Loft Insulation Govanhill
Govanhill is one of the most densely built parts of the city and a large share of its homes are rented. That shapes the answer here more than the housing itself does: for many people, this is not a bill they should be paying.
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If you rent, this is not your bill
Govanhill has one of the highest proportions of private rented housing in Scotland, alongside substantial housing association and owner-occupied stock, often within the same close.
If you rent, improving the thermal performance of the building is your landlord's responsibility, not yours. A private landlord has obligations around the condition and energy efficiency of the property, and a housing association will usually have insulation programmed already. Before anyone quotes you for work, it is worth asking, because paying for an improvement to someone else's building is money you will not get back when you move.
We work for owners. If you rent, we would rather point you at your landlord than take the job.
If you own a top floor flat
Then it may well be worth doing. In a tenement the roof is common property across the close, but only the top floor flat sits under it, and that flat loses heat upward that nobody else does. Where there is a hatch into a usable roof space, insulating at your own ceiling is often straightforward and the benefit is wholly yours.
Flats below the top have a neighbour's floor overhead rather than a roof, so there is nothing to insulate at ceiling level.
The housing here
- Pre-1919 tenements: the overwhelming majority. Common roofs, top floor flats only.
- Privately rented flats: the landlord's responsibility rather than the tenant's.
- Housing association stock: ask them first, because it is likely already scheduled.
- Owner-occupied top floor flats: the one group here for whom paying privately makes sense.
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.
Why the top flat feels so different
People in top floor tenement flats often assume their heating bills are high because the flat is draughty or the windows are old. Those things contribute, but the larger reason is simpler: they are the only flat in the building with cold air directly above the ceiling.
Every other flat in the close has a heated home above it, which means their ceiling is losing almost nothing. The top flat has the whole roof. In a four storey close it is the one home paying for a surface the other three do not have.
That is why loft insulation does more for a top floor flat than almost any other single measure, and why the same work would be pointless two floors down.
Other areas we cover near Govanhill
We work right across the city. If your street sits on the boundary, these are the neighbouring pages.
For the citywide picture, including grants and how we price the work, see loft insulation in Glasgow.
The work, filmed as it happens
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Frequently asked questions
No. Improving the building is the landlord's responsibility, whether that is a private landlord or a housing association. Ask them before paying anyone, including us.
Usually yes, provided there is a hatch into a usable roof space. You are the only flat in the close losing heat upward through a roof, so the benefit is concentrated on you.
Not usefully. What is above you is your neighbour's floor rather than the outside, so there is no heat escaping upward to stop.
Generally not for insulation laid on your own ceiling. Work affecting the roof structure is common property and does need the agreement your title deeds set out.
Possibly. ECO4 can cover the full cost where someone in the household receives a qualifying benefit and the property is rated D to G. We do not deliver grant-funded work, so if you qualify you want an accredited installer.
Not if the ventilation is kept. Old tenement roofs rely on air moving through the space, so the eaves must stay clear rather than being packed out.
Book a free Govanhill 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.