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Are you wondering if it's worthwhile upgrading the ol' fibre-glass upstairs? We had another layer added on Wednesday(200mm), on top of the existing 150mm......... i can't believe the difference. I suffer quite badly from Raynauds syndrome, & for the first time on a winters evening, i'm not having to wear two pairs of socks indoors, & my Jackie is not complaining about my cold hands!! So imagine the savings on energy consumption, as we have already reduced our heating by 50%. So, if you were wondering if the extra investment would be worthwhile, go for it!!

That's great! And just the sort of tangible information that people need, sometimes its so hard to deal with figures, we need experiences and anecdotes!

I couldn't believe the difference going into the house I grew up in after my dad had double glazing installed, he was only using the heating a few hours a day and it was WARM in there!

That is great news

We have minimal insulation in our house, there was none when we moved in, now there is a tiny amount but when we get the extension done the whole house will need to be insulated to current regs and more where there is space. Looking forward to having a warmer house next winter.... fingers crossed.

We discovered that there was absolutely no insulation whatever in our loft. So we put in EcoWool (because we were broke and it was the cheapest B&Q did as they were selling it at 60% off). It's made from recycled plastic bottles, in case you wondered where the "Eco" bit comes from. It's completely safe to use. You don't need masks or gloves. You can even use it to make duvets! My husband (who makes leather armour for roleplayers and re-enactors) is currently using the one roll we had left over to make padded leather "arming coats" - the padding worn under armour.

The difference has been amazing. Not only are the bedrooms now warm (along with the rest of the house), 500 litres of heating oil has lasted us 2 months instead of 6 weeks. So a massive saving there too.

Hope that's useful to someone. Even the bit about leather armour .

Lynne

I like the idea of eco-wool (not in 'the' book Andy/Dave!). I had a resolution to sort the loft out, but it ended up on a backburner since my house is only 20 years old so I thought would be 90% there....maybe not?

I'd love some but it's no longer 60% off, and they don't deliver

Homebase have a halfprice offer at the moment on insulation. It doesn't list ecowool on their website however they had it in their shop. As I'm insulating a rented house I've gone for the very cheapest glass fibre which gets me an extra 200mm depth across the entire loft for £30.

starting tomorrow, saturday the 14th on a first come first served basis B&Q are doing up to 15 rolls of loft insulation for £3 a roll saving over £50 with a maximum of 15 rolls per customer.
It should have been today but stocks never arrived in all stores . The cost is being subsidised by British Gas.

You might also be able to obtain free/reduced cost insulation through your local council

In summer our local council sponsered "Warm Zone", offering free insulation / cavity wall insulation dependant on a survey. Whilst I didnt qualify for the walls, I did get FREE new loft insulation, which has made a huge difference to the overall warmth of the house, especially considering I dont have central heating.

What was also interesting is that I am also a house owner - not a tenant of the council and it was still free.



Check out your local council website, they may be managing the grants - the schemes might/might not be called "Warm Zone" but maybe something similar and like most council websites, you might have to dig.

In some cases you may have to pay, but there appear to be some grants schemes for people offering discounts. I dont know if it is worthwhile investigating this site. But when I tested it against my criteria, it offered a 40% reduction in the price, even though I am not reciept of benefits or over the age of 70.

http://www.freeinsulation.co.uk/about.html

The company who installed ours was http://www.miller-pattison.co.uk/Home_Owner/Grants.aspx

Hope this helps someone.

Regards

MMM

micmacmoe wrote:You might also be able to obtain free/reduced cost insulation through your local council

In summer our local council sponsered "Warm Zone", offering free insulation / cavity wall insulation dependant on a survey. Whilst I didnt qualify for the walls, I did get FREE new loft insulation, which has made a huge difference to the overall warmth of the house, especially considering I dont have central heating.

What was also interesting is that I am also a house owner - not a tenant of the council and it was still free.



Check out your local council website, they may be managing the grants - the schemes might/might not be called "Warm Zone" but maybe something similar and like most council websites, you might have to dig.

In some cases you may have to pay, but there appear to be some grants schemes for people offering discounts. I dont know if it is worthwhile investigating this site. But when I tested it against my criteria, it offered a 40% reduction in the price, even though I am not reciept of benefits or over the age of 70.

http://www.freeinsulation.co.uk/about.html

The company who installed ours was http://www.miller-pattison.co.uk/Home_Owner/Grants.aspx

Hope this helps someone.

Regards

MMM

Thanks for the info. Being on spacka benefits I am entitle to the free help but as it happens the cavity walls were done well over 25 years ago as I can trace back owners that far but the tell tale cement plugs are there so that rulled out that bit also I had some top up done myself about 6 years ago which took it to 150mm so the loft bit was
ruled out as you had to have less than 150mm,lol.

Still when I can afford a new boiler I can get £400 grant towards it providing i use a certified contractor who charges well over £400 more than a non certified contractor.
Still my whinging letter has been written and will be posted on monday recorded delivery and I've asked for the manager to arrange a discounted price for 15 rolls of loft insulation and if he doesn't come up with the goods then a letter will be off to the head office and one to British Gas and my MP....

The gentle art of "proper" complaining is alive with me...

we have almost no loft insulation, and no tangible cash to put any more in yet. i am hoping by about oct we should have enough money to put a bit more in. we have what was probably the legal minimum in the 1980s, if not the 1950s when the house was built. it's dire, and we dont have total coverage either.

i did an energy "save yourself cash" thing online and short of changing the back windows and putting better insulation in the loft we can't do anything more than we already have. i am reluctant to ask the landlord because i am worried about rocking the boat so to speak. we're incredibly lucky in that our house, though the rent has gone up a bit this year it's still incredibly cheap for the size and the area.

honestly, if we ever own a house it's gonna be as eco as we can afford for it to be!!!!!

i'm already looking into getting a disused radiator to make into a summer waterheater to stick out on the flat roof, and i have worked out how to get water out of it but not how to get water into it. feed from a butt perhaps?!