FreeSurvey across Craigmillar & Niddrie and the surrounding area
Loft Insulation Craigmillar & Niddrie
Craigmillar and Niddrie were built as council schemes from the late 1920s and 1930s, beneath Craigmillar Castle. Since 2000 much of that housing has been demolished and rebuilt. Today a lot of homes here are new, and some are not, and the two need very different advice.
- Free, no-obligation survey
- Written quote, no hard sell
- Craigmillar & Niddrie and the surrounding streets
“He took videos to show what was happening in loft and what would be required.” Heather, Trustpilot
Get your Craigmillar loft survey
FreeNo obligationWritten quote
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- £0
for the survey and written quote, with nothing to pay if the work is not worth doing
- 1 day
is all most lofts take, with the eaves kept clear and the house left tidy
- 7 days
a week, 9am to 7pm. Call free on 0800 433 2068
- 2016
family-run and working across Scotland ever since
New homes, and the older ones still standing
Niddrie Mains was laid out from 1927 by the city architect Ebenezer MacRae, and the Craigmillar estate followed in 1936, planned largely by Thomas Smith on the ground immediately below the castle. By 2000 the area was mainly high-density interwar and post-war public housing, and the council chose to demolish rather than refurbish around 2,000 homes in Niddrie Mains. Much of the interwar Craigmillar estate was also demolished or refurbished.
The homes that replaced them were built to modern standards and insulated far better than the old stock. In most of them there is little or nothing to add, and if that is what we find at survey, we will tell you rather than sell you a top-up you do not need.
The older homes that survived are a different matter. Where an interwar or post-war house is still standing and has not been refurbished, the loft is often exactly as the council left it, with a thin layer from a programme years ago.
Rented and owned homes
Much of the housing here, old and new, belongs to the council or to housing associations, and in those homes any loft work is for the landlord to arrange. Owner-occupiers are free to go ahead. In the blocks, the roof sits over the top floor only, and the void above it is usually shared between the flats in the block.
Craigmillar & Niddrie housing and what it needs
- New-build houses and flats from the regeneration: built to modern standards, usually with nothing to add.
- Older ex-council houses: simple lofts, often with a single council-era layer.
- Refurbished older homes: may have been insulated during refurbishment, so we check before quoting.
- Top floor tenement flats: a roof space above, often shared with the stair.
- Ground and middle floor flats: no roof space above, so no loft work applies.
Whatever the property, the target is the same: 270mm of mineral wool at ceiling level, laid in two layers because joists are typically 100mm deep, with the eaves left clear so the roof can still ventilate. That depth is guidance for an existing home rather than a legal requirement, and it is the point past which extra material stops paying for itself.
We install loft and roof insulation only. No cavity wall insulation, no underfloor work, and no spray foam, which bonds to the roof timbers and causes problems at sale. Where old material is dry and clean it is topped up rather than removed, which is cheaper and works just as well.
In the older houses that are still standing, the jump from a thin council layer to full depth is the single biggest cut in heat loss available, and it shows on energy bills in the first winter. In the new ones, an honest installer will usually tell you to leave well alone. Either way, nothing should be laid that blocks the eaves and invites condensation.
Where Craigmillar sits, and why that matters
Craigmillar and Niddrie lie in the south east of the city, between Duddingston and the Royal Infirmary at Little France, with Craigmillar Castle on the ridge above. The castle was begun in the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century and gave the area its name.
Regeneration is still going on, with more new homes planned, so the mix of old and new will keep shifting. That is why we measure what is actually in your loft rather than assume from the street or the age of the area.
For an older house or a top floor flat that has not been touched, topping up to 270mm is usually a one-day job and the cheapest way to start cutting heating bills.
Other areas we cover near Craigmillar
We work right across the city. If your street sits on the boundary, these are the neighbouring pages.
- Loft insulation Willowbrae, Northfield & Duddingston
- Loft insulation Prestonfield & the Inch
- Loft insulation Moredun & Gracemount
For the citywide picture, including grants and how we price the work, see loft insulation in Edinburgh.
The work, filmed as it happens
Short clips from real jobs. Nothing staged, and nothing loads until you press play.
What people say after the survey
Our reviews are published on Trustpilot under Easy-Sprayaway, the other name we trade as.
“Ross showed me the video he took of my loft and explained his findings. I went for the Easy Quilt.”
“James McMillan came & completed a full survey of my loft space. Explained everything clearly & answered all my questions.”
“Rayan was very efficient and knowledgeable about the product. He explained the benefit of having the work done.”
Frequently asked questions
Possibly nothing. Homes built in the regeneration are insulated to a much higher standard than the ones they replaced. If the survey shows yours is already close to full depth, we will tell you and leave it there.
Speak to your landlord first. The roof space in a rented home is their responsibility, and they may already have work planned for your street.
An older house or top floor flat with a simple loft sits at the lower end of the range. The survey turns it into a fixed written price rather than an estimate.
We do not carry out grant-funded installations, so all of our work is paid for privately. Scottish Government funding does exist, and it is worth checking with Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 before you pay anyone, including us. ECO4 and Warmer Homes Scotland are aimed at lower-income households.
Not in the loft, because the home above you is your roof space. If you are on the top floor of the block, there may be, and the survey will confirm whether that space is yours or shared.
Yes. We work right across the south east of the city and just beyond it, including Bingham, Magdalene, the Jewel, Danderhall and Duddingston.
Book a free Craigmillar loft survey
We go into the roof space, tell you what it needs and put a written quote in your hands. No pressure and no obligation.