Followup: Roof insulation materials
 

My roof has no insulation at all and I have been looking at the
options. On the open market the eco friendly products like sheepswool
batts are seven times the price of glass fibre. I'd be prepared to pay
a small premium but that is too much for my bank balance to bear

The government is giving grants for insulating old houses so I booked
a survey to get a price with grant included and to pick the brains of
the surveyor

He has just been to visit and the outcome is that sheepswool is still
much more expensive even with the grant. He says that his company
priced up the sheepswool option for a client and the cost to his
company was 4.5 times what they sell glass fibre for. Add on his
company's markup and the cost to me is heading towards 7 times :(

The good news is that material and labour for installing ten inches of
insulation in my attic, plus cavity wall insulation in the 1976
extension will cost me just £225 (three bedroom house)

Anna


~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642

In article , Anna Kettle
writes
My roof has no insulation at all and I have been looking at the
options. On the open market the eco friendly products like sheepswool
batts are seven times the price of glass fibre. I'd be prepared to pay
a small premium but that is too much for my bank balance to bear

The government is giving grants for insulating old houses so I booked
a survey to get a price with grant included and to pick the brains of
the surveyor

He has just been to visit and the outcome is that sheepswool is still
much more expensive even with the grant. He says that his company
priced up the sheepswool option for a client and the cost to his
company was 4.5 times what they sell glass fibre for. Add on his
company's markup and the cost to me is heading towards 7 times :(

The good news is that material and labour for installing ten inches of
insulation in my attic, plus cavity wall insulation in the 1976
extension will cost me just £225 (three bedroom house)

Anna


~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642

What's so "not" ecologically sound about fibre glass?.....
--
Tony Sayer

On Mon, 04 Jul 2005 18:28:02 GMT, (Anna Kettle)
wrote:

My roof has no insulation at all and I have been looking at the
options. On the open market the eco friendly products like sheepswool
batts are seven times the price of glass fibre. I'd be prepared to pay
a small premium but that is too much for my bank balance to bear

The government is giving grants for insulating old houses so I booked
a survey to get a price with grant included and to pick the brains of
the surveyor

He has just been to visit and the outcome is that sheepswool is still
much more expensive even with the grant. He says that his company
priced up the sheepswool option for a client and the cost to his
company was 4.5 times what they sell glass fibre for. Add on his
company's markup and the cost to me is heading towards 7 times :(

The good news is that material and labour for installing ten inches of
insulation in my attic, plus cavity wall insulation in the 1976
extension will cost me just £225 (three bedroom house)

Anna


~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642

Sheeps wool is 100 pence a flease from the farmer, if you want some
drop me an email. Its nautrally waterproof, and bug proof. Its cost
the farmers 50 pence to shear the sheep, so they make 50 pence a
flease. Even for a big sheep farmer is not much money.

I imagine all you need to do is get the sh1t out of it, which of
cource is a haven for nasties.

Rick

"Anna Kettle" wrote in message
...
My roof has no insulation at all and I have been looking at the
options. On the open market the eco friendly products like sheepswool
batts are seven times the price of glass fibre. I'd be prepared to pay
a small premium but that is too much for my bank balance to bear

The government is giving grants for insulating old houses so I booked
a survey to get a price with grant included and to pick the brains of
the surveyor

He has just been to visit and the outcome is that sheepswool is still
much more expensive even with the grant. He says that his company
priced up the sheepswool option for a client and the cost to his
company was 4.5 times what they sell glass fibre for. Add on his
company's markup and the cost to me is heading towards 7 times :(

The good news is that material and labour for installing ten inches of
insulation in my attic, plus cavity wall insulation in the 1976
extension will cost me just £225 (three bedroom house)

Go for Rockwool, not galss fibre. Make the ceiling air-tight before
installtion and lay a well fitting vapour barrier. Make sure the loft lid is
sealed too.

"Rick" wrote in message
...

Sheeps wool is 100 pence a flease from the farmer, if you want some
drop me an email. Its nautrally waterproof, and bug proof.

Not bug-proof.


I imagine all you need to do is get the sh1t out of it, which of
cource is a haven for nasties.

There's a bit more to it than that ... your imagination is running riot.

Mary

Rick

On Mon, 4 Jul 2005 20:20:12 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Rick" wrote in message
.. .

Sheeps wool is 100 pence a flease from the farmer, if you want some
drop me an email. Its nautrally waterproof, and bug proof.

Not bug-proof.


I imagine all you need to do is get the sh1t out of it, which of
cource is a haven for nasties.

There's a bit more to it than that ... your imagination is running riot.

Mary

Rick



Mary

Do the bugs live by eating the wool, or do they live by eating all the
stuff (sh1t and the like) that collects in the wool ? Looking at the
local sheep population, the dirtier the sheep the more unhealty they
look.

Thanks
Rick

In message , Rick
writes
On Mon, 4 Jul 2005 20:20:12 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Rick" wrote in message
. ..

Sheeps wool is 100 pence a flease from the farmer, if you want some
drop me an email. Its nautrally waterproof, and bug proof.

Not bug-proof.


I imagine all you need to do is get the sh1t out of it, which of
cource is a haven for nasties.

There's a bit more to it than that ... your imagination is running riot.


Do the bugs live by eating the wool, or do they live by eating all the
stuff (sh1t and the like) that collects in the wool ? Looking at the
local sheep population, the dirtier the sheep the more unhealty they
look.

Washing enough fleeces to insulate our large loft would be a non-trivial
task.
--
Chris French

In message , Anna Kettle
writes

The government is giving grants for insulating old houses so I booked
a survey to get a price with grant included and to pick the brains of
the surveyor

Who deals with these grants? We have very poor insulation in our loft,
which will need sorting out before the autumn.

The good news is that material and labour for installing ten inches of
insulation in my attic, plus cavity wall insulation in the 1976
extension will cost me just £225 (three bedroom house)

Not bad at all. I really don't fancy putting this stuff in myself in our
large loft, and I've also come to the conclusion that more 'eco-friendly
' products are just to expensive for us.
--
Chris French

"Rick" wrote in message
...

Sheeps wool is 100 pence a flease from the farmer,

I hope not. We were getting £2.25 last year.

"Anna Kettle" wrote in message
...
My roof has no insulation at all and I have been looking at the
options. On the open market the eco friendly products like sheepswool
batts are seven times the price of glass fibre. I'd be prepared to pay
a small premium but that is too much for my bank balance to bear

The government is giving grants for insulating old houses so I booked
a survey to get a price with grant included and to pick the brains of
the surveyor

He has just been to visit and the outcome is that sheepswool is still
much more expensive even with the grant. He says that his company
priced up the sheepswool option for a client and the cost to his
company was 4.5 times what they sell glass fibre for. Add on his
company's markup and the cost to me is heading towards 7 times :(

The good news is that material and labour for installing ten inches of
insulation in my attic, plus cavity wall insulation in the 1976
extension will cost me just £225 (three bedroom house)

Ask him for a price for those recycled paper products (Bitvent ?). These
have about the same U value as fibreglass. It is sprayed into place so a
little more expensive to install but if you're doing a cavity wall then the
equipment is there.

chris French wrote:

In message , Anna Kettle
writes

The government is giving grants for insulating old houses so I booked
a survey to get a price with grant included and to pick the brains of
the surveyor


Who deals with these grants? We have very poor insulation in our loft,
which will need sorting out before the autumn.

I think that it is your local council, but...

My wife works for our local council and because of this, she found out
that we could get a discount for loft and cavity wall insulation. The
surveyor came round and said that the cavity insulation could be done
for just over 100 quid (we live in a small half terraced house).

When it came to the loft insulation, that was a totally different thing.
Cos we had 'some' (a scant squashed 2 inches) loft insulation we would
be charged more than 250 quid (this was with the council discount). If
we had none, it would cost 125 quid. I did it myself for a lot less than
100 quid, including cross battening to allow another 5 inches of rockwool.

The good news is that material and labour for installing ten inches of
insulation in my attic, plus cavity wall insulation in the 1976
extension will cost me just £225 (three bedroom house)


Not bad at all. I really don't fancy putting this stuff in myself in our
large loft, and I've also come to the conclusion that more 'eco-friendly
' products are just to expensive for us.

Put the rockwool down, but wear a long sleaved shirt, buttoned at the wrist.
Do it on a cool day.
Make sure that the central heating cannot come on and warm you up in the
loft.
When you have done for the day, take all your clothes off and take a
shower.

For the first few minutes you will have to just let the water run down
your body, do not touch any of your skin, as this may rub the fibres
into it. Now shower as normal, but make all the washing strokes
downward. That way, you will not suffer the big itch of loft insulation.

Dave

On Mon, 4 Jul 2005 23:12:30 +0100, chris French
wrote:

In message , Anna Kettle
writes

How come I can see the replies in this thread but not my original
message? I even went and Google Grouped to find it and it isn't there.
Wierd

The government is giving grants for insulating old houses so I booked
a survey to get a price with grant included and to pick the brains of
the surveyor

Who deals with these grants? We have very poor insulation in our loft,
which will need sorting out before the autumn.

www.heatproject.co.uk
which listed 16 different suppliers for my area, all selling much the
same thing and much the same price so I went for the one who put a
flyer through my door and is based in the next village

They are very over subscribed. I requested a survey eight weeks ago
and have only just got to the top of the list,so it would be worth
asking suppliers how long you need to wait for a survey

The good news is that material and labour for installing ten inches of
insulation in my attic, plus cavity wall insulation in the 1976
extension will cost me just £225 (three bedroom house)

Not bad at all. I really don't fancy putting this stuff in myself in our
large loft

Agreed. I'd have paid £225 just for someone else to do the installing

Anna

~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642

On Mon, 4 Jul 2005 23:29:58 +0100, "Mike" wrote:

Ask him for a price for those recycled paper products (Bitvent ?). These
have about the same U value as fibreglass. It is sprayed into place so a
little more expensive to install but if you're doing a cavity wall then the
equipment is there.

He suggested that option but loose fill is no good for me cos one day
I will have to take up the insulation in part of the house to repair
the ceiling from above which is old and historically valuable but in
lousy condition. Luckily thats what I do for a living

Anna


~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642

Rick wrote:
Do the bugs live by eating the wool, or do they live by eating all the
stuff (sh1t and the like) that collects in the wool ?

Haven't you ever seen clothes moths? Carpet beetles?

The energy required to produce it?

In article .com, Alan
writes
The energy required to produce it?


Is that an answer or a question?. Even so its remarkably durable and
lasts for a very long time.

Is sheep's fleece flammable to add to its other seeming
disadvantages.....
--
Tony Sayer

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...


Is sheep's fleece flammable

Of course not!

to add to its other seeming
disadvantages.....

Which are?

Mary

tony sayer wrote:
Is sheep's fleece flammable to add to its other seeming
disadvantages.....

Wool is naturally fairly resistant to fire, which is why a sheepskin
hearthrug is a good idea. Wool on top, leather underneath, and the long
pile brushes over any burned bits.

Owain

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...

Is sheep's fleece flammable

Only at gas mark 6 if you leave it on the joint

In article , Mary
Fisher writes

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...


Is sheep's fleece flammable

Of course not!

to add to its other seeming
disadvantages.....

Which are?

Mary


Cost ?, for one plus some doubt about insect's ewecetra....
--
Tony Sayer

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...
In article , Mary
Fisher writes

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...


Is sheep's fleece flammable

Of course not!

to add to its other seeming
disadvantages.....

Which are?

Mary


Cost ?, for one plus some doubt about insect's ewecetra....

I don't understand. Which insect's ewecetera?


--
Tony Sayer

In article , Mary
Fisher writes

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...
In article , Mary
Fisher writes

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...


Is sheep's fleece flammable

Of course not!

to add to its other seeming
disadvantages.....

Which are?

Mary


Cost ?, for one plus some doubt about insect's ewecetra....

I don't understand. Which insect's ewecetera?


--
Tony Sayer




--
Tony Sayer

Bancom Communications Ltd U.K. Tel+44 1223 566577 Fax+44 1223 566588

P.O. Box 280, Cambridge, England, CB2 2DY E-Mail

In article , Mary
Fisher writes

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...
In article , Mary
Fisher writes

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...


Is sheep's fleece flammable

Of course not!

to add to its other seeming
disadvantages.....

Which are?

Mary


Cost ?, for one plus some doubt about insect's ewecetra....

I don't understand. Which insect's ewecetera?

ewe etc geddit?..


The ones a few threads back. Anyway what's so eco wrong about fibre
glass and/or rockwool for that matter?....



--
Tony Sayer

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...
In article , Mary
Fisher writes

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...
In article , Mary
Fisher writes

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...


Is sheep's fleece flammable

Of course not!

to add to its other seeming
disadvantages.....

Which are?

Mary


Cost ?, for one plus some doubt about insect's ewecetra....

I don't understand. Which insect's ewecetera?

ewe etc geddit?..


The ones a few threads back. Anyway what's so eco wrong about fibre
glass and/or rockwool for that matter?....



--
Tony Sayer