FREE LOFT INSULATION
Free Loft Insulation Grants available in Cardiff, Bridgend, Newport, Swansea, Caerphilly and throughout South Wales.
Is my Loft suitable for insulating?
A full and thorough survey of the loft space is carried out, including a health and safety survey, to ascertain it’s suitability.
Any findings or concerns are then discussed with you.
These could include but are not limited to – damp, ceiling cracks, high amp cables, down-lighters, wasps nests, evidence of rodents, condensation, shallow lofts with less than 1 metre head height etc.
If Bats are present, you cannot have your loft insulated- it’s illegal. They are a protected species, and must not be disturbed.
However, the loft can be insulated during their “away period”.
Can you get free loft insulation if not on benefits?
Yes, you could qualify through L A flex (Local Authority Flexible Funding).
The Government has decided that 50% of the grant fund will be used for L A Flex.
It is not local authority money. The Local Authority just sets the qualifying criteria required to access that pot of money. We send a completed L A Flex application form to the Council and they check it. If it satisfies their criteria they sign a declaration and return it to us. We then pay them their fee for signing it. The fee varies from authority to authority, but is normally between £100 and £300.
However, the LA Flex scheme is not obligatory – the Councils don’t have to take part in it – some do, some don’t and some might.
And each local authority has it’s own set of criteria.
How is Free Loft insulation installed?
We don’t use the “itchy stuff” any more.
For our free loft insulation we use what can be described as a “quilt” which the manufactures state “you could comfortably sleep on”.
The rolls are brought into the house in “poly bags” and taken into the loft, where the insulation is removed from the bags.
The first layer of free loft insulation is then laid between the joists. A second layer is then laid at right angles to the first layer, that is across the joists, therefore “sealing off” the insulation below.
The recommended depth of loft insulation is 270mm ( 11 inches).
Our technicians will then ensure that there is sufficient ventilation within the loft space.
Each loft will have it’s own set of circumstances such as down-lighters, electricity cables etc. but these would have been noted during the initial survey and discussed with you.
An average semi-detached house would take less than 2 hours to insulate. The empty bags are removed from the loft and no mess to be seen.
All our technicians are fully insured.
Methodist Church, Blackwood.
This is a church loft that we insulated in Blackwood, S.Wales.
It has a beautiful “barrel” ceiling.
It could only be done by blowing insulation into the loft space. It was potentially too dangerous to try and lay the insulation. The area of the loft was 325sqm, that’s equivalent to about 6 semi detached houses.
Rafter Insulation
We do not install “rafter” insulation. There are 2 main reasons for this.
Firstly, we just don’t see the point of it.
Yes, it stops the heat from leaving the house, but does not stop the heat from leaving the “living space” (the bedrooms). It only serves to heat the loft space – great if you are growing plants in the loft.
However our second reason is somewhat scary.
Rafter insulation normally takes the form of “foam insulation” and this forms a bond with the roof. I had read horror stories online where a problem had arisen with a tile letting in water. Owing to the bond formed by the foam insulation the whole roof had to be removed.
In August 2016 I had a call from a customer in Whitchurch, Cardiff where that exact same situation had arisen. The customer had to have the roof replaced at a cost of £7,000.
Loft Insulation is supposed to save you money – not cost you £1,000’s.
Give us a call now on 0800 8 10 10 60 or 07960 799681 and speak to an expert adviser