Grants available for homes improvements & energy efficiency

condoghost

dympna35 wrote: »

hi. im new to this site. i am a single mum to an 8 month old and i got a council house months ago. theres no flooring,nothing on the walls etc. ive sorted most of the furniture and essentials but theres no way i can affored to paint and floor the house. i dont know what to do. the floors are freezing and its not fair on the baby. what am i entitled to? thanks

Start here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/grant-grabbing?_ga=1.144615733.1864564272.1419427248

condoghost

Sonofstubbornmum wrote: »

And I find the word Newbie a bit patronising

Even at 63 there's nowt wrong with being called a newbie :beer:

Kuco

Hi All, this is my first thread and hopefully this will be useful to some.

I work in SE London and surrounding areas on the gov's boiler replacement scheme (ECO) for low income households.

If anyone is unsure how it works or if you qualify feel free to message me and hopefully I can advise.

Thanks.

7890bill

evening all can anyone enlighten me on this new solid wall insullation
4" thick foam sprayed on the exterior of the property then covered with a membrane 25 years gaurantee looks like rendering when finished

Ken68

Hi 7890,,,,it;s polystyrene blocks, 100mm thick fastened to wall, then meshed over and rendered.
Just been quoted £12k minus £6k grant from the local council for my house.

GrimNorth

Hi

I'm wondering if anyone can offer advice on my problem. We moved into a house around 10 years ago (bought privately) which is an ex council house built around 1950. We were aware of an issue with the concrete floor and had estimates for re laying of the floors around the time we bought the house. It has not been confirmed by testing but we strongly suspect the raised area in the floor in the dining room is the result of 'sulphur attack'.. At the time we didn't have the money required to fix it but didn't really see it as a massive problem as it is only one small area and doesn't affect the whole floor.

We know this is not covered under home insurance and still isn't a major issue as there are no more bumps or raised areas and I don't think it has ever gotten any worse since we moved in. However, it is a niggling problem as it is in the door way so we are not able to cover the area with furniture and forget about it.

We are looking at doing a couple of bits to the house and are considering having this fixed (I would really like wood/laminate flooring but due to this bump/raised section, laying this would be a challenge to say the least). I am wondering if, as this is a well documented problem with materials used for builds around this time, the government/local councils offer grants towards fixing this? I've looked around various sites but everything I can find seems to relate to those in receipt of benefits, with disability, the elderly or on a low income. We fall into none of these categories.

dominoman

GrimNorth. I really really doubt it. In fact I'd say no.

The house is a private home, not council owned, and you were aware of the issue when you purchased it.

It wouldn't be right for other taxpayers to be forced to pay for any work that is now needed.

jimbo778

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and have a question about grants for house improvements / efficiency improvements.

I have a mortgaged house which I have owned this for 3 years. I am 35 and am not disabled, married and I don't have any children. I live on my own and am in full-time employment.

The property I bought was built around 1983 and has many "old" energy features:

- the fuse box is the kind where you physically have to replace the fuse wires when it blows.
- there is a warm-air heating system which only has 3 small vents downstairs...presumably on the basis that hot air rises??? However, this is not really fit for purpose in the winter combined with my third point...the upstairs remains cold in winter.
- the loft insulation is presumably very bad as the upstairs is freezing in winter and boiling in summer.

I was wondering if anyone knew if there were any grants which might be available to me to improve the house either from the government directly, energy suppliers or my council (St Albans or Hertfordshire)? Or how I would go about researching for grants available aside from bothering you nice people.

Any assistance gratefully received.

Jim

no1catman

Check with your energy supplier, they run schemes to help with energy efficiency etc. Next, is check with your local Council - Hertsmere, if they don't they would know who does e.g. a regional energy saving body.

Depending on your salary, e.g. if you qualified for WTC you'd get extra help.

Have you been in the attic/loft, to see what level of insulation is there?

Furts

jimbo778 wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and have a question about grants for house improvements / efficiency improvements.

I have a mortgaged house which I have owned this for 3 years. I am 35 and am not disabled, married and I don't have any children. I live on my own and am in full-time employment.

The property I bought was built around 1983 and has many "old" energy features:

- the fuse box is the kind where you physically have to replace the fuse wires when it blows.
- there is a warm-air heating system which only has 3 small vents downstairs...presumably on the basis that hot air rises??? However, this is not really fit for purpose in the winter combined with my third point...the upstairs remains cold in winter.
- the loft insulation is presumably very bad as the upstairs is freezing in winter and boiling in summer.

I was wondering if anyone knew if there were any grants which might be available to me to improve the house either from the government directly, energy suppliers or my council (St Albans or Hertfordshire)? Or how I would go about researching for grants available aside from bothering you nice people.

Any assistance gratefully received.

Jim

If a Grant is available be prepared to be asked a fundamental question. Why have you no heating upstairs? Simple, low cost mass produced, houses had warm air heating fitted upstairs years before your house was built. (I am aware of homes having oil filled radiator back up in locations not convenient for warm air - like a north facing front door and porch, or at the bottom of the stairs.)

Your home may be cold upstairs, but a couple of oil filled radiators would cost perhaps £50. Perhaps a bit cheeky expecting a Grant when this is such little expenditure.

Loft insulation can cost very little when the likes of B&Q run their regular promotions. If you have little loft insulation then it is a straight forward DIY job that you have had 3 years to get done. On a 1983 home you probably had 150mm to start with, so it just requires a top up. Here you must be careful if you get a Grant, because I have witnessed the cowboys who install it! You are better doing it yourself.