Loft Insulation in Newcastle upon Tyne

Homes in Newcastle and their lofts

Newcastle grew fast in the late 1800s, and a lot of the city's housing still dates from then. Long terraced streets climb the slopes in Heaton, Arthur's Hill, Benwell, Elswick and parts of Fenham. Jesmond has larger Victorian houses, many now split into flats or let to students, and Gosforth has Edwardian terraces and semis. Between the wars and after 1945 the city built big council estates in places like Kenton, Walker, Blakelaw and Cowgate, and private semis spread out towards Denton and Westerhope. Kingston Park and Newcastle Great Park are much newer.

That mix means there's no single answer for a Newcastle loft. Older roofs often have 50mm to 100mm of wool laid decades ago, now flattened or disturbed by cabling and storage. Many inter-war and post-war homes are similar. Newer houses usually start with a deeper layer, but it's often been squashed by boards laid straight on top. Our loft insulation work brings the loft up to the recommended 270mm of mineral wool, with ventilation kept clear at the eaves.

Tyneside flats: what they mean for the loft

Tyneside flats are one of the city's best-known house types. From the street they look like a terraced house with two front doors side by side: one opens into the downstairs flat, the other onto a staircase up to the upstairs flat. You'll find them across Heaton, Fenham, Benwell, Arthur's Hill and Gosforth.

In this layout the roof space sits over the upstairs flat, and the hatch is normally in that flat. So insulating the loft mainly warms the upper flat. The downstairs flat's ceiling is the upstairs flat's floor, and loft insulation won't change it. A few things to check first:

• Who arranges the work. Usually the owner or tenant of the upper flat. Many Tyneside flats are on leases where each owner is landlord of the other flat, so read your lease or ask your solicitor whether consent is needed for work in the roof space. If you rent, speak to your landlord.
• Attic rooms. Some upper flats have had the attic turned into rooms, often with a front dormer. Then there may only be small voids behind the walls and above the ceiling to insulate, and we'll tell you honestly what can be done.
• Party walls. In older terraces we check the walls between neighbouring roof spaces, as some are low or have gaps. That affects where insulation stops and is worth knowing about.

Bigger lofts in Jesmond and Gosforth

The larger Victorian and Edwardian houses in Jesmond and Gosforth often have tall, roomy lofts that owners want to use for storage. Boarding straight onto the joists squashes the insulation, so we fit raised boards that sit above a full 270mm layer, and a loft ladder if the hatch is hard to reach. Where a house has been split into flats, we check who has access to the roof space before quoting.

Common loft problems we look for here

Old cold-water tanks and pipework that need insulating after a top-up, so they don't freeze. Condensation where eaves vents have been blocked, which our loft ventilation service deals with. Boards that crush insulation, where raised loft boarding keeps storage space without losing warmth. And droppings or chewed insulation, which call for rodent proofing and sometimes removal of the old material.

Areas of Newcastle we cover

We cover the whole city, including Heaton, High Heaton, Jesmond, Sandyford, Gosforth, Fenham, Benwell, Elswick, Arthur's Hill, Byker, Walker, Kenton, Fawdon, Blakelaw, Denton, Westerhope, Lemington, Kingston Park and Newcastle Great Park. Postcode districts: NE1 to NE7, NE13 and NE15, with Benton in NE12. We also cover Throckley, Ponteland and Hexham.

Newcastle is about 40 miles north of Middlesbrough up the A19. Across the river we cover Gateshead, and to the east Wallsend and Longbenton.

Not listed? Call 0800 229 4668 or send us your postcode.