Cowboy builders leave more than 1.5 million homes riddled with damp by cashing in on Government insulation drive.

Cavity Wall insulation work carried out to meet government energy targets has left over 1.5 million homes with botched insulation causing dampness, mould, crumbling plaster and stained walls.
The government scheme, which was introduced in a bid to reduce emissions and charges to make homes more energy efficient, led to millions of people being persuaded to sign up by the promise of cheaper bills.
However, a survey by thermal imaging company IRT carried out on 250,000 properties found that the retrospective installation of cavity wall insulation had in a quarter of cases, failed to work. It also found that half the homes they surveyed had problems relating to failed cavity wall insulation.
As more than 6 million houses have had the treatment since 1995, the survey suggests that the overall figure of properties suffering could well be over 1.5 million.
This has undoubtedly left many homeowners with rather large repair bills, with one victim, Helen Thomson from Cornwall having to part with £30,000 in order to repair damage that occurred after the installation of loft insulation.
In December, Ministers published a report that highlighted that there were “too many poor quality installations” which in turn were carried out by companies which “do not have the skills required”.
Stephen Hodgson of Property Care Association explained that a number of the properties were just not suitable for the installation of cavity wall insulation due to their design meaning that the insulation acts as a ‘bridge’ and assists the moisture crossing the cavity into the property.
He explained:
“Contractors were desperate to mop up vast sums of money made available by energy firms on the back of Government green targets.”
Many of the homeowners that had experienced problems have expressed their difficulties with getting compensation from the Cavity Wall Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA), with experts even suggesting that its’ £18 million pound fund was not enough to cover the damages caused by botched work.
Chief Executive of the National Insulation Association, Neil Marshall disputed the results of the survey carried out by IRT:
“These figures are widely inaccurate as thermal cameras in isolation are ill-equipped to assess the effectiveness of cavity wall insulation.”
He did however admit that 13,000 CIGA guaranteed houses had reported issues with the insulation.
The true extent of inappropriately installed or incorrectly installed cavity insulation has yet to surface however our surveyors have had to supervise many problems with insulation inappropriately installed including full removal of retrospective cavity wall insulation which was likely to destroy the inner timber skin of a property if not removed.