Warmfront, before getting in any deeper ...

anchovyessence

Hi, thinking of applying for the Warmfront scheme? Hmmmm ...

It is taking up to 6 months to get the work done, but apparently it's also taking up to 9 months before an installer even comes out to have a look at the job with a view to quoting for it. We had a survey some time ago and were told that we qualify for a new boiler plus other things. We would hear quite quickly from them. But today we are told that the information he gave us was wrong. It could be 9 months before an installer even comes out to have a look at the job, not a few short weeks. Then about another 6 months to carry out the work.

So it's looking as though the earliest we can expect the work to be completed is August 2011.

What a load of old ...

If you want to age prematurely and be very cold in the process, apply for the government sponsored warmfront scheme and you won't be disappointed!!

sickofitall_3

i too had the rep round about 3 weeks ago. told us that we needed to empty the loft as the insulation would be topped up in there within the next week or so...still not here, after 3 phone calls, still no joy. We were told the boiler was working but to wait a week, ring a number and tell them it conked out, so i did this (it does play up by the way), anyway, i rang, told them this and they said it ould be 9 months till someone came to look at it! I am disabled with 2 kids, not great. government falsification again by the looks of it!

wooldridge

If you do go down the Warmfront route make sure you have had your cavity wall insuated and your loft topped up BEFORE the surveyor comes as they will normally insist on this work being done as its a first measure towards energy efficiency AND they will deduct the cost of this from your central heating grant. You can get grants to get this work done too. It wil normally cost around £149 for each measure.
If further info required regarding these grants post here!

claire_parker

Go for it as long as your existing boiler will last that long. !!!! The boiler, controls and possibly other bits (cylinder etc) will be free :T (as long as it is less than the maximum grant allowance, which I think is £3500). The time will go quickly.

Suggest you do sort out your loft and wall insulation separately as this will be insisted upon and will come out of your grant allowance, as the previous reply stated. These will also be free if you qualify and if you go to the right place to get it done. Tesco do such a scheme . have a look at http://www.tescohomeefficiency.com/free-insulation/ to see if you qualify. If so get that done before the looming winter arrives. You will have to clear your own loft out though - and find somewhere to store it. You could have your loft or part of the loft boarded out but you will have to pay for that - or you can have part of the loft left uninsulated or just insulated up to the top of the joists. You can proceed meanwhile with warmfront and just tell the Surveyor that you are organising separately.

Claire

analogue999

I had an assessor come out in February, he confirmed I would qualify for a boiler and said it would take about 4-6 weeks to be fitted. Hah!! I have absolutely NO IDEA where he got that timescale from as it is now nearly 6 months later and following many phonecalls to Warmfront they are unable to give any indication how long it will be before the work is even passed to an installer.

I actually feel quite sorry for the people in their Newcastle call centre as they must be dealing with hundreds of people like me every day yet the management are failing to provide adequate information to pass on to the customers and this only leads to more frustation!

I am now resigned to having to spend another winter without a boiler or central heating!

bundance

wooldridge wrote: »

If you do go down the Warmfront route make sure you have had your cavity wall insuated and your loft topped up BEFORE the surveyor comes as they will normally insist on this work being done as its a first measure towards energy efficiency AND they will deduct the cost of this from your central heating grant. You can get grants to get this work done too. It wil normally cost around £149 for each measure.
If further info required regarding these grants post here!

and

Go for it as long as your existing boiler will last that long. !!!! The boiler, controls and possibly other bits (cylinder etc) will be free :T (as long as it is less than the maximum grant allowance, which I think is £3500). The time will go quickly.

Suggest you do sort out your loft and wall insulation separately as this will be insisted upon and will come out of your grant allowance, as the previous reply stated. These will also be free if you qualify and if you go to the right place to get it done. Tesco do such a scheme . have a look at http://www.tescohomeefficiency.com/free-insulation/ to see if you qualify. If so get that done before the looming winter arrives. You will have to clear your own loft out though - and find somewhere to store it. You could have your loft or part of the loft boarded out but you will have to pay for that - or you can have part of the loft left uninsulated or just insulated up to the top of the joists. You can proceed meanwhile with warmfront and just tell the Surveyor that you are organising separately.

Please can you tell me where you got the information, in the bold type above from? Do you have a link please, so I can show someone in the trade who does not think the surveyor will insist on cavity wall heating and loft insultation?

Please can you tell me where you can get grants for cavity wall insulation and loft insulation? I had a look on the grants page on this site, but could not find any.
ps, thanks for the tesco link

Many thanks

bundance

bump, please

I bumped this thread, but the people mentioned on my last post may not be available.

I wondered if someone else could provide links on whether warmfront insist on loft insulation/wall insulation before giving grants out for heating systems.

I also wondered if anyone knew if the cost of the wall insulation/loft insulation would be deducted from the grant for those who have not got these things before being surveyed by warmfront representative.

many thanks

SwipernoSwiping

If going through warmfront, they will do the insulation and cavity walls before the heating aspects of work you require doing. - My inspector told me this back in Sept 2009 and again March 2010 when someone accidently deleted my application, as there is little point in providing better heat, if it's just going to trip out the windows and loft.
So to get the most of your money and grant... get the insulation done elsewhere.

bundance

I have sorted a few things out since posting.
I live in a block of privately owned flats.
No flat in this building has cavity wall insulation, as the building is sutuated in such a way to make access difficult.
I will get the loft insulation done though, as that can be done. Then hopefully the heating.

Cheers