Nice people thread part 3- Nice as pie

vivatifosi

tomterm8 wrote: »

I think my parents are getting 'sort of' swindled. They've been quoted £2,500 for cavity wall insulation, and loft insulation. They've also been told they are eligible for a government grant or '70%'. I don't think this is the case - but apparently what they are going to pay is £949. I think, personally, the typical cost of cavity wall insulation is much lower than £2500; I think for 140 m2 of wall, I would expect to pay around £500, and maybe £300 odd for the insulation.

In other words, I think they are being charged slightly over the market rate... but not much over the market rate. (and, it is quite an awkward job compared to most houses)

Has anyone had cavity wall insulation? Am I right that this just sounds like a con?

I had a letter from my local council about this recently and what I was entitled to. It was the district/borough type one not the county one. If you try calling yours would they know? They should at least know what schemes apply locally.

Wheezy_2

Don't have cavity wall insulation, but someone told me recently that £5 per square meter is common (disregarding any grants).
2500 seems a bit steep.
What kind of insulation in loft? rockwool rolls?

tomterm8

GDB2222 wrote: »

Don't energysavingtrust have an online database for these?

Er, not sure. I checked the national insulation association, the BBA and the CIGA website, and the company is on it. I've also talked to a few other people who used the same company, and they got a good job.

So I'm not concerned that the job as such will be bad... I just think the actual amount they are actually charging - at £949 - is the full price. I don't believe there is any government grant.

michaels

What worries me is that may be there is and that taxpayers are getting fleeced for £1500 that would not be charged if the grant was not available...

tomterm8 wrote: »

Er, not sure. I checked the national insulation association, the BBA and the CIGA website, and the company is on it. I've also talked to a few other people who used the same company, and they got a good job.

So I'm not concerned that the job as such will be bad... I just think the actual amount they are actually charging - at £949 - is the full price. I don't believe there is any government grant.

John_Pierpoint

Doozergirl wrote: »

They write 12+6

12+6/40

vivatifosi wrote: »

Don't know about 6/52 but I would guess at 6 weeks. MM could be millimetres though. In melanoma, 6mm is where the size is classed as very concerning. This is why they say if you can see it under a pencil eraser then you should get it looked at, though clearly there are other factors that need to be taken into account on top of that (per my sig).

John, if it is something that concerns you, there's an excellent website that I should recommend at www.mpip.org. This is the forum section of the Melanoma Research Foundation. It's an American site but very helpful. One thing I will say though is it can be a bit of a doom and gloom place. Even though melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer, it still has a survival rate of about 80-85%. Most people have it and get over it. As a result a lot of the people on the boards are the unlucky ones in the 15-20% as most people recover and move on in life and don't stay on the forums. It needs to be viewed in that context. Please also feel free to PM me if that's useful.



More person who's walked that path than expert:o

LydiaJ wrote: »

I think weeks is definitely /52 for most of medicine. You'd only write 6 weeks as 6/40 if it was pregnancy. I've certainly seen doctors write 3/7 to mean 3 days. I think /7 means days, /52 means weeks and /12 means months.

Congratulations to Sue. What are you going to do next, and when does it start?

Many thanks everyone - I will have to re-read it to see if I can make sense of it.

I have found another entry that makes the most sense if this time 6/52 meant six years ago?!?

Don't worry about me and cancer, I am checking the medical records of my late uncle, in an attempt to find out what killed him.
[Mind you this exercise is making me realise just how dangerous cancer and especially skin cancer can be].

This is how we go:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jan/14/mortality-statistics-causes-death-england-wales-2009?commentpage=all#start-of-comments

My best bet is that this identified in the middle of the last decade, polished him off - but lying in bed with all the appearance of a stroke victim due to a secondary brain tumour, he managed to convey "refusal" of a offer to biopsy a sub cutaneous "nodule".

I did not realise that one Malignant Melanoma in 20 is an "albino" one, varying from white to red through pink called "amelanotic". These are difficult to diagnose and grow down wards with "rods" to penetrate the skin quickly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanoma

http://dermnetnz.org/lesions/melanoma.html

I reckon that with a "Breslow" of 8mm that was more or less a death sentence, even though the surgeon operated and chopped in out, some 3 years before uncle's death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breslow%27s_depth

PasturesNew

Wheezy wrote: »

The guy with the black bottom/green top jacket??
How many pictures does he need
Someone should put a toll boot on that crossing. £1 per crossing, £5 if you want photo and maximum 10 seconds on the crossing.

There's money to be made, standing there and offering to take their photo on it, with their camera, for £1.

PasturesNew

tomterm8 wrote: »

I think my parents are getting 'sort of' swindled. They've been quoted £2,500 for cavity wall insulation, and loft insulation. They've also been told they are eligible for a government grant or '70%'. I don't think this is the case - but apparently what they are going to pay is £949. I think, personally, the typical cost of cavity wall insulation is much lower than £2500; I think for 140 m2 of wall, I would expect to pay around £500, and maybe £300 odd for the insulation.

In other words, I think they are being charged slightly over the market rate... but not much over the market rate. (and, it is quite an awkward job compared to most houses)

Has anyone had cavity wall insulation? Am I right that this just sounds like a con?

I used to flog cavity wall insulation, rockwool it was. It's not that pricey. And roof insulation's just a few bags of that fibreglass stuff.

There's an "Is this Quote Fair?" board on MSE.

tomterm8

I think this is hazy recollection, but if I recall correctly, secondary melanoma's (i.e. not the first one, but ones where the melanoma has spread locally) are sometimes nearly invisible and very difficult to spot. It's the reason that people after having skin cancer should be regularly checked by a dermatologist.

silvercar

tomterm8 wrote: »

I think my parents are getting 'sort of' swindled. They've been quoted £2,500 for cavity wall insulation, and loft insulation. They've also been told they are eligible for a government grant or '70%'. I don't think this is the case - but apparently what they are going to pay is £949. I think, personally, the typical cost of cavity wall insulation is much lower than £2500; I think for 140 m2 of wall, I would expect to pay around £500, and maybe £300 odd for the insulation.

In other words, I think they are being charged slightly over the market rate... but not much over the market rate. (and, it is quite an awkward job compared to most houses)

Has anyone had cavity wall insulation? Am I right that this just sounds like a con?

There being swindled. Big time. Major grants available and it is meant to be free for those on certain incomes/ benefits and £199 for everyone else. Thats £100 for loft insulation and £199 for cavity wall insulation. If there are any extra sq meters above standard sizes there is a set rate per m2, but it shouldn't increase the bill much.

As an example my loft space was larger than the standard and I had to be an extra £20 for loft insulation.

Here's your starting point to grants in your area:

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Easy-ways-to-stop-wasting-energy/Energy-saving-grants-and-offers/Grants-and-Discounts-Database

silvercar

^^^ I've just put my postcode and house in that database and 12 companies can do cavity wall insulation. Prices range from £99 to £222. As I said your being swindled.