Lofty Ambitions

This is a tale of woe, a tale of lack of planning, of insufficient forethought and carelessness

This is a tale of woe, a tale of lack of planning, of insufficient forethought and carelessness.  It’s also a warning to all readers not to make the same mistakes as I have made, to save you from wasting money as I have done.  Read about my mistakes below and avoid them yourselves……..

We live in a 47-year-old, medium sized detached house.  We moved in when it was barely 2 years old and had virtually no insulation as was pretty normal back then.  Like many other families of that era, we learned about the benefits of insulation to stop draughts and heat loss to save on heating costs.  We learned about injection foam insulation which specialist companies did by drilling holes in the mortar between the exterior bricks which expanded into the empty cavity between the outer brickwork and the inner breeze blocks.  But we delayed doing anything about it.

After 9 years we decided to increase the size of the house with extensions front and back and a larger kitchen and utility room.  The builders added sheets of fibre glass insulation between the outer and inner cavity walls and we discovered this was due to building regulations that had changed.  We then discovered there were government grants available towards the cost of injection foam insulation into the original cavity walls that had no insulation, so we got it done.

So far so good.  Except it wasn’t.  We had done nothing about the loft insulation except throw some thin bits of cladding material between the joists and of course, just like other growing families, filled the loft space with toys, unwanted or little used furniture and other paraphernalia, Christmas decorations (natch), boxes and boxes of old photos, etc, etc.

The heating bills were what they were and I suppose we didn’t realise how much heat we were losing through the roof.  Until 2½ years ago.

At this time, we read about the new thing in town - the very latest in energy saving, the easy to install, high tech ‘spray foam insulation’ which was applied to the roof felt, between the wooden rafters.  Ads were appearing up all over the place and more and more companies were springing up offering this new service.  The government was even promoting it as part of the drive to save energy and lower consumers heating bills.  No one ever mentioned any downside - it was all upsides.  Apart from the danger of employing a ‘cowboy’ business who cut corners and maybe with inferior product.  But then this was no different to being careful whoever you chose as a tradesman, to avoid a ‘cowboy’.

So, with no more ado, we decided to get it done.  We carefully researched what and who was available and read all the reviews and chose a company that didn’t sound like a cowboy outfit.  They came out to measure and quote.  Then came our first downside (but was to become an unexpected upside, later).  The company said ‘for safety’ reasons, the loft will have to be cleared completely of all the paraphernalia (see above) so they could put boards down on the joists, over the (quite useless) ‘insulation’ that I had thrown up.  Initially, my wife and I were a bit daunted by this, due to our age, lack of fitness, creaking joints (that’s joints, not joists) and our general leanings towards laziness.

But we girded our loins, set aside a few days, empty boxes, numerous large bin bags and set to.  Gradually, we got it all down and into the garage where we sorted everything into piles for ‘charity shops’, ‘skip/dump’, ‘freecycle’ (local website offering decent household items free of charge to local residents for collection) and ‘keep’ (which eventually, was reassuringly small).  Christ, we were knackered, but actually rather pleased with ourselves and with the result - an empty loft. 

Lessons (in no particular order). 

Lesson one.  Don’t fill your loft with crap or anything that you describe as ‘might be useful, one day’ or ‘we’ll get these down later and find a use for them’ or ‘we’ll look at these photos/albums/pictures/books one day’.

Lesson two. Insulate your loft early (like, when it’s empty/when you’ve just moved in/before you put any crap (sorry, important things we don’t have room for in the house) up there.

Anyway, the spray foam company came and did the job with ‘open cell’ foam (which ‘breathes’ through the roof felt, for aeration and keeps the loft from ’sweating’ and reduces moisture build up) and it looked splendid.  Just a few days for the foam to ‘cure’ and for the odd smell to dissipate and we get very pleased with our decision. 

The cost:  £4,355 inc VAT.

I’m a bit of nerd with cost tracking and I keep a spreadsheet of monthly gas and electricity charges and have done so for 5 years or more.  And I did detect a reduction in our gas (heating) bills.  About 12% down over the 12 months following the spray foam insulation.  The 12 months after that was exactly the same annual cost, i.e. the 12% saving had been maintained over pre-spray foam days.  So, after clearing the loft of crap, getting shot of it all in one way or another, having a neat, insulated, empty loft and a real saving in our heating bills, my wife and I felt very pleased with ourselves.  Until 6 months ago.

We had decided some time ago that one day soon we would take out an equity-release mortgage to realise funds to help our daughter finance a bigger house.  We are mortgage-free with a good pension and one single daughter with a job she loves but with a modest salary and small house.  I started doing research and was horrified to discover reports of spray foam incorrectly installed can reduce aeration and sometimes reduce air circulation in the roof space.

I couldn’t believe it.  2½ years ago it was all the rage, there were no warnings of downsides, and the government was even promoting it.  Surely, we can get round it?  With a professional survey perhaps, including a moisture content reading?  I checked with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to see if we could get a survey and report showing the spray foam was correctly installed and moisture levels were within accepted limits.  I contacted several members.  Many offered a survey for £500 - £600 but with no guarantee it would be enough to satisfy a mortgage company to lend money against this house.

But most helpfully I received phone call from one surveyor who said, to save me time and money he was going to tell me straight - the concern was that the roof rafters may absorb moisture if the foam doesn’t ‘breathe’ correctly and over time, may cause rotting of the timbers!  “No mortgage company will lend against ANY house with spray foam insulation even with a RICS survey and report of compliance to the regulations.  You won’t even be able to sell your house to a buyer with a mortgage unless you find a cash buyer.” 

“The only route open to you is to have the spray foam removed.” 

So, I won’t need to waste £500 -£600 on a RICS surveyor!

I then read tale after tale of mortgage companies refusing mortgages to ANYONE with spray foam insulation, confirming what this helpful RICS surveyor had told me on the phone.  I started checking out spray foam removal companies and noticed that all of them have banner headlines on the home page warning that mortgage companies will routinely decline any application to anyone with spray foam insulation.  “We can completely remove it for you”

There is no way we can leave this burden to our daughter after we are both gone.

So, my wife and I girded our loins once again and decided to have the foam removed.  After checking out several companies I was relieved to hear that most companies thought that there should be virtually no damage to the wooden rafters after 2½ years.  Generally, they suggested 5 years and over is the danger point.  Again, I sifted through the ads and websites and ruled out the cowboys - yes, there are some and easily spotted.  They are the companies offering both installation and removal!  But usually not under the same company name.  Which leads to:

Lesson three.  When checking out spray foam removal companies, make sure they are a Limited company with a Companies House registration number.  Look up history and any previous names and check if they have ever been engaged in spray foam installation and if they still are!  If they are, they are cowboys.  Better still make sure they are an accredited member of Checkatrade.com, they have good, consistent standards and a good consumer review system.

In the end I went for Spray Foam Removers Limited of Fareham, Hampshire.  One of the partners came out next day to measure the loft and gave me a quote on the spot plus a moisture reading which was slightly above average but well below the ‘problematic’ level.  So, no problem.  The quote included complete removal of the foam, wire brushing all the rafters, bagging up the foam and environmentally removal of the foam the day after completion by a specialist firm with whom they partner.

The quote estimated 3 days work with a team of two with an expected 80 bags of removed foam for disposal.  Two weeks later two young, fit lads arrived in the last week of June, which if you remember was a heatwave.  Boy, did they work!  It took 4½ days in the end because it was like a furnace in that loft.  They were stripped to their underpants, had to keep taking breaks to cool off and breathe fresh air (they wore industrial full-face masks with filters when working).  We took them an endless supply of tea and cold drinks and even supplied them with an electric fan for which they were most grateful.  They were courteous, professional, did a great job, cleaned up perfectly, vacuuming the loft and stairs to remove all trace of foam and dust.  In the end they filled 136 bags of foam which filled the garage!  Next day it was all collected and removed for recycling.

I then received a Completion Certificate to show to any potential mortgage company, guaranteeing complete foam removal and absence of any rot in the timber rafters and a Duty of Care Waste Removal Certificate.

The cost:  £3,600 inc VAT.

So now we had an empty but uninsulated loft (other than the rubbish, thin stuff I put between the joists 40 years ago).  Time to search again, this time for a reliable, professional conventional loft insulation company to lay the regulation 300mm depth of glass mineral wool.  The same criteria here apply as for searching for spray foam removal companies - make sure they are competent, have the appropriate credentials, have good reviews and are preferably a member of Checkatrade.com.

I went for AllSeasons Property Services Ltd of Northampton.  One of the bosses came to measure and quote to remove my rubbish 40 years old ‘insulation’, lay 300mm, (100mm between the joists and 200mm at 90 degrees on top, across the joists).  Two weeks later a team of three guys arrived very early and were finished by mid-afternoon and cleared up leaving everything clean and tidy.

The cost:  £1,880 inc VAT.

We now had a fully insulated, empty loft with no spray foam, no crap, toys, or other paraphernalia up there (including Christmas decorations) and the way is now clear (after interest rates will hopefully fall over the next year) to approach some equity release companies.  I continue to monitor the monthly heating bills to see if traditional loft insulation is giving the same savings as the spray foam, compared to 3 years ago with little to no insulation but it won’t be meaningful until after the winter and spring months. 

The Epilogue (or here endeth the lessons). 

If you have not insulated your loft, do it, but only with traditional insulation laid between/over the joists.

DO NOT have spray foam installed between the rafters.

If you do have spray foam installed, GET IT REMOVED asap. 

If you do have spray foam installed, DO NOT waste your money on a survey hoping to get a mortgage or to sell your house.

Do your research and check things out for yourself, but if you’re interested in saving time and looking at the companies we have used, the websites are below.

£8,000 in wasted/unnecessary expenditure.  We only need to have put in proper, regulation 300mm loft insulation between/on the joists, £1,880 at today’s prices.

https://www.rics.org/about-rics

https://sprayfoamremoval.co.uk

https://www.allseasonsweb.co.uk

https://www.checkatrade.com

John Booth