B&Q Cavity Wall insulation for £198

fatnbald

Is this as good a deal as it looks, this price is for a detached house up to 5 bedrooms but all the prices are the same regardless of the property size and is being dealt with by British Gas.

Are the benfits of cavity wall insulation noticeable ?

Also noticed they are offering loft insulation installed for £198, anyone know what the cost is these days of loft insulation to install extra myself?



http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/nav.jsp?isSearch=true&fh_search=cavity+insulation&selected=products&x=0&y=0

vansboy

I saw they were advertising this, too.
our loft done for £249 via local authority scheme. Couldn't have done it for this price, even with BOGOF deals, on insulation.

Think I'd let ANYONE else do it, rather than be up there myself - ESPECIALLY at these prices!!

VB

moonrakerz

fatnbald wrote: »

Is this as good a deal as it looks, this price is for a detached house up to 5 bedrooms but all the prices are the same regardless of the property size and is being dealt with by British Gas.

Are the benfits of cavity wall insulation noticeable ?

Also noticed they are offering loft insulation installed for £198, anyone know what the cost is these days of loft insulation to install extra myself?



http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/nav.jsp?isSearch=true&fh_search=cavity+insulation&selected=products&x=0&y=0

Cavity insulation is well worth having done.
I costed buying more loft insulation, got it done by eaga (through BG) for less than I could buy it for from Focus !

ic

I spotted the other day that a local firm was doing any sized house for £150. Probably worth checking firms in your local area - it'll probably be them doing it anyway on behalf of B&Q!

http://www.tamesideinsulation.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=32

HAPPYEATER

B and Q Kettering, - perhaps elsewhere, 3 rolls insulation for a tenner, come in a tube all together, my little loft space topped up with a complete layer for 70 quid, worth a look

fatnbald

Thanks for all the replies, the cavity wall job is definitely going ahead, I have contacted a local installer to get their version of events / pricing etc in addition to the B&Q option. Reading the blurb on the contractors web site there are a few little provisos in there which, being cynical, I am guessing they use to extract more money once they are on site and set up to do the job, we will see.

The top up of the loft insulation I will most likely do myself. it is part boarded so it is not full loft space to be done, not sure how having the part boarding in there affects the insulation efficiency but I cannot see how to increase the depth without ripping it all up and having deeper cross members which turns it into a major pain of a job.

rennysnell

I'm in the process of having top-up loft insulation done under this B&Q £198 deal. After looking at the DIY route, I reckoned I couldn't beat this, taking account of the hassle of getting the insulation and then installing it myself.

What happens is, you buy the offer, online, paying upfront (that requirement is made quite clear). The resultant (B&Q) order advises 'Delivery usually within 4 weeks'. About 10 days later I received a call from British Gas (the first time I realised they wre involved, altho' perhaps it was stated in the B&Q fine print) who, in turn, told me I'd be contacted by a named insulation installer who would arrange an inspection visit and subsequent installation appointment. (BG confirmed this advice in writing). This duly happened, although the inspection timing was subsequently put back because of 'lack of staff'. I was then offered an installation date early in January, more than two months away (and more than 3 months after I placed the order)! I told them (the installer) this was not satisfactory, especially as I had paid, upfront, for a '4-week' delivery. They said it could happen earlier, but I wasn't convinced and complained to B&Q; the result was the installation was brought forward by 2 months, and will happen later this week, which will be 5 weeks following the original order. We'll see how it goes.

Is it worth it? Well, who knows? This is just a top-up, but my present insulation is well below modern recommendations, so I hope there'll be some improvement.

Cavity insulation? - I've decided not, as I've seen too many comments (including on this website) about problems resulting from it, with practically no meaningful recourse.

fatnbald

Hi and thanks for the heads up on the B&Q service, just out of interest what region are you in, I wonder if the delay could be location related?

The paying up front bit is the main part I am very dubious about with B&Q, I never pay up front in total for any work I have done as it is the best and usually only lever you have to use against them if they make a pigs ear of it.

I have contacted a cavity wall contractor who are offering a slightly improved price on the B&Q one, I have also got the OK from my adjoining neighbor (We have a semi) to get a price, with discount of course, to do both homes at the same time. I will see where it leads to

rennysnell

Further to my earlier post on this subject, I thought I'd update with a closeout advice.

The insulation installer duly turned up at the (finally-) agreed date. There was just one man and the whole thing - topping up my existing loft insulation - took about 1 hour (although that included a lot of voluntary help from me in getting the insulation rolls into the house/loft). He was polite and careful with keeping the house clean. The end result looks fine. All-in-all, I think this has been good value, taking account the order includes material, delivery and installation.

The thing you need to watch out for is time. As I've said, the B&Q order confirmation advises that delivery is normally within 4 weeks, but you find that the installer is two removed from B&Q and I am quite sure they had no idea about any 4-week timing. They offered an installation which would have meant a post-order delivery time of more than 3 months and it was only after I complained to B&Q about this that the installation was brought forward - it was eventually carried out 40 days after I'd placed the (pre-paid) '4-week' order.

Now, I have to see whether there's any energy saving!