Is my SEAI grant screwed?

human 19

I got 2 attic insulations and cavity wall fill done (on a ktichen extension) on the house recently. This left 3 solid walls which were not treated on this occasion,as they were dry-lined before I bought the house

I sent in my completed application form for the grant and they came backlooking for u-value , thickness and year of the dry-lining on the solid wall. After taking a chunk out of one of these walls I sent the info to my asssessor who came back with a U-value of 1.1 for the dry-lined walls.

Is this too high for my grant to be approved even though these walls were not part of the work carried out?

BryanF

human 19 wrote: »

I got 2 attic insulations and cavity wall fill done (on a ktichen extension) on the house recently. This left 3 solid walls which were not treated on this occasion,as they were dry-lined before I bought the house

I sent in my completed application form for the grant and they came backlooking for u-value , thickness and year of the dry-lining on the solid wall. After taking a chunk out of one of these walls I sent the info to my asssessor who came back with a U-value of 1.1 for the dry-lined walls.

Is this too high for my grant to be approved even though these walls were not part of the work carried out?

1.1 seems exceptionally high, are you sure about this figure?, I would get the the cavity wall guys back in to do the lot and then send off for your grant. what opinion did your BER assessor offer you???

human 19

see responses within quote and below:

BryanF wrote: »

"1.1 seems exceptionally high, are you sure about this figure?, "

After taking a chunk out of my wall I described the following from my 1962 build house
I sent my original assessor a description: 2 foot thick stone wall+old plaster finish + 2cm aeroboard + plasterboard on inside. I assume the rating comes from the relative thinness of the aeroboard.

"I would get the the cavity wall guys back in to do the lot and then send off for your grant. "

I already borrowed 500 quid from my parents (on the basis on paying them back with the grant) just to get this much done. Certainly cant afford any more work

I has assumed that after paying for ALL my attic space to be insulated and ALL my cavity walls filled that the grant would follow as a matter of course.

After they have asked for information on my non-cavity walls, on which I didnt have any work done, I am now wondering if they are going to hold back the grant (on attic and cavity fill) because my solid walls dont meet their dry-lining targets ,

What do you think?

BryanF

human 19 wrote: »

see responses within quote and below:

I has assumed that after paying for ALL my attic space to be insulated and ALL my cavity walls filled that the grant would follow as a matter of course.

After they have asked for information on my non-cavity walls, on which I didnt have any work done, I am now wondering if they are going to hold back the grant (on attic and cavity fill) because my solid walls dont meet their dry-lining targets ,

What do you think?

I'm not sure, ill bow to an assessor with more knowledge of such a situation.
the SEAI's has a certain amount of discretion in this regard. but i think there is a % of total wall area required for the grant to be validated. have you paid this BER assessor? then he is best placed to assess your application..

human 19

BryanF wrote: »

but i think there is a % of total wall area required for the grant to be validated...

I have has a look around their site and havent seen any mention of this.

I have paid the assessor and he is the one who subsequently gave me the rating for the dry-lining. If I had thought I would not get the grant I would have saved myself the 160 quid amd not bothered with the cert.

Smcgie

human 19 wrote: »

saved myself the 160 quid.

ahh there's your problem... You get what you pay for. Simple

Next time go for the guy that charges €260 and does it properly (without prejudice)

brdboard

OP, have you spoken to SEAI or your assessor about this?
You could be getting worked up over nothing, SEAI are reknowned for their bureaucracy and form filling, and this could be another instance of them dotting every i etc.

Regarding the comment about the €160, I don't think it's fair to suggest that because someone gives you a competitive price that they are doing a half assed job.

No7

According to SEAI grant rules you have to get all of the walls insulated to the target U-value. The only exceptions that they will consider is kitchen walls where you would have to rip out the cupboards to get to the walls.

TheStudent

Please find below an extract from the SEAI Website in relation to (Optimum and Partial Solutions):

SEAI Wall Insulation Grants (Optimum and Partial Solutions)

“The Contractor must ensure that, in the case of insulation, an optimal whole-element solution is provided e.g. when dealing with walls that this comprises Internal insulation of all exposed walls or External Insulation of all exposed walls etc; Where only part-element coverage is achieved, this must be detailed in the Declaration of Works and the Contractor should inform their client that this may impact on their ability to draw down support from the Scheme. Affordability may be a consideration in the identification of the most appropriate measure for the homeowner, for example the selection of blown cavity vs external cladding.

Partial solutions are only acceptable in exceptional cases where it is not “physically or economically possible” to provide a whole-element solution. For example it may not be physically possible to provide complete roof insulation coverage due to small inaccessible areas of the roof. Likewise the idea of internally dry-lining all exposed walls in a particular dwelling may become economically unviable where it would require kitchen units to be removed. Justification for these exceptional partial solutions must be given in the Declaration of Works.

It is important to emphasise the difference between affordability and economic viability. Where homeowners indicate that they cannot afford to do the whole element, this does not diminish the economic viability of the project and so this is not an acceptable reason to do a partial solution.”

For the grant to be approved basically, just about all of the external walls in your dwelling should meet the u-value of 0.27W/m2k, and if this u-value was not met on all external walls then this should have being detailed in the Declaration of Works on the grant forms and the Contractor should of informed you that this may impact on your ability to draw down support from the Scheme, which looks like has just happened.

I would ring the contractor and you may be able to come to an agreement with them, if not, you need to contact the SEAI


PS I have attached some documents for you to have a look at from SEAI which i hope will be of some help to you

human 19

Looks like its my own fault for not doing the research before looking for a grant.

To bring home the point for anyone browsin here for iunfo... I origanally assumed that getting 2 jobs done would get me the grant against these 2 jobs. So I got my attics insulated and all cavity walls filled. Sent in the application

They returned it looking for the UV value of the previously dry-lined walls. I took a chunk out of the corner of a window bay and described what I saw to my original assessor who gave me a rating of 1.1 for the cavity wall. Resent the application with this info.

They came back and said I would also have to get these walls down to a UV value of .27.

No way I can afford that so looks like I will have to make up the E600 elsewhere. At least the main problem areas are sorted.

Regarding the comment about E160 being the alleged reason for the failure... if someone is on the SEAI website as an authorised assessor that should mean they are competent to do the job regardless of what they charge. I have seen assessments offered for E100. I would guess E160 would be about average for the middle of the country.

pria

What is the presant situation with the government grants??

PMC999

pria wrote: »

What is the presant situation with the government grants??

SEAI closed the grants pending confirmation of next year's budget. They re-open tomorrow. See http://www.seai.ie/Grants/Better_energy_homes/

picorette

Grant Scheme re-opened now and essentially the same, but with some reductions on the insulation amounts, and the BER refund.

1. Attic Insulation reduced from €250.00 to €200.00.
2. Cavity Wall Insulation reduced from €400.00 to €250.00.
3. Internal Wall Insulation reduced from €2,500.00 to €900.00 for an apartment, €1,350.00 for a semi-detached or end of terrace & €1,800.00 for a detached house.
4. External Wall Insulation reduced from €4,000.00 to €1,800.00 for an apartment, €2,700.00 for a semi-detached or end terrace & €3,600.00 for a detached house.
5. Boiler & Heating Control Upgrade €560.00 (unchanged).
6. Solar Heating €800 (unchanged).
7. Building Energy Ratings (BER) reduced from €80.00 to €50.00.

However they have stated that it is under continual review, so you would be advised to make any application sooner rather than later. After the initial online pre-application, you have six months to submit the paperwork, so there will be plenty of time to get the work done. The form also allows you to change the Contractor you pre-select, if you wish.