FreeSurvey across Marchmont & Bruntsfield and the surrounding area
Loft Insulation Marchmont & Bruntsfield
Marchmont and Bruntsfield are tenement country: four and five storeys of Victorian sandstone, laid out in the 1870s and 1880s south of the Meadows. If you live on the top floor, the roof is directly above you, and so is most of your heat loss. The question is whether the roof space is yours to insulate.
- Free, no-obligation survey
- Written quote, no hard sell
- Marchmont & Bruntsfield and the surrounding streets
“He took videos to show what was happening in loft and what would be required.” Heather, Trustpilot
Get your Marchmont loft survey
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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
Who owns the roof space above a top floor flat?
In an Edinburgh tenement, the answer is in your title deeds. Some titles make the roof and the roof space common property shared by every owner in the stair. Others give them to the top floor flats. Where the deeds say nothing, the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 sets default rules, under which the roof over a top floor flat is generally part of that flat.
Ownership and repair are not the same thing, though. Even where the roof belongs to the top floor, its maintenance is normally shared across the stair. Insulating your own ceiling is a different matter from repairing the roof, but the survey still has to establish who owns the space before anything is quoted, because work in a common area can need the other owners to agree.
How you get into the roof space matters as well. A hatch in your own hallway is usually straightforward. A hatch on the common landing, or a roof space that runs over the whole stair, needs more thought and sometimes a word with the neighbours first.
Ground and middle floor flats
If you live below the top floor, you have a neighbour's floor above you rather than a roof, so there is nothing to insulate at ceiling level. We will tell you that on the phone rather than send someone out.
Marchmont and Bruntsfield property types
- Top floor tenement flats: the main opportunity here, and often the coldest flat in the stair.
- Ground and middle floor flats: no roof space above, so no loft work applies.
- Attic and converted top floor flats: where the roof space has become rooms, it becomes room in roof insulation on the slopes.
- Rented flats and HMOs: the owner arranges the work, and we are happy to deal with landlords and letting agents directly.
- Villas and terraced houses on the edges of the area: conventional private lofts and straightforward work.
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.
The top floor flat has the greatest heat loss of any flat in the stair, so insulation installed above it makes the largest difference to energy bills. For a homeowner or a landlord, the key question for any installer is how they will keep the eaves open, since condensation in the colder roof space is the one real risk.
Old roofs, and why ventilation matters more here
The Marchmont tenements were built in the 1870s and 1880s on Sir George Warrender's estate, the earliest in pink Scots Baronial sandstone and the later ones in plainer blonde stone. The area has been a conservation area since 1987, extended in 1996 to take in the Meadows and Bruntsfield Links. Loft insulation is internal and changes nothing visible, so it is not restricted. If your building is listed, check with the City of Edinburgh Council before work starts.
Roofs of this age are natural slate on sarking boards with no membrane, kept dry by air moving through the roof space. Insulating the top floor ceiling makes that space colder, and colder air holds less moisture before it condenses on the timbers. So the eaves have to stay clear. On a shared roof, a damp problem becomes a common repair for the whole stair, which is a far more expensive outcome than a cold bedroom.
A large share of flats here are let, many of them to students at the nearby universities. For landlords, a warmer top floor flat is easier to let and draws fewer condensation complaints, and loft insulation is one of the cheapest ways to improve its energy performance.
Other areas we cover near Marchmont
We work right across the city. If your street sits on the boundary, these are the neighbouring pages.
- Loft insulation Morningside & Greenbank
- Loft insulation Newington & the Grange
- Loft insulation Gorgie & Dalry
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
If the roof space is yours under your titles, yes, and the benefit is entirely yours because you are the one losing heat upwards. If it is common property, the other owners may need to agree first. The survey establishes which before anything is quoted.
It can. A hatch on the landing often means the roof space is shared or is reached through common property. It does not rule the work out, but it is worth checking your deeds and mentioning it to your neighbours.
No. Below the top floor, there is a neighbour's flat above you rather than a roof space, so there is nothing to insulate at ceiling level.
The roof space over a single tenement flat is small, so the work usually sits at the lower end of the range. Difficult access through a high, narrow hatch can add time. The survey turns it into a fixed written price.
Yes. We can arrange the survey and the work directly with your tenants or your letting agent, and send the written quote to you as the owner.
Only if the ventilation is ignored. A colder roof space holds less moisture before it condenses, so the eaves must stay clear. Keeping that air path open while reaching full depth is the part that takes care.
Book a free Marchmont 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.