Loft Insulation for those not on Pension Credit !

ahll

Hi,
Today I was in my parents loft and I noticed they had next to no insulation in there. It seem you can get free loft insulation,cavity wall insulation etc if you get pension credits. However even though both my parents are pensioners my dad still works as a part time security man(hence no pension credits).

Can anyone tell me how I can try get them them free loft or discounting loft insulation ?

thanks

tanith

our local council are running a scheme at the moment where you get it done for half price... it cost us £150 to insulate a 2 bed house thats for cavity wall insulation , they also do the lofts but ours was already done....worth checking with your local council

margaretclare

Hi ahll

Look at a thread below this 'Grants for new boiler'. In this thread it has emerged that if you live in Scotland (and I think Wales too?) you can get all these kind of grants, new heating systems, loft insulation, you name it, just for being over 60. In England, no. You have to be 60 AND ALSO in receipt of a means-tested benefit e.g. pension credit or a disability-related benefit e.g. Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance.

So - no, assuming your parents live in England, then they can't get any of these grants. I have to say, however, that insulating the loft is probably the single most money-saving action your parents can take. Given that gas and electricity prices are on the way up due to the price of gas bought wholesale on the international market, just simply insulating the loft is going to save them a bomb. It's also good for the environment, because at present all the heat in the house is going straight up through the roof via the loft.

I know what the weather can be like in West Yorkshire - I used to live in a place called Scapegoat Hill in the Colne Valley (only it's not in the valley, it's on a hill above, and the east wind is said to blow straight from the Urals). In south Essex, insulating the loft in this 2-bed bungalow was one of the first things my first husband and I had to do when we moved here in 1990. He just bought bags of Rockwool from the local Homebase, unrolled it between the joists and laid down flooring-boards on top of it. We had an assessor from WarmFront visit here last week (I'm on AA so I do qualify for help) and he was happy with the existing insulation even though it was laid down 16 years ago. It had been laid down by my first husband in the last year of his life, when he was dying of heart disease. So it's not that difficult. Whatever your parents pay for this before another winter, it is going to save them a small fortune which will help when Dad eventually stops working.

Alternatively, there will be local insulation companies in Yellow Pages. Phone one and ask for a quote for insulating a loft of (whatever dimension) so many square metres.

Best wishes

Margaret Clare

Mikeyorks

Most energy suppliers support discounted insulation (they essentially act as facilitators for Govt underwritten discounts). Check with your parent's suppliers?

For example this is the pricing etc for EDF customers :-

http://www.edfenergy.com/edf-energy/showPage.do?name=homeenergy.energyefficiency.offers.insulation.til

jennifernil

As a good son/daughter, you could install it for them! As Margaret said, it is easily done, and the materials are not that expensive. Maybe your parents could buy the stuff and you do the work, or you could do it as an advance Xmas present.

ahll

Thanks for the replies I contacted our local council and they run a scheme where they can get the loft insulation etc done for free because they are both pensioners. They may have to wait a few months to get it done but hopefully it will be in before the winter.