A homeowner has detailed how he saved an estimated £1,750 by insulating his loft himself, rather than relying on local firms who had quoted him excessive amounts for the job
A homeowner has revealed a DIY loft insulation hack that could potentially save fellow Brits thousands of pounds.
The man posted before-and-after shots of his efforts to Reddit’s DIYUK subreddit where he revealed he’d been quoted between £1,800 and £2,000 to have the work done by tradesmen before deciding to go it alone. He captioned his post: “Boarded the loft and saved £1,750.”
He said doing the work himself cost him just £250 in materials, plus a day’s labour – and the end result looks fantastic. While his first attempt did not quite go to plan, the man showed in further images how he neatly laid the insulation rolls between the joists, before cutting groove boards to place over them.
He said: “What I thought would be difficult was actually straight forward and has given me confidence to do more (safely) around the house.
“So I thought I’d make a post to try and help inspire those like me to have a go at the DIY option.”
He continued: “I have half the loft boarded already and needed the rest doing for another ongoing project. After receiving several quotes of £1,800-£2,000 to board my loft I decided to go for the DIY route. Materials were £250 – and it took a full days labour, sore back and several splinters haha.”
Scores of Reddit users responded to the post, with one writing: “Inspiring me to do the same to my loft! The loft is the one space I’ve been fully avoiding as 1) mine looks like yours in the before and 2) I’m scared to fall through the ceiling! Nice one!”
Another wrote: “Well done it’s hard graft bending between rafters and getting the boards up there alone. Top job!” A third added: “Good job. I have been looking at doing exactly this. Recently bought a nearly new house (2 years old) and none of the loft is boarded. We don’t have a garage so space is becoming a real issue for stuff like Xmas decorations and suitcases etc.”
And a fourth said: “My hubby boarded our loft as well and saved us 1700 as well. He says it cost him around 700 to do it ourselves with the high price of wood. He’s done a great job and even installed a new hatch with a ladder for us.” Others users with greater experience added that staggered boards would be more efficient, meanwhile.
Back in November 2022, the government’s free home insulation scheme slammed for helping a ‘tiny fraction’ of Brits. Hundreds of thousands were promised free home insulation under a three-year programme announced at the time.
The £1bn ECO+ planm was designed to hand out loft and cavity wall insulation, saving eligible homes a reputed £310 a year off energy bills. Then Business Secretary Grant Shapps said people would see the scheme “protecting the pounds in their pockets, and creating jobs across the country.”
But Shadow Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said in response: “This reheated announcement with no new resources, is far too little too late and will help only a tiny fraction of the millions of people facing a cost of living emergency this winter. Labour’s Warm Homes Plan would insulate up to 2 million homes a year, saving pensioners and families up to £1,000 off their energy bills.
“Rishi Sunak wants to crawl towards warmer homes and cheaper bills for our country. Labour will sprint for it.”
