EWI on a early 1900's semi detached?

[Mike]

1 hour ago, Roger440 said:

As per BBC link posted earlier, 98% of ewi installations have an issue. 98%!!!!?!

It is a shocking figure, but from the extremely limited examples given in the actual report, there may(?) only be a 1% problem with the actual insulation - everything else(?) being due to a failure to consider what else needs doing, including some items that were pre-existing.

 

But it should have been be obvious to any competent contractor that these items needed fixing!

 

Extract from Figure 6 below; full report at https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/energy-efficiency-installations-under-the-energy-company-obligation/

 

 

 

 

[Roger440]

8 hours ago, Mike said:

It is a shocking figure, but from the extremely limited examples given in the actual report, there may(?) only be a 1% problem with the actual insulation - everything else(?) being due to a failure to consider what else needs doing, including some items that were pre-existing.

 

But it should have been be obvious to any competent contractor that these items needed fixing!

 

Extract from Figure 6 below; full report at https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/energy-efficiency-installations-under-the-energy-company-obligation/

 

 

 

 

 

If you think its not a real problem, id suggest, respectfully, you are out of touch with reality.

 

These are being done by grant harvesters, most of whom only exist to harvest said grants. And will fold the minute the money stops. Quality work is not on the agenda. Especially, as we all know, careful detailing on such jobs is critical to avoid longer term issues.

 

You are right these should be obvious to competent contractors. And therin lies the problem.

 

I could have £45k of work done on my house under the ECO4 scheme at NO cost to myself. Financially its a no brainer, why work if i can just sit back and get free stuff. But, chances of it being done properly are near zero.

 

Now if i could just get them to leave the materials and do it myself while they have a holiday at the taxpayers expense................ 

 

Seems they like a bit of fraud too.

[Mike]

Just now, Roger440 said:

If you think its not a real problem, id suggest, respectfully, you are out of touch with reality.

It's a huge problem of staggering proportions. But it doesn't mean stripping the insulation off 98% of the affected houses, as some of the headlines implied.

[Roger440]

14 minutes ago, Mike said:

It's a huge problem of staggering proportions. But it doesn't mean stripping the insulation off 98% of the affected houses, as some of the headlines implied.

 

I didnt suggest that it did.

[Nickfromwales]

1 hour ago, Roger440 said:

These are being done by grant harvesters, most of whom only exist to harvest said grants. And will fold the minute the money stops. Quality work is not on the agenda. Especially, as we all know, careful detailing on such jobs is critical to avoid longer term issues.

 

You are right these should be obvious to competent contractors. And therin lies the problem.

Amen.

 

I saw one crowd doing this to a perfectly good house, and I had to alert the guy I was working indoors for.

 

When I showed him the bag-o-shite install these clowns were undertaking he asked for a meeting with their boss.

 

He had the same IQ as a baked potato, and just stood there shrugging his shoulders. Literally, couldn’t give a feck. 
 

They walked off and on to the next, where they no doubt encountered zero questions. 

[-rick-]

1 hour ago, Roger440 said:

I could have £45k of work done on my house under the ECO4 scheme at NO cost to myself. Financially its a no brainer, why work if i can just sit back and get free stuff. But, chances of it being done properly are near zero.

 

You've complained before about how the building regs make it difficult to do smaller improvements because if you start then you feel you would be forced to spend a lot more to bring everything up to spec. (Though from what I've read here it sounds likely that this is a worst case fear rather than what is likely to happen in practice if you actually consult with building control). You've also complained about not being able to get a government funded upgrade to your electricity and this combined with the insulation improvements issue is why you don't feel you have the option of moving away from oil heating.

 

If you can get such a large amount from the government to make improvements to your house (improvements that almost certainly would deal with the building control issue) even if the work has issues, couldn't you use it as a starting point to then make your own improvements (that you would like to) along with fixing up any issues you saw with the install? This would likely then open up the possibility of electric heating options for the future if you decided to go that way.

 

Reckon you'd still save an awful lot even if there were some issues that for expediency you decided to fix yourself and it sounds like you have the skills to closely watch the installers and pick up any issues to have them fix the majority of them before they left site.

Edited 11 hours ago by -rick-

[Roger440]

6 minutes ago, -rick- said:

 

You've complained before about how the building regs make it difficult to do smaller improvements because if you start then you feel you would be forced to spend a lot more to bring everything up to spec. (Though from what I've read here it sounds likely that this is a worst case fear rather than what is likely to happen in practice if you actually consult with building control). You've also complained about not being able to get a government funded upgrade to your electricity and this combined with the insulation improvements issue is why you don't feel you have the option of moving away from oil heating.

 

If you can get such a large amount from the government to make improvements to your house (improvements that almost certainly would deal with the building control issue) even if the work has issues, couldn't you use it as a starting point to then make your own improvements (that you would like to) along with fixing up any issues you saw with the install? This would likely then open up the possibility of electric heating options for the future if you decided to go that way.

 

Reckon you'd still save an awful lot even if there were some issues that for expediency you decided to fix yourself and it sounds like you have the skills to closely watch the installers and pick up any issues to have them fix the majority of them before they left site.

 

Under the ECO4 scheme, that would include ASHP.

 

Im ok with that side of it, its the wall insulation that is my biggest concern. The front half of the house is a typical stone built, non DPC welsh cottage 900ft up the side of a hill. With a cavity wall extension.

 

If these are not done right, it not an easy job to fix, by me or anyone.

 

Then theres other issues like it currently pointed, internally with cement, which means wall are damp. Theres obviously no chance they will sort that, so need to do that first. Which i always intended to.

 

In short, its all rather complicated at a practical level, but what you sayis certainly valid and something im pondering.

 

As for building control, my view remains the same. Indeed, if the latest report linked above is anything to go by, building control oversight seems to be mostly absent given the work done in most cases is notifiable.

 

But not my problem if someone else is doing the work. Ill be more use than building control in keeping tabs on the work.

 

[Gus Potter]

Ok so you do a bit of EWI. The concept is that this will be good for 50 years.. but what if the outside starts to get a bit dull looking and the new owner goes to B & Q and gets some air tight / impermeable paint and uses that? 

 

Under the new PD rules we should have an operation manual for the building. Wrong paint can cause unwanted moisture that impacts on structural performance not least. Valuers should be picking up on this.