EPC ignoring insulation work

Gazdok

We had an EPC done to get an idea of the "official" energy status of the house.
It is an old house with solid wall which has been insulated with dry wall insulation 50mm thick, an extension with cavity wall insulation and also extra dry wall insulation, all floor boards done with 200mm rock wool and also draught proofed, the majority of windows triple glazed and we extended into the loft and had the roof insulated. All pipes are wrapped in 13mm pipe foam insulation, but the Potterton boiler is probably Z- -reated for efficiency.

I have done most of the wall and floor insulation as well as the pipe lagging myself whenever I renovated a room. I have taken pictures of almost everything. Yet the EPC assessor claimed that he was not able to accept the pictures as proof of insulation work done unless I could accompany these with official trade mens' invoices for work done.

Have I been conned or is this accepted and applied practice to not accept any DIY work?

Reed_Richards

It's probably accepted practice not to trust the householder.

Coastalwatch

Think I might get a second opinion, I'm sure there are other assessors with a more pragmatic approach. After all a receipt is just that. It's no guarantee of a job well done. Just ask anyone who's bought  a new house in recent years and then been made to sign agagging orders before having remedial work even started, never mind completed!

Gazdok

Reed_Richards said:

It's probably accepted practice not to trust the householder.

But the householder is paying for this fudges certificate. Can I refuse to pay or get my money back?
This is not to say I want to dictate what they incorporate but I want a fair assessment.

Reed_Richards

Gazdok said:
... I want a fair assessment.

But you also want a high "score", or householders typically do.  So it's in the interest of the householder to paint a more positive picture of features like "buried" insulation than is really the case.  You can ask the assessor to reconsider if they think they have got something wrong but they may not change their mind.  Threatening not to pay is unlikely to help.

ABrass

Documentary Evidence
Assessors have been prosecuted by purchasers who discovered that information included in the EPC was incorrect. Documentary evidence must therefore be such that if presented in court, it proves categorically, why the assessor entered the information. 
Very often a Building Regulations “sign off certificate” is sufficient, provided that it is specific to the relevant information. The address on the certificate must match that on the EPC. A letter from the contractor who undertook any type of work will suffice. This must be on the contractor’s headed notepaper, with the date the work was carried out, the property address and a detailed description of the work involved. This must then be signed with the contractor’s position in the company noted. Photos can also be submitted as evidence, provided they are referenced. For example, photos of internal wall insulation fitted by the homeowner is perfectly acceptable provided every newly insulated wall has been photographed and can be identified using a reference point. A single photo of one wall having insulation fitted is not enough evidence to state that every exterior wall in the house has been insulated.

Assuming this site is right 

http://epcexpert.com/services.php?id=33

Then if you've got enough photos then they could use it as evidence. The line that it has to be tradesmens photos or accompanied by a bill is rubbish. But I don't know that sites correct, so YMMV.

But in practical terms, you're probably stuck with it and your best recourse/revenge is to leave snotty reviews on whichever review sites you can find.

Edit: The reduced standard assessment is pretty rubbish really.

JKenH

I had a similar problem. When I built our current house over 30 years ago I installed underfloor insulation and additional insulation in extra wide wall cavities but neither was visible (although the extra wall thickness was measurable) and underfloor insulation was not required under the 1985 Building Regs. The assessor consequently scored the  house on the basis of the building standards at the time of construction but did give credit for the UPVC double glazing and additional loft insulation which were visible. I just managed to score enough for the FiT payments.

Martyn1981

Gazdok said:

Reed_Richards said:

It's probably accepted practice not to trust the householder.

But the householder is paying for this fudges certificate. Can I refuse to pay or get my money back?
This is not to say I want to dictate what they incorporate but I want a fair assessment.

Any chance, if they will come back, that you can show them the work? I appreciate that this may mean drilling a small hole in a wall, or pulling up floorboards, but might be worth a try?
I had to get an EPC for my second PV system, and they wouldn't take my word for it having CWI and underfloor insulation, which didn't really matter as I knew the score would be high enough anyway, but when I saw that we'd gotten a high B, and that a low A would be reached if we had CWI and underfloor insulation, I was a littled pee'd, simply for not getting the A ... silly I know!

QrizB

Martyn1981 said:

I had to get an EPC for my second PV system, and they wouldn't take my word for it having CWI and underfloor insulation ...

In the specific case of retrofitted cavity wall insulation, it's notifiable under the Building Regs so there should be a record of it on your local council's Building Control database / website. I've checked mine and it's shown as having been done in 1997 (long before I moved in, I didn't know for sure that we had it but there are a series of filled holes visible in the brickwork that were a clue).