A guide to ceiling insulation

How comfortable you are inside your home largely depends on the effectiveness of your home's insulation. A properly insulated ceiling can both reduce your heating expenses drastically, and can provide effective soundproofing. In fact, you can save at least £115 per year on your energy bills if you get sufficient insulation. Here is a brief guide to ceiling insulation.

Insulation audits

Before you carry out any insulation work, you need to obtain an insulation audit for your home. This will ensure that you are not wasting unnecessary energy. During any type of insulation work, you should also remember to seal the small gaps around pipes and wiring, and always remember to wear protective gear when handling ceiling insulation materials.

The barrier rule

Vapour barriers keep the moisture out of your home. Whenever you install insulation, do it with the vapour barrier which is facing the living area. The paper or foil facing on glass-fibre batts and brackets and on rigid board insulation serves as a vapour barrier. So, you need to install them the right way up. Loose-fill insulation requires a layer of plastic or polyethylene. Be sure not to stack faced insulation - moisture can collect between the layers, reducing the effectiveness of the insulation, and may cause water damage inside your home.

Cutting insulation to fit

Glass-fibre and rigid insulation often need to be cut in order to fit properly into an allotted space. Cut rolled or glass-fibre batts (pre-cut lengths) by placing the insulation, faced side up, on a piece of plywood. Position a straight-edge across the cut line, and press it down with your knee. Use a sharp trimming knife to cut through the material - use a knife shield attachment to compress the material as the blade cuts through and make the job easier. To slice through thick rigid foam insulation, place it on a solid raised surface, such as a table or workbench, and use a jigsaw with a fine-toothed blade - or even an electric carving knife - to make the cut. Thin foam insulation can simply be scored with a trimming knife, then snapped. Final word Be really careful if, in the exploration of your home's insulation, you find a light, flaky grey material. This could be vermiculite, a mineral used for loose-fill insulation that may contain asbestos.