Mr Roofer

Ironic that deregulation of the energy market is now leading to record prices increases. Not only are prices for things like gas up by 40% in the last 2 years but blow me, the big utilities are planning major price hikes in 2006 by up to 25%! And get this; the retail energy supply industry has announced record profits at the same time as hiking prices to unheard of levels! Deregulation works to lower or hike prices and line the pockets of whom?!

Everyone is blaming the energy wholesalers who apparently do not feel any competitive pressure to lower prices even though there is no actual shortage of energy. Gas and oil are relatively plentiful on the wholesale market. The retailers of energy feel they have had enough and are not going to let their margins be squeezed any further by the wholesalers. They are without exception plan to pass on any wholesale energy price increases back onto the consumer.

Weather forecasters might also get it right this year; this could be Britain’s coldest winter for 10 years. So everyone will want their heating on full blast to keep up with the cold but be paying through the nose for the privilege. So what can we all do? The choices are 1) use less energy to keep to the household’s present energy budget or 2) pay up and go without something else. Option 1 might mean we go cold but we might not have to if we convert our houses to be much more energy efficient.

Well, the foolish thing would be to use less energy and freeze to death rather than spend the money, that’s what the big utilities are banking on to main their record profit run. But assuming you don’t want to pay up you could always try making your home more energy efficient. For big and immediate gains, do an insulation audit as part of your using less energy strategy. A well insulated property will need less energy to heat to a comfortable temperature. We all know that heat rises and that that we should have insulation above the top ceilings, usually mineral wool rolled out in the loft. But did you know that up to 70% of the heat can escape through the roof? Mineral wool cannot be used here due to condensation problems nor would it stay put easily. The best insulator is in fact polyurethane spray foam which can be sprayed in. It is the best commercially available thermal insulator, you don’t need much to get a major benefit in heat insulation.

So, I advise, don’t freeze and don’t pay more than you do now for energy, simply use less energy by having a better insulated home. Polyurethane spray foam applied to the roof either against the felt or tiles will pay back relatively quickly given the large rises in energy prices coming our way. You’ll practically be able to heat your home with just a match after you’ve had foam insulation!

We completed a roof renovation job about 5 weeks ago, nothing unusual, a 1930’s semi detached house, slate roof where we renewed the leadwork, soakers and flashings to the party chimney, replaced about 40 slates and repositioned some more before spray sealing and bonding with polyurethane spray foam. We were also highly competitive the customer told us having beaten 4 other quotes.

Everyone is happy. Four weeks later we get a call from this customer at 11.45 pm at night to one of our surveyors to say that his roof is leaking very badly and that he is not very happy. In fact he is very angry with us and wanted someone to go out there and then. So, as is standard, we go out to the job the following day pronto and discover what? That his neighbour had also decided to have his roof “renovated” too after we had finished but had contracted a “cheaper” competitor. In his roof we saw numerous cracked slates and 2 missing above the chimney, cement mortar stains all down the roof, slates out of alignment etc, some roof renovation job! The rain had entered our customer’s loft space by the rain tracking from his neighbour’s leaking roof! And what a lot, no wonder our customer was angry because one of his ceilings was about to come down and decorations had been ruined! We made suitable repairs to a non customer’s roof to stop his leaking roof affecting our customers and suggested they ask for their money back on what we saw as an appallingly bad job.

Of course, the whole thing was not our responsibility as none of our work was a problem; we had been called out because of what a “cheaper” contractor had done! So we suggested that they send our call out invoice to that contractor! We clearly would not have invoiced if it was down to us but it wasn’t. I think all in all that the “cheaper contractor” was working out very expensive, what with angry neighbour exchanges, ceilings needing to be replaced and extra costs because we were wrongly called out. So cheap turned out to be mucho expensive. What is that my father used to tell me? Buy once is always cheaper than buy cheap to then have the job down all over again.

We received this email from a customer of a competitor:

“Some help please… SOS.

I got in touch with a company and a “surveyor” came around. Pointed out that spray insulation was indeed essential, he was very convincing.

The job was to include tile straightening and foam application, and if I worked on his timescale I would get a discount….I fell hook line and sinker, and paid a deposit. This has left me with a bitter taste in the mouth.

Just the other day a technician came around to assess the job; he said that the spray would benefit my roof, but that the roof was in sound order and had had some recent attention. This has left me feeling sick (metaphorically). This job is going to cost me a lot, how much does it really cost to spray a small attic? Please offer me some advice. I also would like to know about funding help i.e. from the government. Many thanx.”

At risk of repeating myself, NEVER pay a deposit to any spray foam contractor. The weaker contractors require a deposit to buy materials and the stronger ones use the deposit to ensure you don’t cancel without losing your deposit. Be careful what you sign!

At Rooftherm we realise that the cost of having polyurethane spray foam installed is a commitment so we don’t hold customers with a deposit nor tie you up in knots with a signed contract that has lots of small print on the back. All we do is confirm in writing the work that is to be done, the price agreed and the install date. All very simple and easy for the customer who is free to cancel at any time because we do not believe that customers should have a gun to the head in the form of a deposit or signed contract.

There is also something known as “buyer’s regret” in direct sales. That is, if you have signed up to have a job done because of being emotionally induced then the chances are the following day you will regret the decision and cancel. Hence, to stop that they get you to pay a deposit, and you are more likely to if it is an emotional sale, and signed a contract with lots of small print then you feel that you cannot cancel even though you wish you could. So that leads me to my next piece of advice, never make your decision whilst the sales person ‘surveyor’ is still there. Always allow several days at least for reflection and always get 2 or 3 companies to quote. Ask what are their terms and conditions and what happens if you decide to cancel. At the end of the day you need peace of mind, an honest and fair competitive quote and a job done by a reputable company.

Now if the gentleman with the SOS had followed my advice he would have had 3 quotes, not have paid any deposit, and been very happy with his company of choice. To end the story we did in fact help him and saved him a good 1/3 off the competitor’s quote.

Location, location, location, is we all know, the only things to consider when buying a house and wanting it to be a sound investment. After location it used to be things like large garden, off road parking and garaging, luxury kitchen, good neighbours that would run through a buyer’s mind. But not any more it seems. Recent surveys conducted over 2005 reveal that these factors have now been superseded by energy efficient homes. More and more house buyers are more concerned with the energy efficiency of a home than any other factor apart from location. No longer surprising really, limiting what we contribute in green house gases seems like a good idea, it saves the world and it saves us money.

Making our homes more energy efficient by installing energy saving products like polyurethane spray foam insulation, not only helps reduce green house gases such as carbon dioxide, it also makes our homes more comfortable and, if the survey trend continues, more attractive to future buyers. Will energy efficiency supersede location when the world is about to boil over? Time will tell. But for certain, energy efficiency is high on buyers’ agendas and this will influence house prices, up for the more energy efficient home, down for those leaking green house gases all over the place.

Polyurethane spray foam roof insulation is the most effective way to reduce heating bills in both new and older homes and can save up to 70% of the heat being lost from the roof. Polyurethane is the best insulator and though still relatively unknown, Rooftherm (www.rooftherm.co.uk) urge all insulation installers to continue to educate and promote this product to their customers. Home owners will see direct and immediate benefits, a more comfortable home and lower heating costs. They will see the benefit when they come to sell their home if present trends continue. Well insulated homes will sell at a price premium as energy efficient homes rise up the buyer’s list of preferences. Touché to polyurethane spray foam.