| Home Insulation Contractors
Home Insulation Should You ‘do It Yourself’ Or Use A Professional
Contractor
by: Alex Perry
Insulating your home well can save you a small fortune on your energy
bills, by cutting the amount of heat you lose through your walls, doors
and roof. But should you try to do this home improvement by yourself, or
hire someone to do it? This article weighs up the pros and cons of using
a professional contractor versus doing it yourself.
The Energy Saving Trust in the UK estimates that the average home can
save several hundred pounds off its annual heating bills, and prevent
the emission of over two tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
annually, by installing insulation throughout. Insulation is the single
biggest measure you can take to cut the amount of energy you use in the
home. Plus this will also make the average home more comfortable by
making it warmer in winter, and cooler in summer. It’s no wonder that
hundreds of thousands of people a year in the UK are getting their homes
insulated.
When thinking about insulating your home you are immediately faced with
the choice of employing a professional contractor to do it, or
attempting a bit of DIY. At first the DIY option can appear tempting.
For example, some types of insulation, such as loft insulation, are not
normally technically difficult to fit. The materials are readily
available in most DIY stores. Plus many people automatically think that
DIY is going to be cheaper than employing a professional contractor,
because with a contractor you are paying for their labour.
However, in many cases they will be wrong because using a professional
contractor is either cheaper or roughly the same cost as DIY. This is
because installing insulation in the UK is now heavily subsidised by gas
and electricity suppliers, in order that they can meet their carbon
emission targets set by the government. These subsidies are funded by
the power companies regardless of household income, and currently amount
to between 50 and 70% of the cost of having the insulation installed.
This usually means that using a contractor becomes price competitive, or
in many cases even cheaper, than DIY.
Plus if you receive certain benefits from the government in the UK, you
can get your insulation installed by a professional contractor
completely free. This is because the government tops up the grants from
the energy companies with its own subsidies to cover the entire cost of
the work.
As well as financial considerations, there are other reasons why
employing a professional contractor can be attractive. Firstly, some
types of insulation do require special technical expertise. For example,
to install cavity wall insulation – filling the space between your outer
walls with insulation material - requires special machinery, as well as
training. You should always use a reputable contractor for this.
Although not technically difficult, installing loft insulation is often
still a challenging DIY job. The working conditions in a loft are often
cramped and unpleasant. Employing someone else to go up there is in many
cases a much more attractive option!
As well as the technical challenges, DIY can also have a number of
safety issues. For example, the mineral wool that is commonly used to
insulate lofts can be hazardous. It is extremely important to handle it
with care, as it can severely irritate the throat and skin. You need to
wear protective clothing, including face mask, safety goggles and
gloves. You also need to make sure that you do not expose the living
areas of the house to the material, either when you unpack it, or
dispose of any waste material.
If you use a reputable contractor, you can be sure that these issues
will be taken care of, with much less hassle for you. You also know that
the job will be done to a good standard, because of their training and
experience. In fact, cavity wall insulation carried out by professionals
in the UK comes with a 25 year guarantee if they are registered with the
Cavity Wall Guarantee Agency, which most reputable firms are.
Given all of these advantages, we recommend that most people use a
professional contractor to get their home insulated. It’s generally
competitive on cost or cheaper than DIY, safer, less hassle, and will be
done to a high standard if you choose the right contractor. There are
many reputable firms who can be accessed through the Internet They will
offer you a free no-obligation survey, after which you get a quotation.
They also give you access to the attractive grants and subsidies
mentioned above. If you like what they tell you, then you can simply go
ahead and get a date booked for the work, and look forward to a warmer
home and lower heating bills.
About The Author
Alex Perry is a founder of
http://www.downwithco2.co.uk , a site dedicated to making it
easy for people to save energy and cut their personal contribution to
Climate Change by giving them information and putting them in touch with
companies that can help.
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