I have just answered the door to a guy from a firm called Nationwide
Energy Services Ltd offering to install cavity wall insulation in my
house. He claims that I can apply for a grant of 70% of the cost so it
would cost £169 to insulate our house.

I believe that cavity wall insulation is a good idea. I had it done
back in the '80s in a bungalow I lived in then and it certainly seemed
to help keep the warmth in. If our house really doesn't have cavity
wall insulation I'm happy to have it installed for £169.

However, I'm wondering if this is just a scam, because:
- our house was built in 2001 by Alfred McAlpines (since taken over by
Persimmon Homes.) I thought all houses that recently built had
insulation blocks already inside the cavity walls;
- I'm being pressured to make a quick decision because I'm told "the
grant funding runs out at the end of the year."

I have agreed for them to come and "survey" the house on Monday but if
they told me I needed insulation and I really didn't I wouldn't know
any better.

Could someone who knows about these things please advise?

techpro coughed up some electrons that declared:

> I have just answered the door to a guy from a firm called Nationwide
> Energy Services Ltd offering to install cavity wall insulation in my
> house. He claims that I can apply for a grant of 70% of the cost so it
> would cost £169 to insulate our house.
>
> I believe that cavity wall insulation is a good idea. I had it done
> back in the '80s in a bungalow I lived in then and it certainly seemed
> to help keep the warmth in. If our house really doesn't have cavity
> wall insulation I'm happy to have it installed for £169.
>
> However, I'm wondering if this is just a scam, because:
> - our house was built in 2001 by Alfred McAlpines (since taken over by
> Persimmon Homes.) I thought all houses that recently built had
> insulation blocks already inside the cavity walls;
> - I'm being pressured to make a quick decision because I'm told "the
> grant funding runs out at the end of the year."
>
> I have agreed for them to come and "survey" the house on Monday but if
> they told me I needed insulation and I really didn't I wouldn't know
> any better.
>
> Could someone who knows about these things please advise?

Part L was first introduced in 2002 IIRC, so anything built before this date
may or may not be insulated. I don't know what common practise was in 2001.

Can you see into the cavity anywhere, or feel, say via the attic? Maybe a
mirror on a stick or a webcam and a small torch to have a look.

If anything was installed as the house was built, I would expect solid board
of some sort (rockwool or foam) so it shouldn't settle and should be
visible from above.

Cheers

Tim

techpro wrote:
> I have just answered the door to a guy from a firm called Nationwide
> Energy Services Ltd offering to install cavity wall insulation in my
> house. He claims that I can apply for a grant of 70% of the cost so it
> would cost £169 to insulate our house.
>
> I believe that cavity wall insulation is a good idea. I had it done
> back in the '80s in a bungalow I lived in then and it certainly seemed
> to help keep the warmth in. If our house really doesn't have cavity
> wall insulation I'm happy to have it installed for £169.
>
> However, I'm wondering if this is just a scam, because:
> - our house was built in 2001 by Alfred McAlpines (since taken over by
> Persimmon Homes.) I thought all houses that recently built had
> insulation blocks already inside the cavity walls;
> - I'm being pressured to make a quick decision because I'm told "the
> grant funding runs out at the end of the year."
>
> I have agreed for them to come and "survey" the house on Monday but if
> they told me I needed insulation and I really didn't I wouldn't know
> any better.
>
> Could someone who knows about these things please advise?

I never trust anyone who needs a quick decision.
We paid £179 for cavity wall insulation in our 3 bed detached last year.
Our grant came from our energy supplier who arranged it all. I believe
grants are available from other sources.

On 19 Dec, 12:47, techpro <spambuc...@tech-pro.co.uk> wrote:
> I have just answered the door to a guy from a firm called Nationwide
> Energy Services Ltd offering to install cavity wall insulation in my
> house. He claims that I can apply for a grant of 70% of the cost so it
> would cost £169 to insulate our house.
>
> I believe that cavity wall insulation is a good idea. I had it done
> back in the '80s in a bungalow I lived in then and it certainly seemed
> to help keep the warmth in. If our house really doesn't have cavity
> wall insulation I'm happy to have it installed for £169.
>
> However, I'm wondering if this is just a scam, because:
> - our house was built in 2001 by Alfred McAlpines (since taken over by
> Persimmon Homes.) I thought all houses that recently built had
> insulation blocks already inside the cavity walls;
> - I'm being pressured to make a quick decision because I'm told "the
> grant funding runs out at the end of the year."
>
> I have agreed for them to come and "survey" the house on Monday but if
> they told me I needed insulation and I really didn't I wouldn't know
> any better.
>
> Could someone who knows about these things please advise?

Had my Wall Cavities & extra loft lagging done free with Local
Authority grant cos we are oldies. The guy that did the surver
drilled a hole and used an illuminated probe to inspect the cavities
and showed me the result. You should expect the same on your survey.

"Merryterry" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:224bafab-5a5e-4caa-8de1-(E-Mail Removed)...
On 19 Dec, 12:47, techpro <spambuc...@tech-pro.co.uk> wrote:
> I have just answered the door to a guy from a firm called Nationwide
> Energy Services Ltd offering to install cavity wall insulation in my
> house. He claims that I can apply for a grant of 70% of the cost so it
> would cost £169 to insulate our house.
>
> I believe that cavity wall insulation is a good idea. I had it done
> back in the '80s in a bungalow I lived in then and it certainly seemed
> to help keep the warmth in. If our house really doesn't have cavity
> wall insulation I'm happy to have it installed for £169.
>
> However, I'm wondering if this is just a scam, because:
> - our house was built in 2001 by Alfred McAlpines (since taken over by
> Persimmon Homes.) I thought all houses that recently built had
> insulation blocks already inside the cavity walls;
> - I'm being pressured to make a quick decision because I'm told "the
> grant funding runs out at the end of the year."
>
> I have agreed for them to come and "survey" the house on Monday but if
> they told me I needed insulation and I really didn't I wouldn't know
> any better.
>
> Could someone who knows about these things please advise?

-Had my Wall Cavities & extra loft lagging done free with Local
-Authority grant cos we are oldies. The guy that did the surver
-drilled a hole and used an illuminated probe to inspect the cavities
-and showed me the result. You should expect the same on your survey.

You might hope but I wouldn't expect.

translate("It will only cost £169 as you can apply for a grant up to 75%") =
"You pay us £676 (plus VAT) = £777 and you can then see if you can get
something out of the council"


--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)

In message <gigali$8ak$(E-Mail Removed)>, Bob Mannix
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>"Merryterry" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:224bafab-5a5e-4caa-8de1-(E-Mail Removed)...
>On 19 Dec, 12:47, techpro <spambuc...@tech-pro.co.uk> wrote:
>> I have just answered the door to a guy from a firm called Nationwide
>> Energy Services Ltd offering to install cavity wall insulation in my
>> house. He claims that I can apply for a grant of 70% of the cost so it
>> would cost £169 to insulate our house.
>>
>
>-Had my Wall Cavities & extra loft lagging done free with Local
>-Authority grant cos we are oldies. The guy that did the surver
>-drilled a hole and used an illuminated probe to inspect the cavities
>-and showed me the result. You should expect the same on your survey.
>
>You might hope but I wouldn't expect.
>
>translate("It will only cost £169 as you can apply for a grant up to 75%") =
>"You pay us £676 (plus VAT) = £777 and you can then see if you can get
>something out of the council"
>
>
Not if it works they way ours did.

We had loft insulation done by a company that we got via our Gas
suppliers promotion, we just paid our bit (well we haven't yet, I'm
assuming an invoice will appear in a bit, or when they come back to
finish it next week)), presume they get paid the grant element direct.

Same sort of grants available via local authority schemes.

I'd steer clear of this chap on principle, but getting it done via
application via out supplier was painless
--
Chris French

If they're trying to push you into a quick decision, I'd avoid them.
There are plenty of others to choose from here:

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/...ndofferssearch

On 19 Dec, 12:59, Tim S <t...@dionic.net> wrote:
> techpro coughed up some electrons that declared:
>
>
>
> > I have just answered the door to a guy from a firm called Nationwide
> > Energy Services Ltd offering to install cavity wall insulation in my
> > house. He claims that I can apply for a grant of 70% of the cost so it
> > would cost £169 to insulate our house.
>
> > I believe that cavity wall insulation is a good idea. I had it done
> > back in the '80s in a bungalow I lived in then and it certainly seemed
> > to help keep the warmth in. If our house really doesn't have cavity
> > wall insulation I'm happy to have it installed for £169.
>
> > However, I'm wondering if this is just a scam, because:
> > - our house was built in 2001 by Alfred McAlpines (since taken over by
> > Persimmon Homes.) I thought all houses that recently built had
> > insulation blocks already inside the cavity walls;
> > - I'm being pressured to make a quick decision because I'm told "the
> > grant funding runs out at the end of the year."
>
> > I have agreed for them to come and "survey" the house on Monday but if
> > they told me I needed insulation and I really didn't I wouldn't know
> > any better.
>
> > Could someone who knows about these things please advise?
>
> Part L was first introduced in 2002 IIRC, so anything built before this date
> may or may not be insulated. I don't know what common practise was in 2001.
>
> Can you see into the cavity anywhere, or feel, say via the attic? Maybe a
> mirror on a stick or a webcam and a small torch to have a look.
>
> If anything was installed as the house was built, I would expect solid board
> of some sort (rockwool or foam) so it shouldn't settle and should be
> visible from above.
>
> Cheers
>
> Tim

Thanks. I'll try and have a look.

On 19 Dec, 16:35, mike <miken...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> If they're trying to push you into a quick decision, I'd avoid them.
> There are plenty of others to choose from here:
>
> http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/...9/grantsandoff...

Thanks. The interesting thing about that site is that only one of the
offers there expires at the end of this month, and that is from EDF
Energy which is not our supplier. So it seems as if this salesman is
telling a lie about the grant availability to try and push people into
a quick decision.

I'm trying to check our supplier's site www.southern-electric.co.uk to
see if they offer grants but the site does not seem to display in
either Firefox or Konqueror.

On Dec 19, 6:47*am, techpro <spambuc...@tech-pro.co.uk> wrote:
> I have just answered the door to a guy from a firm called Nationwide
> Energy Services Ltd offering to install cavity wall insulation in my
> house. He claims that I can apply for a grant of 70% of the cost so it
> would cost £169 to insulate our house.
>
> I believe that cavity wall insulation is a good idea. I had it done
> back in the '80s in a bungalow I lived in then and it certainly seemed
> to help keep the warmth in. If our house really doesn't have cavity
> wall insulation I'm happy to have it installed for £169.
>
> However, I'm wondering if this is just a scam, because:
> - our house was built in 2001 by Alfred McAlpines (since taken over by
> Persimmon Homes.) I thought all houses that recently built had
> insulation blocks already inside the cavity walls;
> - I'm being pressured to make a quick decision because I'm told "the
> grant funding runs out at the end of the year."
>
> I have agreed for them to come and "survey" the house on Monday but if
> they told me I needed insulation and I really didn't I wouldn't know
> any better.
>
> Could someone who knows about these things please advise?

Insulate with what, regular cellulose or chopped up fiberglass settles
alot 10-20%, here in the US a new wet cellulose with glue is used that
wont settle, foam is from R5-R7 and its difficult to get a wall full
and not bow it. Best is an energy audit, Blower door test with
computer read out and Thermal photo. If I were to insulate walls final
payment would be after the Thermal photo showed it was done right, a
blower door test finds leaks yo never knew of and ususaly pays for
itself in a year or two. An overall written audit is best.