Free Loft and Cavity Insulation - What's the catch?

AndyJay

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Hi all
I had a lady knock at my door this morning offering me free loft and cavity wall insulation. Obviously i was a little dubious, but she convinced me that the Government had surplus funds and are now offering completely free loft and cavity wall insulation.
She left me with her details which are 'Grant Consultant Teams, 0800 587 4453
Can anyone please advise if this is genuine and whether they will expect me to sigh up to some utility scheme?
Thank you in advance

Andy

EricMears

AndyJay wrote: »

Hi all
I had a lady knock at my door this morning offering me free loft and cavity wall insulation. Obviously i was a little dubious, but she convinced me that the Government had surplus funds and are now offering completely free loft and cavity wall insulation.
She left me with her details which are 'Grant Consultant Teams, 0800 587 4453
Can anyone please advise if this is genuine and whether they will expect me to sigh up to some utility scheme?
Thank you in advance

Andy

Such schemes do exist - though I suspect that anyone knocking on the door is more likely to be operating some sort of scam.

Details of the government backed (& free) 'warm front' scheme can be found at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/Energyandwatersaving/DG_10018661

or if you find that you don't qualify for the free scheme, this page
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/Energyandwatersaving/DG_201535
gives details of schemes that will make a partial contribution.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

I was curious and called that number. Surprise, surprise - unobtainable.

EricMears

Fruit_and_Nut_Case wrote: »

I was curious and called that number. Surprise, surprise - unobtainable.

Being charitable, it might just mean they don't work on Sundays. But I'm not really convinced either.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

EricMears wrote: »

Being charitable, it might just mean they don't work on Sundays. But I'm not really convinced either.

Still Saturday in my part of the world but I take your point.

Martyn1981

Don't forget you can contact your energy supplier(s), they will offer subsidised, or free loft and wall insulation. Can't remember who I went through, but got the walls done about 10 years+ ago for about £130. Makes a real difference.

At £2 a pack from Homebase, might as well do your loft yourself, and slap some extra down well you're at it. Go 400mm if there's room.

Hmm, nice and itchy!

Mart.

JaneDoe_2

I can't get cavity wall insulation according to a guy from Corillion something about a wood frame and us ending up with dry rot. We are a gable end house and when I askied why my neighbour next door had managed to get it done I was told it was because she's in a middle house. Does anyone know if this is correct?

j2011

Does anyone know if this is correct?

Anything is possible with these companies.

They won't do mine because they would need to put up scaffolding because they are not allowed to stand on my garage roof.

EricMears

Fruit_and_Nut_Case wrote: »

Still Saturday in my part of the world but I take your point.

Afraid that was a classic case of brain working faster than fingers ! - meant to say "Sat or Sun" but when I got to S carried on with 'unday'

There's actually another valid reason why the 0800 number might not have worked. I understand that when you set up an 0800 number you can choose whether it's 'national' or 'regional' so if F&N doesn't live in same region as AndyJay, a call to that number may not be connected.

EricMears

JaneDoe wrote: »

I can't get cavity wall insulation according to a guy from Corillion something about a wood frame and us ending up with dry rot. We are a gable end house and when I askied why my neighbour next door had managed to get it done I was told it was because she's in a middle house. Does anyone know if this is correct?

A big selling point of timber frame houses is that by packing the thickness of the frame with insulation you can get much better U values.

In a new build the insulation would normally be separated from the outer skin by a sheet of plastic to prevent transmission of damp but that isn't of course an option in a retro-fit.

You can however get insulation materials that claim to be resistant to moisture transmission in their own right.

Possible that the particular installer will only use a cheaper material that does allow moisture transmission ?

Can't see why it should make a difference being in an end house or a middle one though.

AndyJay

Who could i contact to confirm this?
Would the council know?

Thanks for all the replies
Andy