Insulation Blog - Underfloor Insulation Glasgow ltd

Insulation Removal and Reinstatement

steven@underfloor-insulation.co.uk (Steven McCaw) — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 15:39:08 GMT

Loft Insulation Removal Services Scotland - from Glasgow to Edinburgh & Dumfries to Aberdeen.

There are some situations where removing Loft Insulation is a necessity such as after water damage, contamination with bird or vermin droppings, as part of a roof renovation or even just to replace the old insulation with more efficient new Loft Insulation. Removing Loft Insulation can be a messy and potentially hazardous task, depending on the type of insulation and its condition., Working in the Loft can pose its own dangers due to the fragile ceiling, lack of flooring and ladders needed to access the space.

Luckily, we can help remove the old loft insulation cleanly and safely. We can also install new Loft Insulation or Loft Ladders & Flooring if required..

Loft Insulation Removal related services:

Waste removal and disposal.

Old flooring removal and disposal.

Loft Insulation Removal & disposal.

Loft Hoovering.

Loft Insulation Installation.

Loft Flooring / Boarding.

Loft Ladders.

The Loft Insulation Removal Process:

Before we can quote for any work we will carry out a free site inspection to understand what is involved and what you are looking to achieve. A written quotation will be emailed over soon after our visit. If you accept our quote we do ask for a 10% refundable deposit to book the job in. You typically don't have to wait long for the Insulation Removal work to begin, we have 4 insulation vans on the road and try to keep some spaces to give us some flexibility to deal with unexpected surprises or urgent bookings. You will be emailed a receipt for your deposit and confirmation of the day and time the job is to begin,

On the day the work begins our fitters will turn up on time or, in the event of any unexpected travel disruption, they will give you a call to keep you up to speed on the journey. Sometimes these things are out of our control, but we will keep in touch and we will carry out the work as agreed. The installers on the day will be aware of the work they are doing and have all their materials with them, so they can get right down to business. And the first order of business is to protect your home, Hard floor coverings or carpet protectors and dust sheets will be laid down to keep everything clean. We can empty even a large loft in a single day, but if you are having a lot of work done we do remove these and tidy up at the end of each day, so your house is left clean, safe and with as little disruption as possible.

Any belongings or waste we have agreed to remove will be carefully remove from the loft and placed into van, if we are removing old flooring, that is the next to go. The installers will wear suitable protective clothing if there is contamination, and will roll up all the insulation, or shovel and scoop in the case of loose fill insulation, into large bags which are then tied and stored near the loft hatch while the dust settles. These are then removed from your house in batches to keep the dust to a minimum. If you have asked us to hoover the loft then the Henry hoovers will come into play and the dust removed from the ceiling and timbers (there can be a LOT of dust in old houses!).

The next steps can vary depending on the scope and schedule of the job. Sometimes the loft is left to dry out before we return at a later date to install the new Loft Insulation . Sometimes we are removing and then replacing the insulation immediately afterwards. We then install your new Loft Insulation, adding any caps to lights (to reduce moisture getting into your loft and to reduce overheating) and check the ventilation as we install it (we would normally uncover any ventilation problems at survey, but its always better to make sure). Once the Loft is Insulated we will install the Raised Loft Flooring and / or Loft Ladder if you have opted to have any of that installed. And that is it, all waste removed from site and disposed of properly and the working area hoovered before we leave.

Reinstating Loft Insulation.

Once the insulation is removed we can hoover the loft space, as mentioned, before laying new insulation to your required depth. The minimum recommended depth for loft Insulation is 270mm however we often install as much as 400mm for customers keen to save energy.

We always recommend Knauf Loft Roll 44 mineral wool Insulation, it offers great thermal insulation properties for the cost and is non-flammable. Knauf don't use chemicals in the manufacturing process and there are no VOC gasses from the insulation. Additionally, it creates less small, itchy fibres than other insolation making it easier to work and live with.

All our installers are qualified joiners or hold an NVQ level 2 in building Insulation as a minimum standard, we are fully insured and licensed and members of the National Insulation Association, Trading Standards Approved and members of the Trust A Trader scheme . You can be assured your in good hands with us if you have a Insulation project that requires an installer who knows what they are doing and cares about your home.

How much does it cost to remove Loft Insulation in Scotland?

Several factors influence the cost of removing loft insulation. The big factors are if the insulation is spray foam and asbestos, anything else affects the price to a much smaller degree.

1. Type of Loft Insulation

Fiberglass: Typically less expensive to remove, but requires careful handling to avoid skin irritation, airborne glass fibers and dust.
Cellulose: Takes a bit longer to empty as we manually remove the loose insulation using shovels, hands and hoovers.

2. Amount of Loft Insulation

The more Loft Insulation there is to remove, the higher the cost. Larger lofts or thicker layers of insulation will increase the overall expense.

3. Condition of Insulation

Degraded or Contaminated Insulation: If insulation is moldy, damp, or contaminated with pests it may cost a bit more due to extra work to clear it up and the extra precautions like suits and gloves.

4. Accessibility of the Loft

Ease of Access: Lofts that are difficult to access or require scaffolding, long ladders or if tis a top floor tenement with no parking outside then it's going to cost more than a bungalow with a driveway.

5. Location

Location can affect our prices, but we do serve all of Scotland and are frequently down in the Borders, up in Aberdeenshire, in Inverness or on an Island. We try to group jobs together, where we can, over several days so no one customer is paying they full travel costs for the trip. We go to Aberdeen every fortnight and the van stays over for 3 or 4 nights doing anything from 2 large to 8 average jobs, our prices in Aberdeen aren't very different from our prices in Glasgow or Edinburgh. However, if the van has to travel 8 hours each way to get to your property and the job is only for half a day, then the location drastically affects the costs.

6. Spray Foam or Asbestos

Problem jobs: if you are trying to remove Spray Foam Insulation or Asbestos then it is going to be much more of a problem. This may involve dry ice blasting machines or inspection and testing costs as well as increased Health and Safety, Labour and Disposal costs.

So what does Loft Insulation Removal cost?

The cost of Removing Loft Insulation depends on several factors and can vary a lot, every job will be different. If you lived in a 3 bedroom semi, with no Loft Flooring, in Glasgow and you wanted both layers removed you would be looking in the region of £600-£800 including disposal. If you lived in a 4 bedroom Bungalow in Fife with and old and a newer layer of insulation and no flooring you could be looking at between £1400 and £1900 depending how big the house is. Generally speaking the cost to remove the insulation in a standard house is around the same as it will cost to put it back in, whereas for a large property it usually costs more to put the new insulation in than it costs to remove it.

Contact Us via the web site, email info@underfloor-insulation.co.uk or call 01414784789 and we arrange to come and see you.

Insulation Grants, Cashback and Loans

steven@underfloor-insulation.co.uk (Steven McCaw) — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 13:05:09 GMT

What Insulation Grants are available for Homeowners in Scotland.

Insulation Grants, Loans and Cashback.

Please not this article is dated 2022 and is currently out of date.

There are currently funding and loan offers for Insulation from the Energy Savings Trust through Home Energy Scotland for Homeowners in Scotland. They offer interest free loans for home insulation, energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy, which are funded by the Scottish Government. The insulation measures we provide which qualify are:

Draught proofing

Loft Insulation

Room in Roof Insulation

Underfloor Insulation

External Wall Insulation (applied to the inside of the walls)

How to get Cashback and Interest Free Loans for Insulation

If your home can be insulated it would be worth approaching Home Energy Scotland to arrange loan funding for the insulation measures you would like to install. The first step would be for us to survey your home and advise on possible options, while providing a written quote for the work.

You would then call Home Energy Scotland to advise them you wish to arrange funding. They will then ask a series of questions and provide some generic advice which, while beneficial, is not actually specific to your home nor always practical to install. Before Covid they would insist on a home visit, but currently the process seems to be entirely telephone based. As they are using a simplified version of EPC software to offer recommendations, you might not always get the right advice. One example we have come across was a customer installing a Heat Pump was required to install Cavity Wall Insulation, however they were a third floor flat with no prospect of having cavity insulation installed. Although the advice is well meaning, should you require assistance in dealing with them then please feel free to get back in touch with us and we can try help you navigate the system.

Once you have passed the initial questions and are able to proceed with your chosen insulation, Home Energy Scotland will send you an online loan application form. You would send the quote from your chosen installer to support your application. They do advise you get 3 quotes, but you can get as many or as little as you wish.

How much cashback and funding can you get?

The amount of cashback and available interest free loans varies by the measure you are installing. Currently there is up to 40% Cashback offered to cover part of the cost.

The amounts are:

Loft Insulation : Up to £1,000 made up of a £600 loan and £400 cashback.

Floor Insulation : Up to £1,000 made up of a £600 loan and £400 cashback.

Room in Roof Insulation : Up to £4,000 made up of £2,400 loan and £1,600 cashback.

Solid Wall Insulation: Up to £10,000 made up of £6,000 loan and £4,000 cashback.

Green Deal Installers

Home Energy Scotland website states installers "must be Green Deal Installers". This is not actually true and in any event there are very few green Deal Installers left in the UK. Even Installers claiming to be Green Deal are highly unlikely to have met the new administrative obligation of the new PAS2035 certification.

The good news is, we have been installing insulation for 14 years, 8 of which we have been Green Deal Installers, and installed tens of thousands of properties with insulation in their floors, walls, loft and roof spaces. We are qualified to install Loft, Underfloor, Room in Roof and Internal Wall Insulation. We have installed many jobs through the Home Energy Scotland loans and cashback scheme, although they always do state they require a Green deal Installer to start with.

As we are fully qualified, experienced, insured and offer guarantees for our work and are currently members of the National Insulation Association we are actually able to install jobs under this scheme. When we send out our quotes we include a document on our skills and experience which meet all the requirements of this scheme. Sometimes the application process is simple, sometimes the "computer says no". If you experience any difficulties with Home Energy Scotland not accepting our quote with the supporting documentation then please do get back in touch so we can help you navigate this part of the process. Hopefully you get lucky first time and get someone who knows what they are talking about, but that is not always the case in our experience.

Always here to help.

From personal experience we know the process is not simple to successfully navigate. Should you need any help or guidance at any step of the way, please feel free to give us a call on 0141 478 4789. We're always happy to help.

Home Energy Scotland 0141 478 4789

Underfloor Insulation for Wooden Floors

steven@underfloor-insulation.co.uk (Steven McCaw) — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 08:40:12 GMT

Insulating Wooden Floors

Insulating Wooden Floors reduces draughts and raises the floor temperature a few degrees. Since we spend most of our time in contact with the floor, or sitting down near floor height, raising the temperature of the floors makes a huge difference to how warm we feel. Making the floor area warmer makes us feel more comfortable and results in reduced use of our heating. Whilst Loft Insulation prevents heat escaping at ceiling level, you still need to run your heating to warm the room up first. With warmer floors we don't need to spend as much heating our rooms.

In many cases there is crawl space under your wooden floors, and if there is over 400mm then we can likely insulate the floors from below. Most homes have access hatches for getting access to wires and pipes below the floor, and in most cases we can utilise this existing hatch. As can be seen in the photo above, once we complete the floor insulation we insulate the hatch as well. Typically we use 150mm Knauf Insulation, fixing it between the joists and supporting it in place with Teflon netting. There are other solutions as well, we always inspect jobs before quoting and will advise on any alternative solutions if there are any.

Sometimes homes have limited access to the space below the floor, preventing insulation being installed from below. In these cases it is more disruptive that working from the crawl space, we would need to lift the flooring. We don't need to insulate the entire home, often we are asked just to do a lounge or kitchen where it is a priority to make the room more comfortable. If you spend all your time in one room then insulating the floor of that room can be done on its own to great benefit.

If you are thinking of installing Underfloor Insulation , give our team a call and we can take a look at your property free of charge and give you advise and a written quote for any works we would recommend.

Insulating floored lofts

steven@underfloor-insulation.co.uk (Steven McCaw) — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 08:08:51 GMT

How to insulate an already floored loft space.

We often come across customers with old flooring down in their loft, often with little of no insulation under it. This posses massive problems for their heat loss as heat can just pass quickly through the ceiling and uninsulated space and be lost to the home.

A quick win could be insulating the unused eaves space, which can often be a third of the loft space. Although its not going to make a huge difference, the way energy prices are going it is certainly worth while doing! Often this area has already been insulated, just leaving the floored area to deal with.

Some customers have the entire central area of the loft floored, often filled with a mixture of junk, decorations and old sentimental items. It could be possible to have a clear out and reduce the amount of storage space required. That would keep the costs down on replacing the flooring as a smaller area may be all that's needed. It is not usually possible to save the flooring which is already down as the raised flooring structure we would install is designed to hold small or standard sized chipboard flooring. Often we find wooden planks have usually been installed previously, especially if the flooring has been down for some time, or if there is old chipboard it is not moisture resistant and has been placed in contact with current insulation causing deterioration. Often taking up this flooring does damage it, even if it looks like it is in reasonable condition before being lifted.

Removing and disposing of some of the old flooring would be cheaper than removing it all, especially useful if you are on a budget. We could place insulation over the old flooring where the space is not needed and keep the costs of removal and disposal to a minimum. The best option, however, is to remove all the old flooring and return the loft to the way is was originally then fully insulate between and then across the joists.

Standard joist depths usually range between 100mm and 150mm. We would insulate between the newly exposed ceiling joists with non-flammable Knauf Loft Insulation 44 and then another layer or even two perpendicular. This method of installing insulation is more effective as it reduces the cold bridging through the roof joists and reduces cold spots on the ceiling below.

It is important to maintain airflow in your loft to reduce dampness and keep the roof timbers healthy. One important aspect of this is keeping the soffit vents clear, often we find these have been blocked previously in an effort to reduce heat loss. We always clear these of insulation and debris where possible when installing new insulation . Having an air gap between your flooring and the insulation is very important as it stops dampness forming between the two. We use raised loft legs to loft the new flooring over the insulation for this purpose.

Items should not be stored on insulation for a couple of reasons. It is widely quoted that items stored on insulation reduce the effectiveness of insulation by up to 50%, insulation works by using trapped air which is squeezed out by items on top compressing it. If you have ever stored boxes of books on top of insulation you may have noticed the books start to smell and curl up. Items stored on insulation can become damp, that's why there should be a gap between the insulation and anything over it.

To install raised loft flooring over the new insulation we use either 300mm or 175mm Loft Legs to create a support for the flooring, depending on how much insulation we have installed. We install these legs onto the ceiling joists at regular intervals and fix them securely. Depending on access to the loft area we would either use 1200mm or 2400mm long 18mm chipboard flooring and fix it to the loft legs to create a continuous floored area. The limiting factor of this storage is the load your existing joists can support, not the structure or flooring installed. Raised loft flooring is designed for storage of items, not as a loft room conversion or a livable space.

To create extra space it could be possible to create shelving in your loft, utilising the horizontal Straining Beams or slanted Struts rather than flooring the entire area. This is often faster to install and uses less materials than raised flooring and could be used as part of the overall storage solution.

While carrying out these home improvements some people opt to install a aluminium ladder and convert their hatch to a drop down hatch for easier and safer access to the new storage space. Installing a wooden, folding loft ladder with an insulated hatch would take ease of access to the next level.

Getting experienced, insured and qualified Insulation Installers to carry out your Loft Insulation and Raised Loft Flooring is essential to have the work carried out correctly and safely.

Home Insulation Installers

steven@underfloor-insulation.co.uk (Steven McCaw) — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 15:45:46 GMT

Home Insulation Installers in Scotland

There are many types of insulation you can have installed in your home, and many Insulation Companies in Scotland to choose from. These tend to range from large contractors focused on Insulating New Build Homes and Council projects through to regional and small local companies down to one man band installers.

Finding the right Insulation Installer depends on the size of your project and the insulation you want to install. Typically the options for improving your insulation are:

Solid Wall Insulation (Internal Wall)

Solid Wall Insulation (Externally)

Cavity Wall Insulation

Loft Insulation

Room in Roof (Dormer) Insulation

Underfloor Insulation

Improved efficiency Double Glazing or Insulated doors

Draught proofing

Finding the right Insulation installer to work on your home is important. You want to be sure they come recommended, they are experienced in working in your type of property, they are qualified and that they are going to charge a fair price and deliver on their promises.

Doing a Google Search can bring up many different companies, many may be reputable installers but might not install the right type of insulation for your home, or might not install in your area or perhaps they aren't able to work with individual home owners. Whilst "Price Comparison" sites such as Bark or MyBuilder have many good installers, they can also result in you getting bombarded with repeated phone calls and emails, which can be quite overwhelming, and there is every chance you could be subjected to high pressure Sales tactics from some of the companies on there.

It is worth doing some research on an installer which covers your area and checking out their reviews before making contact. A reputable installer wont send a Sales Person to your house and wont pressure you into agreeing anything. If you think they sound pushy on the phone it might be better not to arrange an appointment.

Trade Bodies such as the National Insulation Association vet and oversee their members and can be a good place to find reputable installers.

If a quote sounds expensive, it probably is. If your not sure always get at least a second quote and make your decision in your own time!

Underfloor-Insulation.co.uk

Choosing an Underfloor Insulation Installer

steven@underfloor-insulation.co.uk (Steven McCaw) — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 14:03:35 GMT

Finding a reputable Underfloor Insulation Installer in Scotland

We find all sorts of exciting things under peoples floors. That's the easy bit! But how do you select a reputable Underfloor Insulation Installer when looking for someone to insulate your home?

There are many genuine Home Insulation Companies in Scotland who will provide a reliable service and quality installation. Beware of companies who ask for both decision makers to be present during a visit to your home! This is a warning sign they are going to send a high pressure Sales Person to try and force you to agree there and then to exorbitant prices and probably sign you up for a crippling finance deal.

Always ask for a written quote and time to consider if you have not been offered one! No one should be feel pressured into agreeing a price there an then in your own home.

If you pass this hurdle, it would be worth checking out any possible supplier your considering using.

A good place to start looking into possible installers could be a Trade Body, such as the National Insulation Association. The NIA have standards their members must adhere to in terms of quality, qualifications and customer service. They also offer an avenue to resolve any disputes that may arise, and they may demand their members take an action if deemed proper.

What qualifications and memberships does the installer have? Are their installers qualified to NVQ standards? Do they have ACOPS Gas Awareness? Are their surveyors qualified Energy Assessors or Co-Ordinators? Using properly qualified staff can give some reassurance the potential installer at least knows what they are doing and can do it correctly.

Are the installer insured to protect you and them against accidents? Without proper insurance there are unnecessary risks which might not be worth taking.

Always check online reviews! Google, Facebook, Bark or My Builder have reviews of installers that are worth checking out. Check their reviews are good, they look genuine and check their feedback. This is often a great indicator of whether you should trust an installer to work on your home.

Asking an installer if they are a Sole trader who could evaporate if things go wrong or a if they are a Limited Company where they have a reputation they have invested in. Neither would be total assurance, but worth considering.

Word of mouth is also a great way to find a good Insulation Installer.

There are many ways to check your not making a mistake, but asking relevant questions is also important.

Do you offer free home visits? Are your Quotes free? Do you offer written quotes?

And finally, check the Terms and Conditions before agreeing to anything.

Finding and choosing an insulation installer should be a beneficial process that gives you information to make an informed decision and helps you reduce your heating costs without hassle or regret.

Does Underfloor Insulation work?

steven@underfloor-insulation.co.uk (Steven McCaw) — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 13:07:21 GMT

Underfloor Insulation can be installed to existing suspended timber floors, but does it work?

We have installed thousands of homes with Underfloor Insulation . there are some technical considerations, such as ensuring sufficient airflow and protecting pipes from freezing, but to experienced installers it is a relatively straightforward operation. Space can be limited under the floor and it is dark and dusty, installers often work lying on their backs installing insulation between the joists. Not an easy job, but the benefits can easily be enjoyed by the homeowners.

Uninsulated floors are exposed to the cold air under your home. Movement of air in this area is important for your timber and air comes in from air vents on the perimeter. This makes the space very cold in winter. The floor boards are chilled with this cold air and some unwanted air (chilly draughts) escape into the rooms above through gaps in the flooring and around the skirtings. This results in the lower area of the room being colder and draughtier than higher up.

Heating is used to warm up the room, and part of this process is convection. Cold air is dragged across the floor and up into the radiator where it is warmed up and starts to rise. Unfortunately not much of this heat reaches the floor, but up at the ceiling it will be nice and warm where all your warm air has gone. but we don't live up at our ceilings, we do walk on our floors and sit on chairs and couches in the lower parts of our rooms.

Insulating the floors has a couple of effects, which combine to make Floor Insulation incredibly effective. Insulating the loft can keep the heat in your room, but high up. Add enough heat and you'll start to feel warm, but with the cost of heating this is not hugely economical.

Underfloor Insulation does the following:

1. Insulating floors will keep the floor warmer and raise the temperature a bit. Some say as much as a few degrees, what I can say for certain is, it is a noticeable increase. Without using your heating, the part of the room in which you spend you time close to or on is instantly a more comfortable temperature than without insulation.

2. When you do use your heating, the cold air being pulled into the radiators has been insulated from the cold space below your floor, resulting in more efficient heating of your room.

3. Unwanted chilly draughts are reduced making the room more comfortable and we carefully ensure the ventilation is sufficient to protect your home. We keep the good airflow and reduce the unwanted draughts.

4. As your feet are kept a little warmer with the insulated floor, and the space where you are sitting is a little warmer you find you do not feel the need to switch on your heating just as much.

Loft Insulation helps to keep the heat from your radiators in your home. Underfloor Insulation affects the all important living space low down, increasing the temperature of the space your in. This results in retaining heat and also means you wont need to use your heating quite as much.

Personally, I have high ceilings. I have 300mm Loft Insulation and 150mm Underfloor Insulation. My heating bills are running away with me and I'm looking at increasing my Underfloor Insulation before my Loft Insulation. Luckily, I have a plan for that!

You can see more at our page on Underfloor Insulation .

How much does Underfloor Insulation cost?

steven@underfloor-insulation.co.uk (Steven McCaw) — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 12:28:16 GMT

Having Underfloor Insulation installed to your suspended wooden floors doesn't cost the earth.

Underfloor Insulation can be installed from below via an access hatch (usually under the stairs) meaning virtually no disruption to you home.

Underfloor and loft insulation installed in one day. The installation team were efficient and worked without making any noticeable upset or mess. I noticed the difference that evening and the next morning and would recommend this job and company to my friends to improve the warmth in the home.

- Rose Campbell

Installing Underfloor Insulation can seem a daunting task, but our experienced fitters can make short work of the install. Gaining access to below your floor via an access hatch in a discrete location they can work quickly, from below, installing insulation between the floor joists and securing it in place with netting. Typically an average sized home will take between 4 and 8 hours to install.

Although costs for insulation are rising this has been somewhat offset by the UK Government making insulation 0% VAT rated, saving 20% on installation costs from a VAT registered company. Costs for install can range from around £400 for a small terraced house to £800 for an average villa. Larger bungalows can be more as they have a larger floor area, but the benefits do increase the more of an area there is to insulate. Various factors do cause the price to fluctuate, such as depth and ease of access to the underfloor area. Really tight spaces such as 400mm or really big spaces such as over 6 feet can slow the job down and cause the price to be more. Travel distance can also affect the price, although our vans do cover Scotland and do tend to do several jobs in one area to keep costs down.

We offer free, no obligation, home inspections and free, written quotations breaking down all the costs for every job with no hidden surprises and we don't employ sales people or use sales pressure tactics. Contact us today to get free advice from tradespeople and skip the sales nonsense and avoid the inflated prices. See more at https://www.underfloor-insulation.co.uk/underfloor-insulation