Loft insulation

[Broadback]

I would like to insulate my loft, at the moment there is none. I know that I will need to install air bricks in the gable ends as there is no ventilation, that is no problem.

However being a solid floor bungalow all the cabling is in the loft space. What insulation material can I use that will not attack the cables I don't want to start a war up there! :-)

Tried a search with Google, not found much help. However I have found a product called Warmcell 100 that seems to fit the bill. Anyone any knowledge of this product, or alternative suggestions?

TIA

[Owain]

"Broadback" wrote | I would like to insulate my loft, at the moment there is none. ... | However being a solid floor bungalow all the cabling is in the loft | space. What insulation material can I use that will not attack the | cables I don't want to start a war up there! :-)

As well as 'chemical compatibility' you should be aware that insulating round cables reduces their current-carrying capacity. Lighting circuits usually already have well oversized cable, but an electric cooker or (especially) electric shower cable may be running at its max capacity already and would require to be relocated or rewired in heavier cable.

Owain

[Andrew Barnes]

Its worth contacting your energy supplier first. My parents had their large loft done by a company, subsidised by the energy supplier for less than it would have cost to buy the insulation.

And I can tell you, its a horrible job!

[Jan Wysocki]

Actually Warmcell is very pleasant to lay. Even when decompacting it with a a stirrer attachment on a drill, remarkably few fine particles are generated. (I have insalled mineral wool in a couple of dozen lofts and that was hell.) I suspect that a small cement mixer could be used to speed up decompaction. (D-I-Y Warmcell is delivered in compressed bales.)

As others have pointed out, sheet materials are a lot easier to use, and have lower thermal conductivity, but I presume they're not nearly as 'green' as Warmcell which is made from recycled newspaper.