Extremely poor quality home insulation

[Andrew Gabriel]

From a report on BBC Radio 4 Today program this morning, it seems that (if I heard correctly) some 800,000 homes which were insulated for free by the energy companies in last 10 years have been done so badly, the insulation needs to be removed. These are homes which had cavity wall insulation installed, or external insulation panels installed and rendered. This also applies to some homes insulated more recently under the Green Deal scheme, where the owner pays through increased fuel prices for 20 years.

On one council estate in Preston, Ofgem recently ordered the energy supplier to pay £1.2M to fix the first 60 homes, and there are

300 more to do.

Another estate paid for by SSE has 250 homes which need rectifying. At the moment, SSE is pointing to the contractor, but they've gone bust. The workmanship is apparently terrible.

BRE said they have inspected 2000 homes across the country which had insulation installed, and none passed.

The BBC interviewed one of the installers. He said they knew there was no oversight and none of their work would be inspected.

So, we all paid for this through higher fuel prices, and I guess someone is going to have to pay to undo it all (which is much more than the installation cost).

[Robin]

BRE have been warning about this for years.

But I suppose it'll be good for employment - including in all those claims management companies who'll have something to cold call us about when PPI claims end :(

[tabbypurr]

yet again I'm grateful to diy

NT

[Martin Brown]

Indeed. The same problem in Newcastle with defective cavity wall insulation badly installed by cowboys working on the grant scheme now causing serious bridging problems and having to be painstakingly removed and replaced. Building inspectors are doing the rounds because there is some time limit on the insurance associated with having the work done.

[Jethro_uk]

Unfortunately, when grants are involved, you get what you are given.

No reason why you couldn't have a system whereby homeowners apply to do the work themselves with an inspection and liability for any work needed to bring up to snuff. But that would divert money away from the trouser pockets of those that dreamt up the scheme.

[newshound]

Reminds me of the idiots who wanted to put six inches of insulation into the boarded loft of my late mother's bungalow. Originally they were going to lay it on the floor boards, when I pointed out that this was hardly convenient. I lifted a board to show that the gap between ceiling and floorboards was already full of glass insulation, and they insisted that just squashing this down and adding more under the boards would be just as effective as 6 inches of "loose". They had been on a course, and had the certificate to prove it.

[Andrew]

A relative works for an LA in South Wales and is involved in this insulation nonsense. Many of the properties treated and then suffered damp had to have the rockwool cavity wall insualtion removed.

Looks like the expanded poly beads blown in with a glue coating is more suitable in places exposed to more rain and strong winds, like this South Wales town..

Blackpool was mentioned on the R4 Today item. It's pretty wet and windy in that location.

[Michael Chare]

I am not sure that pumping foam into a cavity wall is really a DIY job. Where I am at the moment I was advised not to have cavity wall insulation. Like ours, most property walls are rendered I presume to protect them against driving rain.

[Andrew]

The Energy Saving Trust still think it is ok to insulate a flat roof by simply adding rigid board insulation on top the existing roof covering !.

No mention of whether it is a warm or cold roof construction.

I have complained to them in the past about this awful advice but they never replied or corrected their website.

Some cack-handed roofers think it is ok to do this and simply block up the cross ventilation, while the more clueless variety just leave it with cold air freely blowing under the supposedly warm side of the insulation.

[Andrew]

Apart from which making holes in the render, which will never be made weatherproof again, allows driving rain inside the cavity.

[tabbypurr]

I diyed CWI using polystyrene. My memory may be amiss but ISTR foam require d hiring equipment to do.

It may be worth checking the wall construction, they often don't give corre ct advice due to not checking it.

If there's a chance the insulation might need to be removed, go with polyst yrene bead without glue. It makes removal a very easy diy job.

DIYers don't need to replicate such bodges. Instead of damaging brick/stone s & messing up render we can drill the holes on the interior, fill & decora te.

NT

[Michael Chare]

How would you remove it?

[Andrew]

Just remove a brick at DPC level and it all pours out.

[Brian Gaff]

I'm afraid that this is a sadly old problem. When I worked in QA, nobody wanted to pay for it on their contract. In the end minimal QA was done on equipment for our armed forces, with the result that a lot of it went faulty in the field in the Gulf war. I can say no more here as I am gagged. Brian

[misterroy]

I surf. I know that if the outer layer of the board gets compromised the fo am will over time suck in and retain water. I have had a few people at my d oor wanting to fill my cavity. I always declined the kind offer. One day a supervisor knocked on my door to check the quality of the work. I told him I did not get it done, and why. He was honest enough to be straight with me , "I would not get it done if I lived here either". He mentioned Wales and how wet it is there, we make Wales look dry.

[tabbypurr]

apply a hoover too.

NT

[Steve Walker]

Yes. Some years ago I looked at converting my car to use LPG. The price for doing so was around £900-£1000. There was a government grant available at the time of about £300, but you could only use the companies signed up to the government scheme to have the work done - and all their prices were £1200 and upwards!

As all installers needed to be approved to do such work, why couldn't the goverment have just given a grant that could have been used with any installer? Better yet, still have given the grant for a self-install, followed by an inspection and sign-off.

Similar uplifts have applied to boiler replacement schemes over the years.

SteveW

[Jethro_uk]

Because the "right" people have to get the money. At which point you know it's a scam.

Just reading a headline today that it turns out shows hybrid vehicles bought for fleets with *our* money have never been plugged in. They've only been driven on fuel.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Those are filled .

[Harry Bloomfield]

Michael Chare submitted this idea :

Maybe most are rendered where you live, but generally, most houses in the UK are not rendered.