About Insulating roofs

Approximately a quarter of the heat lost from an average house goes through the roof, so minimising this should be one of your priorities. For our insulation fitters, insulating roofs is a straightforward job, as laying insulating material between the joists is a cheap, quick and quite effective.

There’s however a wide range of insulating materials we lay and it is our job to investigate which type will suite your circumstances best:

1). Blanket insulation, which is made from glass fibre wool or rock fibre is widely available in the form of rolls that fit snuggly between the joists. All types are non-flammable and are proofed against damp and vermin. Similar material, cut to shorter lengths, is also sold as “baths”. Some blanket insulation is wrapped in plastic that serves as a vapour barrier and reduces direct contact with fibres that could irritate the skin. However, unbacked blanket is the cheapest and it is perfectly suitable for laying on the loft floor.

2). Rigid sheet insulation,

a type of foamed polystyrene or polyurethane which our insulation fitters will install between the rafters of a sloping roof. This type of insulating material allows ventilation between the insulating material and the roof tiles or slates to avoid condensation after it is fitted.

3). Foiled quilt,

is usually used when the rafter are to narrow to accommodate slab or rigid sheet insulation and it is simply stapled to the underside of the roof timbers.

4). Rigid-foam decking,

usually used if you plan to use your loft as a storage space and our insulation fitters usually lay this foam panels with flooring-grade moisture-resistant chipboard bonded on top surface. We always recommend to have blanket insulation laid between the joists before planning to have fixed this foamed polystyrene panels on top of the joists.

About Insulating walls

We have a couple of methods for insulating the walls into a house which are likely to be determined by the type of construction:

1). Cavity or solid walls are usually found in houses build after 1920 and certainly after 1950 (2 skins of masonry with a gap between them to reduce the likelihood of water penetration). Although heat loss is slightly slower through a cavity wall than one of solid brick, that does not substantially reduce the cost of home heating. However, having our insulation fitters filling the cavity with insulation prevents circulation, trapping air in millions of tiny pockets within the material. This can reduce heat loss through the wall by as much as 65%. Solid walls requires different treatment, in this case, our insulation fitters will install polystyrene boards over the external face of the walls and a consistent coat of water-proofed render will be applied over the polystyrene boards.

2). Cavity insulation,
it is the most cost-effective for homes that have properly controlled central heating. Heating without controls simple increases the temperature, instead of saving on fuel bills. This type of insulation it is not practical for flats unless the whole building will be insulated at the same time.

3).Dry-lining,

is it another method suitable for solid and cavity wall, by lining the inner surfaces of the walls with insulation. This involves a great deal of effort, depending on the amount of alteration to joinery, electrical fittings and plumbing required, but it does provide and opportunity for selective insulation, concentrating on those rooms that are likely to benefit most.

4). Exterior-wall insulation

or cladding the exterior of the house with polystyrene panels is is an expensive solution to insulate your house but it is efficient and will spoil the appearance of the building. The exterior wall-insulation it is installed by our professional insulation fitters and it can only be considered if the house is builded with solid masonry walls.

About Laminate flooring

The laminate flooring is a high-density fibreboard core that is covered with a thin strip of material that perfectly simulates a wide range of softwoods and hardwoods. This decorative layer is sealed with a clear protective coating that is highly resistant to abrasion and spillages. Laminates are also available with a moisture-resistant core for use in bathrooms, kitchens and utility rooms. As well as simulated wood effects, you can buy laminates that resemble ceramic tiles, slate, marble and other natural-stone flooring, complete with convincing joists and grouting, ready to be laid by our flooring fitters.

About Real-wood flooring

 
The real-wood flooring can come as tongued and grooved wood strips that can be glued together to form a floating floor, or nailed down to the wooden subfloor. You can choose from  a selection of European and American hardwoods, such as, beech, oak, walnut and cherry, as well as a few tropical hardwoods. But, before buying hardwood flooring, it is important to check that the timber comes from sustainable sources. A responsible supplier will be able to give you this information.

About Engineered boarding

This type of flooring provides the beauty and warmth of a real hardwood surface, but is cheaper than the solid wood boards. A softwood core is sandwiched between a thick veneer of decorative hardwood and a balancing veneer of softwood on the underside. The hardwood surface comes ready-finished with a durable coating of lacquer. Engineered boarding is manufactured as snap-together strips that make real-wood flooring as easy to be laid as laminate.

We are specialists in laying new wood flooring, like laminate flooring, engineered boarding, bamboo flooring and real-wood flooring, starting with the subfloor preparation and the fitting the underlay, by cleaning the subfloor surface and level it accordingly.If the old floorboards are not flat or are damaged, they will be replaced with new ones as well as the the nails will be driven below the surface. Before our flooring fitters starts to lay the flooring, they ask your opinion about the expansion gaps, between the wall and floor covering an expansion gap has to be left all round. This can be left by removing the skirtingboard and take the boarding up to within 10mm of the wall (and then to replace the skirting at a higher level to cover the gap) or they can leave the skirting in place and when the flooring has been laid, a narrow wood moulding will be glued or pinned to the skirting to hide the gap (of course the moulding can match the colour of the flooring, or it can be painted with the same colour as the skirting). We take in consideration the level of detail of the finish we leave, by cutting precisely around the pipes where’s necessary (or drilling) as well when our floor fitters reach a door way they will cut off the bottom of the doorframe, so the flooring will fit neatly under the frame. The floor fitting job ends with the threshold bar that will be fitted across the door opening to cover the edge of the laminate if the fitting ends at the edge of the door.

We highly advise to store the laminates (and solid-wood flooring) in the same room where it will be laid to acclimatise to the ambient temperature and humidity.