Intelligent Home Energy

Fri 19 Oct 2018, 21:55

Interested Phil... We have just the traditional fibre matting stuff, but were told we couldn't fit the foam type materials due to the damp course being split at ground level with the cavity wall going below ground level. Apparently the air bricks allow a circular movement of air from the ground level to the attic and stop damp building up... Will catch you over the hedge sometime!

Fri 19 Oct 2018, 14:34

Hello Christine, I live in one of the former council houses on Sturt Road so it is not a'period house'. Circa 1950 I expect.
The company I used was Global Eco Renewables. The men doing the job were quite evangelic about the product they were using and I have not been disappointed.

Thu 18 Oct 2018, 15:15

Thank you, Phil. That's really interesting.

I looked into doing this on my own house a few years ago, and was completely put off by all the scare stories. Which firm did you use for the application? Also, do you live in a house of modern construction, or one of the older houses? I was particularly concerned since I have thick stone walls, old beams & already quite a problem with condensation.

I could see that there would be many advantages, but thought it not worth the risk. But maybe I should reconsider ...

Thu 18 Oct 2018, 13:49

I will add my own experience here for the information of others.
I had the spray foam insulation done in my loft in 2015 and I have had a fantastic experience.The product was ICYNENE and it is magic!
I have 5" rafters and I watched as each gap was briefly sprayed and then expanded to 5" depth within 20 seconds.
Since then, whenever I go up into the loft, it is exactly the same temperature as the rest of the house and my gas heating bill has reduced significantly. I also had an annual problem with small black flies which descended from the loft when the heating went on. Since the installation - not a single fly.
There is no condensation - the loft is as dry as a bone.
If anybody wants to see my loft, please contact me.

Thu 18 Oct 2018, 09:57

Christine usually is! No Hans, the stuff the men pumped into my loft was like bits of fibreglass. I simply had to sign a form saying that the work had been carried out and that then enabled them to get the 100% grant from the Government. I didn't pay a penny.
There were criteria - e.g. lack of insulation (I had none), and area, I remember them saying that if my loft had been bigger I would have had to pay something.
That was many years ago and I suspect that the technology has moved on and the grant with it!

Wed 17 Oct 2018, 20:00

Hannen, the video is Canadian (it's also about houses in Florida etc) and the technology that Tony asked about appears to be the same. You could have something different. Who knows? Christine Battersby is however spot on.

Wed 17 Oct 2018, 18:59

Tony, Which? has a long article on spay foam insulation here: https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/insulation/article/spray-foam-insulation

I don't think it's the same as the insulation that was offered by British Gas & other companies some years ago. I had that done & it looks quite different to the Which? pictures.

It seems that the firm you mention uses Icynene foam. The Mirror has had a number of articles advising against using this foam in most UK houses: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/beware-cold-hearted-crooks-running-9412683

Wed 17 Oct 2018, 18:39

Hans, the video is about a place in Canada. I don't think that's what I had. I had to clear the loft (boring!) then the nice men came in and pumped loads of sort of woollen bits into it. No mess. Very quick. Then I tacked plywood onto the rafters and put everything back.
This was a few years ago, so the grant may have gone, and the technology!

Wed 17 Oct 2018, 16:36

I don't know this company but one of my clients in Scotland was considering spray foam insulation. So I found this youtube video about that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hh5MYv7lWc
I recommend you watch that before you proceed.

Wed 17 Oct 2018, 15:02

We had it done by British Gas - all free!

Wed 17 Oct 2018, 13:26

I don't know the company Tony but a few years ago I had my entire loft insulated free of charge with the aid of a Government grant. I don't know if that grant is still available. Google?
Not only did it save me a lot of money in fuel bills but it increased the value of my property.

Tue 16 Oct 2018, 21:39

I wonder if anyone has any experience of this company that do loft insulation. We had a visit from them and it sounds like a good technique but it would be nice to know if someone has had them install it.