They discovered that the government had endorsed spray-foam insulation, a quick and unobtrusive technique by which liquid foam is spray-gunned into roof spaces and walls. Their loft was successfully treated at a cost of £2,800 and their gas bills duly fell.
Now, two years on, they have found that, by making their home more energy efficient, they have also made it unsaleable. “We are unable to borrow against it, or potentially to sell it, unless the foam is completely removed,” says Bunce.
The couple had hoped to take out an equity release mortgage to fund their retirement. “No provider will offer equity release on a property with spray-foam insulation due to fears that it damages roof timbers,” he says. “The removal will cost us £3,370 and, apart from the waste of money, there’s the environmental impact of 50 square metres of spray foam being sent to landfill.”
Thousands of other householders are in the same position. It’s estimated that up to 300,000 properties could be affected, some of which had government funding for the work
Blown foam insulation can also make a real mess in the cavity with large voids not being uncommon. It’s also not recommended if you have stone or brick wall ties which are common in older houses. Our insulation is a blown fibre insulation made from sheeps wool. Same in the attic space.
We had cavity wall insulation done in our old house in England. This led to damp problems and I gather can also lead to the brick ties rusting and failing. Another government sponsored idiotic programme without adequate research beforehand like getting us all to buy diesel cars.
My brother trained as a brickie from the age of 16 and at 62 still builds today. He also qualified with a degree in building management and you should hear him carrying on about filling in cavity wall spaces which he said many years back would eventually cause nothing but trouble as the cavities are there for a reason.
I think mine is the same. I had my own spotlights fitted by my son (he did qualify as a french electrician originally) to keep the costs down and every time we touched the holes,tiny morsels and bits of insulation of a dark blue/grey colour that I had never seen the likes of before kept falling down on the floor. We only ever used to fit the Rockwool back in Bretagne because of the old construction constraints and costs.