How to Insulate a Loft

spray foam insulation installed in loft
(Image credit: Icynene)

Creating extra storage or a new habitable space by insulating a loft and transforming it into something more usable is a smart way to ease pressures on the rest of your home. But first, you will need to ensure you’re insulating in line with guidance laid out in the Building Regulations, taking material and fire-resistance into account.

Here, in our beginner’s guide on how to insulate a loft, you’ll find expert advice on which type of insulation would work best, where to put it and a practical step-by-step guide on how to fit roof insulation.

Tim Pullen

Tim is an expert in sustainable building methods and energy efficiency in residential homes and writes on the subject for magazines and national newspapers. He is the author of The Sustainable Building Bible, Simply Sustainable Homes and Anaerobic Digestion - Making Biogas - Making Energy: The Earthscan Expert Guide.


His interest in renewable energy and sustainability was first inspired by visits to the Royal Festival Hall heat pump and the Edmonton heat-from-waste projects. In 1979

this initial burst of enthusiasm lead to him trying (and failing) to build a biogas digester to convert pig manure into fuel, at a Kent oast-house, his first conversion project.


Moving in 2002 to a small-holding in South Wales, providing as it did access to a wider range of natural resources, fanned his enthusiasm for sustainability. He went on to install renewable technology at the property, including biomass boiler and wind turbine.


He formally ran energy efficiency consultancy WeatherWorks and was a speaker and expert at the Homebuilding & Renovating Shows across the country.