Insulation discoveries

On Saturday morning, Peter and I had our first adventure into the ceiling to install some insulation. From previous adventures into the ceiling for various DIY jobs, we knew it was a bit squishy with some joists and cross beams in weird places, but had never been right down and around the corner (we have an 'L shaped' house), to the part of the roof over our bedrooms. We had already decided that the first place we wanted to insulate was over the bedrooms, so that is the end of the house we ventured to with the insulation and we discovered....

a) The reason our bedroom felt like walking into a commercial cool room last winter is because there is absolutely no insulation in the ceiling above our room (the rest of the house has a thin layer of loose fill insulation that is about 30 years old).

b) To access this part of the ceiling space will involve me going on crash diet and losing all of my 'insulation' if I want to move around easily - or just suck it in and feel like I'm stuck in a small wardrobe.

Peter was the one to venture down that end the other day and found it basically impossible to install any insulation down there. At the next possible chance we have to get up there, it will be my turn to get in there and try.

I'm not a fan of small spaces which aren't easy to exit at short notice (it's not a phobia, but I wouldn't choose a job that had me frequently working in small, tight spaces), and the small space feeling is made worse by the stale air that you find in ceiling spaces and even worse by having to wear a dust mask while installing the insulation.

So in preparation I am trying to be positive about the whole situation. If Peter was able to get into and out of the space, then I don't need to fear getting 'stuck' (I'm much smaller than him). I also discovered that the small space feeling is worse if I'm having to make a physical effort, but if I stop for a minute or so to rest, I feel much better again. I'm also thinking of possible techniques and objects I can use to make installing the insulation as quick and easy as possible. (The joists down there run perpendicular to the access point!)

Anyway, we need to wait for another time when the ceiling space isn't too hot (cloudy day or early morning) before I can try anyway. I'll let you know how I go...