Mum is getting her loft insulated (under some council scheme, by a
company called MacSence) they will do this (I think) using a blanket of
glass fibre, now I have read that this has to be eight inches to provide
a "proper" thermal barrier, laid on six inch thick joists I can not see
this 2" being a major problem but she has this idea of boarding the
floor (of the loft) after it has been insulated, will this not compress
the glass fibre? Will this not affect the insulation properties of the
glass fibre? Or will this compression not matter? Or should she try
making a nuisance of herself and have the chaps use slightly thinner
blanket (don't even know if thinner stuff exists or if they can get it
or if they would be prepared to fit this) and when the boards are put
down they will not compress the insulation. Gilmerton Dykes, Edinburgh,
Scotland.
--
This post contains no hidden meanings, no implications and certainly no
hidden agendas
so it should be taken at face value. The wrong words may be used this
is due to my limitations with the English language .

soup wrote:
Mum is getting her loft insulated (under some council scheme, by a
company called MacSence) they will do this (I think) using a blanket of
glass fibre, now I have read that this has to be eight inches to provide
a "proper" thermal barrier, laid on six inch thick joists I can not see
this 2" being a major problem but she has this idea of boarding the
floor (of the loft) after it has been insulated, will this not compress
the glass fibre? Will this not affect the insulation properties of the

Yes.
glass fibre? Or will this compression not matter? Or should she try
making a nuisance of herself and have the chaps use slightly thinner
blanket (don't even know if thinner stuff exists or if they can get it
or if they would be prepared to fit this) and when the boards are put
down they will not compress the insulation. Gilmerton Dykes, Edinburgh,
Scotland.

Compressed insulation will be very slightly - though probably not
measurably worse than the same thickness of uncompressed foam.
Alternatively.
The other solution is to space the flooring over the rafters.
Either high density foam of some sort - or more probably simple 2"
battens.
On the other hand, economically speaking, unless you are very young, the
additional insulation amount by not compressing it is likely not to pay
back in her lifetime, over the cost of the extra battening.

If the house is likely to be passed down through the family, then this
may change a little.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
soup wrote:

Mum is getting her loft insulated (under some council scheme, by a
company called MacSence) they will do this (I think) using a blanket
of glass fibre, now I have read that this has to be eight inches to
provide a "proper" thermal barrier, laid on six inch thick joists I
can not see this 2" being a major problem but she has this idea of
boarding the floor (of the loft) after it has been insulated, will
this not compress the glass fibre? Will this not affect the
insulation properties of the glass fibre? Or will this compression
not matter? Or should she try making a nuisance of herself and have
the chaps use slightly thinner blanket (don't even know if thinner
stuff exists or if they can get it or if they would be prepared to
fit this) and when the boards are put down they will not compress the
insulation. Gilmerton Dykes, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Don't worry about it! If she does board it, the boards will more than make
up for the reduced mat thickness. 8" matting will easily compress into a 6"
space.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.

"Set Square" wrote in message
...
Don't worry about it! If she does board it, the boards will more than make
up for the reduced mat thickness. 8" matting will easily compress into a
6" space.
--


Any ventilation issues if you have the insulation compressed between the
"ceiling" underneath and the boards you lay down on the attic floor?




a

al wrote:
"Set Square" wrote in message
...
Don't worry about it! If she does board it, the boards will more
than make up for the reduced mat thickness. 8" matting will easily
compress into a 6" space.
Any ventilation issues if you have the insulation compressed between
the "ceiling" underneath and the boards you lay down on the attic
floor?

Think the way they "place" the insulation leaves the eaves free to allow
ventilation.

A subsidiary question that comes to mind is, below the joists is the
plasterboard of the ceiling below obviously the 'board can handle
virtually no weight from above, if 8" of insulation is crammed into a 6"
gap by the floor boards will there be a force issue for the plasterboard
ceiling? Or is there virtually no force involved in compressing 8"
insulation by 2".




--
This post contains no hidden meanings, no implications and certainly no
hidden agendas so it should be taken at face value. The wrong words
may be used this is due to my limitations with the English language .

soup wrote:
Mum is getting her loft insulated (under some council scheme, by a
company called MacSence) they will do this (I think) using a blanket of
glass fibre, now I have read that this has to be eight inches to provide
a "proper" thermal barrier, laid on six inch thick joists I can not see
this 2" being a major problem but she has this idea of boarding the
floor (of the loft) after it has been insulated, will this not compress
the glass fibre? Will this not affect the insulation properties of the
glass fibre? Or will this compression not matter?

It'll compress, but if the rafters are covered in insulation, then
finding them and boarding will be a real PITA.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
soup wrote:


A subsidiary question that comes to mind is, below the joists is the
plasterboard of the ceiling below obviously the 'board can handle
virtually no weight from above, if 8" of insulation is crammed into a
6" gap by the floor boards will there be a force issue for the
plasterboard ceiling? Or is there virtually no force involved in
compressing 8" insulation by 2".

There is very little force involved in compressing it - it's mostly air.
Remember, when it's supplied - all tightly rolled up - it not much more than
1" thick.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.

soup wrote:

Mum is getting her loft insulated (under some council scheme, by a
company called MacSence) they will do this (I think) using a blanket
of glass fibre,

.....and check the small print of the offer. It might cost more than
you were expecting.

One brochure recently landed on my mat that offered to top up the
insulation to 200 mm for a ridiculously low price - but the small print
stated that to qualify the existing layer had to be less than 25mm
deep.

That's only one inch! I doubt that anyone with any sort of loft
insulation would have less than a 2 inches thick layer.

-
Geoff Beale
Extract digit to email

Geoff Beale wrote:
soup wrote:

Mum is getting her loft insulated (under some council scheme, by a
company called MacSence) they will do this (I think) using a blanket
of glass fibre,

....and check the small print of the offer. It might cost more than
you were expecting.

Thanks for that, seems the council will pay 100% up to £500 and the
company will claim the money direct from the council; nice earner for
them, mum gets her loft insulated with no hassle but I can't really see
whats in it for the council (after all it is a private house not council
stock).
--
This post contains no hidden meanings, no implications and certainly no
hidden agendas so it should be taken at face value. The wrong words
may be used this is due to my limitations with the English language .

On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 08:20:54 GMT, "soup" wrote:

| Geoff Beale wrote:
| soup wrote:
|
| Mum is getting her loft insulated (under some council scheme, by a
| company called MacSence) they will do this (I think) using a blanket
| of glass fibre,
|
| ....and check the small print of the offer. It might cost more than
| you were expecting.
|
| Thanks for that, seems the council will pay 100% up to £500 and the
| company will claim the money direct from the council; nice earner for
| them, mum gets her loft insulated with no hassle but I can't really see
| whats in it for the council (after all it is a private house not council
| stock).

The *country* gains by reducing CO2 emissions, and the council gains
by having old people who do not suffer from hypothermia and are less
of a burden on Social Services.
--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
17,000 free e-books at Project Gutenberg! http://www.gutenberg.net
For Yorkshire Dialect go to www.hyphenologist.co.uk/songs/

Dave Fawthrop wrote:
soup wrote:
but I can't really see whats in it for the council
The *country* gains by reducing CO2 emissions, and the council gains
by having old people who do not suffer from hypothermia and are less
of a burden on Social Services.

Fully take on board that CO2 emissions should be reduced.
Maybe it is me being cynical but are councillors not more concerned
about being re-elected than the good of the country/planet? Are the
social services not supplied by a different budget than local councils
(genuine question I am not trying to be clever) much like the NHS?
--
This post contains no hidden meanings, no implications and certainly no
hidden agendas so it should be taken at face value. The wrong words
may be used this is due to my limitations with the English language .

On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 09:05:34 GMT, "soup" wrote:

| Dave Fawthrop wrote:
| soup wrote:
| but I can't really see whats in it for the council
| The *country* gains by reducing CO2 emissions, and the council gains
| by having old people who do not suffer from hypothermia and are less
| of a burden on Social Services.
|
| Fully take on board that CO2 emissions should be reduced.
| Maybe it is me being cynical but are councillors not more concerned
| about being re-elected than the good of the country/planet? Are the
| social services not supplied by a different budget than local councils
| (genuine question I am not trying to be clever) much like the NHS?

The government covers a lot, not sure how much, of council expenditure. So
the government can twist arms, impose targets and the like. Where the
actions of one public service have an effect on another public service they
do not totally take an "I'm all right jack" attitude. As an example the
highway authorities attempt to reduce road accidents which reduces the
costs to the NHS.
--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
17,000 free e-books at Project Gutenberg! http://www.gutenberg.net
For Yorkshire Dialect go to www.hyphenologist.co.uk/songs/

soup wrote:
al wrote:
"Set Square" wrote in message
...
Don't worry about it! If she does board it, the boards will more
than make up for the reduced mat thickness. 8" matting will easily
compress into a 6" space.
Any ventilation issues if you have the insulation compressed between
the "ceiling" underneath and the boards you lay down on the attic
floor?

Yes!


Think the way they "place" the insulation leaves the eaves free to allow
ventilation.

That will ventilate the loft space above the boarding and is essential
if the insulation reduces the temperature of the loft space such that
condensation can occur. Depending on the current roof structure you may
need additional eaves ventilation.

It's still possible for condensation to occur in the insulation under
the boards. I found this when I moved into a house that had recently
had an extra layer of insulation added. Problem disappeared after
adding extra ventilation as above.

MBQ