ecomad

Before we start we should mention that of the many thousands of houses that had insulation installed under the now defunct government scheme, there are some would have had their insulation installed correctly, and some of the jobs would have been close to correct. But, we have yet to find one that has been installed correctly, and only a few that are close to being installed correctly. Many of the insulation installs we have seen that are not deemed a risk have been installed so badly that there was no point having the insulation placed in the roof in the first place. These include anything from not enough insulation installed, large gaps between insulation batts, edges not done, exhaust fans not covered, larger than required gaps around downlights, and even full bags of batts just left in the roof unopened. And not to mention, the inferior chemical laden products installed in rooves. We've even seen some houses where the R3.5 insulation has been split in half making 2 batts out of the 1.

Now these sort of jobs are not a priority for "fixing-up" by the Government - their main purpose is to address any houses that are deemed a safety hazard.  If you have a house that has had foil placed over the ceiling joists like many in Queensland, or a house with halogen downlights, then you should have your insulation inspected. In Victoria it is those houses with downlights that are of main concern.

Although you can book an inspection service through ecomad, your first port of call should be a call to the Government Safety Hotline on 13 17 92 or visit their website.

Can You Afford To Wait For An Audit?

A lot will depend on how dodgy you think your insulation installer was and how concerned you are about the safety of your home.  If you are waiting for the government to provide an audit consider; 

•  Only around 150,000 homes will be inspected
•  The safety audit at current levels could take many years to complete & there is no guarantee that your home will ever be audited
•  Once audited, you may be advised to contact the installer who did the job in the first place to come back and rectify any problems - good luck in tracking down  your installer.

However if you don't want to wait for a government inspection ecomad can perform an audit of your insulation installation. 

LATEST: Two companies have been appointed by the Government to conduct insulation inspections which will boost the existing insulation inspections currently underway. Chances are in the next few weeks that a free inspection of your roof will be available much faster than current inspections. 

REASONS TO ORGANISE AN INSPECTION INCLUDE;

Safety and peace of mind -  Worried about the level of fire risk due to a potentially dodgy install

Non Compliance - Concerned your Insulation was not installed correctly, doesn't meet minimum R-Value Requirements or meet Australian Standards

Feel Ripped Off -  Believe you had a Dodgy Installers who at least ripped off the Government or worse yourself 

Make a claim - Needing proof of an Insulation Companies failings to make a claim or a complaint against them with the Department of Fair Trading. 

Selling Your Home - A condition of your sale may be to have the government scheme installed insulation inspected to ensure the home is safe

We know some people have been lucky enough to have their homes audited, and have been lucky enough to track down their installer and have the home fixed up.  But how do you know the job has been fixed up correctly?  Is the government auditer going to come back and check it? 

Insulation Inspections: 

An insulation inspection from ecomad will perform the following checks on your insulation:

Safety Checks - Does the Insulation meet Australian Standards for clearances around down lights, electrical wiring, chimneys and other heat sources. If down light covers were installed do they meet Australian standards?

Non-Compliance Checks - Was the Insulation installed correctly, completely cover your ceiling area and meet the minimum R-Value (thermal) requirements.  For Melbourne this should be R3.7, and higher in the cooler areas such as the Dandenong Ranges.

Damages Checks - Report on any damages to ceiling, roof, lights or fan fittings that might be caused by the insulation installation.

Inspection Report - You will be provided with a report detailing:

•  A list of what we found in your roofspace
•  A list of any issues identified in regards to your installation
•  Photos of problems

 

Note: We will not inspect any homes that have had reflective foil insulation installed or inspections of an electrical nature. For this you will need an electrical contractor who will perform an inspection under the Australian Government’s Foil Insulation Safety Program (FISP).

Cost Of An Insulation Inspection

The cost of an Insulation Inspection covers the cost of travel to your home, an inspection and report and discussing the findings with you.  Cost below are from Templestowe (Melbourne).  When your request has been received we will contact you with the cost and to arrange time of inspection.

Distance from Templestowe	Cost
1 - 30 km	$120
31 - 40 km	$150
41 - 50km	$180
> 51km	Request

Book your insulation inspection here:

If required, we can also provide you with a quote to: 

•  "fix" your insulation
•  install approved downlights covers
•  top-up your existing insulation
•  cover areas not insulated

Whilst inspecting your insulation you may be interesting in eco-seal.  This is a door and window draught excluder we find very effective.  Draughts can account for up to 25% of your heating loss in winter, up to 15% of heat gain in summer. There are many sources of draughts and the easiest to deal with are usually doors and windows.  Save money and help the climate.  Click here for further info.