Loft Insulation in Porth

Porth's terraces and what we find in their lofts

Most of Porth's housing went up in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as the coal industry boomed. The typical house is a two-storey terrace in local Pennant sandstone, often stepped down a hillside so each roof sits a little lower than the one next door. Roofs are Welsh slate or later replacement tiles, and many of the older ones have no felt or membrane underneath.

The lofts tend to be modest, with a small hatch and a low ridge. Some have nothing in them at all; others have a thin layer of old fibreglass, sometimes buried under dust and debris from roof repairs over the years. Party walls between houses don't always reach right up to the slates, leaving gaps from one loft into the next.

That last point matters more than people expect, because a gap in a party wall is a route for mice and rats to travel along a whole row.

Working on Porth's steep streets

Parking on Porth's terraced streets is usually on-street and on a slope, so we plan where the van goes and carry materials in by hand. Loft roll is light and compressed, which suits narrow hallways and small hatches. We keep the eaves clear for airflow, because a terrace roof in a wet valley needs to breathe.

If you've heard scratching overhead, our guide on signs of rodents in the loft tells you what to look for, and the rodent proofing service page explains how we deal with it.