and add two layers (probably needed to get to the optimum), then the second layer should be laid at 90 degrees to the first. Wickes do a Good Ideas leaflet on it - see

you really have very little insulation currently, then you should do the whole house not just above the kid's room - well worthwhile as you'll notice a big saving in heating bills.

David

[Mark_Dathorne]

Cheers, David.

I laid 2 10m rolls from Focus (the easy type .. still in cellophane) about £20. Makes a difference already ... when more cash is available will head on down for some more!

We also did the draught excluder around the front door! What a difference!! Now the thermostat (in the hall) should work to the balanced temperature!

Gonna look for some stuff for the french doors!

Thx all for your help.

MarkieD