Spray Foam Loft Insulation

Evew

Our house has this insulation on the roof felt and its been on for years. Apparently a previous owner had the insulation done via a council or government backed scheme. My question is, is there compensation for owners of these properties ? We would probably have to renew the roof in order to sell our house in view of the fact that mortgage companies wont lend on these properties.

user1977

Evew said:

My question is, is there compensation for owners of these properties ? 

I can't see why there would be, it's the same principle as most other historic things you'd like to sort out in your house. Your only remedy might be if you were wrongly advised e.g. you had instructed a survey which ought to have highlighted it, or your vendor had given a misleading answer to an enquiry about it.

FreeBear

user1977 said: Your only remedy might be if you were wrongly advised

I had one of those sprayfoam sales oiks paying me a visit (I wanted to waste their time)... Muppet told me that it does not promote rot in the roof timbers because it is breathable. Complete BS, and he got a stiff talking to.

That doesn't help the OP, as it would have been the previous owner that commissioned the work to pursue a claim. Unlikely there is a guarantee on the work, and if there is, it won't be worth the paper it is printed on.

OP - If your roof has a felt layer under the tiles/slates, removing the foam should be a little easier. Once chipped off the timbers, the remaining residue should come off with a wire brush & good scrub. You won't be able to get to all the timbers without taking tiles off (which would mean scaffolding), but you'll get to the bulk of it.

Weathergirl_76

I remember seeing this advertised years ago, I don’t see it as much now. 

Why don’t you ask a reputable roofer, what their thoughts are, and maybe they can give you a ball park figure on what it would cost to remedy or replace. So you have something in hand to go back with. It may cost you an hour of time from the roofer, but maybe with that you can go back and re-negotiate. If this came up in your survey, it will no doubt come up in another buyers survey, so they will have the same issue, unless they have a buyer that doesn’t need a mortgage or choose to have a survey. 

If the roof has 10 years left, and you are planning to stay a lot longer, it may be that you decide to replace it anyway further down the line. I would also question insurance, if it’s so flammable, will your premiums be high? 

I would recommend speaking to a reputable roofer who can tell you, no doubt they will know a bit more. 

user1977

Weathergirl_76 said:

It may cost you an hour of time from the roofer, but maybe with that you can go back and re-negotiate. If this came up in your survey, it will no doubt come up in another buyers survey,

I suspect you're replying to the OP (from last October) rather than the poster who resurrected the thread today.