# Loft boarding and insulation > Insulation to 270mm and a boarded floor on legs above it, in one visit across Cambridgeshire. Free survey, a written price, and the order of work explained. Source: https://completeloftservices.co.uk/loft-boarding-and-insulation/ Generated: 2026-09-21 --- - [Home](/) - Services - Boarding and insulation # Loft boarding and insulation Insulation up to 270mm first, then a floor on legs above it. Nothing gets crushed, nothing gets done twice, and you get the storage back and the heat kept in on the same day. Both halves are quoted separately on the same written price, so you can see what each one costs. [Book a free survey](#enquire) See what it costs ## Why the order matters more than the price Almost everyone comes to us for one of the two. The trouble is that doing them in the wrong order, or a year apart, means paying twice for the same access and often undoing the first job with the second. ### Boards first, insulation later The floor has to come up again to get at the joists, or the new insulation gets stuffed into what is left of the gap. Two visits, two lots of mess, and the depth is a compromise either way. ### Insulation first, floor on top Full depth goes down while the loft is open and empty, then the legs stand on the joists and lift the floor clear of it. One visit, and neither job is working against the other. This is also the cheaper way round, for a dull reason: the expensive parts of a loft job are getting set up, getting everything through the hatch, and clearing up afterwards. Do both jobs together and you pay for that once. Doing them a year apart means paying for it twice, whoever does the second half. ## How the day runs - 1 ### Clear and check Everything comes out of the working area. We check joist depth and spacing, what insulation is already there, whether it is dry, and where the head height runs out. - 2 ### Insulate to full depth A layer between the joists and a second layer across them, taken to the eaves without blocking the airflow, and worked around cables and downlights rather than over them. How much you need depends on what is there now. - 3 ### Legs and frame above it Legs stand on the joists and carry the frame above the new depth. This is the step that keeps the insulation you have just paid for doing its job, and the reason boarding over insulation is only a problem when the floor sits straight on the joists. - 4 ### Floor down, hatch sealed, waste gone Boards go down and get cut around the trusses. The hatch is insulated and draught sealed, the landing is swept, and the waste leaves with us. ## What changes the price A combined quote moves on four things, and all four are checked at the survey rather than guessed at over the phone. See the price list - ### How much floor you want The insulation covers the whole ceiling because that is where the heat goes. The [boarding](/loft-boarding/) only covers the part you will walk on, and that part is your choice. Area - ### What is already up there Dry insulation at a decent depth means topping up. Wet or vermin damaged material has to come out first, and a full loft has to be emptied before either job starts. Condition - ### Access Every roll and every board goes up through the hatch. A small opening slows both halves of the job, which is why enlarging it is sometimes the first thing we quote. Access - ### The ceiling below Downlights need clearance, cables need lifting clear, and older joists occasionally need looking at before they carry a floor. Condition ## What the combined job includes One price, one visit, and these are in it. Anything outside this list is quoted separately and itemised, never added on the day. - ### Insulation to 270mm Between and across the joists, so the timber is covered and there is no cold line where the joists run. - ### A raised floor on legs Standing on the joists, clear of the new depth, fixed so it stays flat and quiet underfoot. - ### Eaves kept clear Insulation taken to the edge without choking the airflow that keeps the roof dry. - ### Cables and downlights worked around Lifted clear rather than buried, and flagged to you if an electrician needs to look at anything. - ### Hatch insulated and sealed The hole in the middle of the job, draught sealed so the new depth is not undone by the way in. - ### Clear up and waste away Landing sheeted, offcuts and packaging bagged, and all of it goes in the van. ## What is not included, said out loud The same four or five things come up on a combined job. Each is a separate line on your quote with its own price, so you decide before we start. - ### Clearing a full loft Emptying a loft that is packed, and taking away what you have finished with, is a job before the job. - ### Taking out old insulation Wet, dirty or vermin damaged material has to come out and be bagged. Laying new over the top of it is not an option. - ### Enlarging the hatch, or a [new ladder](/loft-ladders/) Plenty of hatches are too small for full sized boards, and a floor you cannot get to safely is not much use. - ### Electrical work and downlight covers Anything that needs wiring, or fire rated covers over recessed lights, is an electrician's job. - ### Joist strengthening Rare, and only when the survey calls for it. Ceiling joists are sized to hold a ceiling, not a loaded floor. - ### [Spray foam on the roof](/spray-foam-removal/) It changes surveys and mortgages, and it needs assessing independently before any of this work starts. The survey is where this gets settled. It takes about twenty minutes, it is free, and you get a written price with every one of these either in it or plainly not. ## Questions about doing both **Is it cheaper to do both together?** The setting up, the trips through the hatch and the clearing up happen once instead of twice, so you are not paying for the same access twice over. The materials cost what they cost either way. We price the whole job at the survey and you see both halves on the quote. **Can you board over insulation that is already there?** If it is dry and at a decent depth, yes, and the floor still goes on legs above it. If it is thin or flattened we will say so, because boarding over poor insulation just hides it. The longer answer is here. **How long does the combined job take?** Most are a day. A big loft, a loft that has to be emptied first, or one where old insulation has to come out can run into a second day, and we will tell you which yours is at the survey rather than on the morning. **Do I lose head height?** A little, and that is the trade. The floor sits above 270mm of insulation rather than on the joists, so you gain a usable floor and lose the few inches it stands on. In most lofts the limit is the roof slope, not the floor level. **What if I only want part of the loft floored?** That is what most people have. The insulation goes everywhere, because heat escapes from the whole ceiling, and the boarding covers the part you will actually walk on. We mark the useful area out with you at the survey, and you can see how other lofts were laid out. **Will it make the loft colder?** Yes, and that is the point. Insulation keeps the heat in the house instead of the roof space, so a well insulated loft is a cold loft. It matters for what you store up there and for anything in the loft that can freeze, which is why pipes and tanks get lagged as part of the work. **Can you do it while we are out?** We need access to the hatch and somewhere to work on the landing, and someone in the house at the start and the end. Beyond that it is up to you, and the loft is walked through with you before we leave. ## Or just the half your loft needs Plenty of lofts only need one half, and you will get a price for that rather than a push towards the bigger job. Insulation already at depth and dry, so you just want the floor. Nothing to store, so you just want the heat kept in. Or [spray foam](/spray-foam-removal/) or a leak above you, in which case we deal with that first and do the loft afterwards. [Loft boarding on its own A raised floor above the insulation you already have.](/loft-boarding/) [Loft insulation on its own Up to 270mm, cross laid, with the eaves kept clear.](/loft-insulation/) ## Book a free survey this week It takes about twenty minutes and you get a written price with nothing hidden in it. If the job is not worth doing, we will tell you that too. [01223 000 000](tel:01223000000)