Insulation installers Donegal?

chris_ie

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for insulation installers in Donegal? I'm based just outside Letterkenny. Had two fellas out last year, wasnt too impressed to be honest. First fella came in and just he'd spray foam it. Everyone seems to be at that these days, but a few mates who are in the construction trade said they wouldn't get it in due to potential problems down the line. So I wasn't keen on that idea.

Our house is a 2 and half story. The half being a converted attic. Problem I have is that the sloped ceiling has parts missing insulation (foam board type). And has poor rolls of insulation on the flat ceiling above (tight to access). The flat bits at the sides have rolled insulation. Some is missing, it doesnt go over under the attic floor, so there are gaps where you see the ceiling under the attic floor, so I imagine heat would be escaping. And the side walls of the attic have foam boards missing, and some loose fitting. It was badly done.

Another fella came in and just said he'd roll out another layer of the roll insulation at the sides and that it "might make a wee bit of difference". Didn't mention the gaps, missing insulation panels, some of the existing rolled insulation being very poor looking. Also, said he wouldn't do above the attic, the flat part.

Maybe I'm asking too much, but I wanted a professional to come in, look around and say "To sort this you need to do x, y and z". They just didn't seem interested.

I know for one, to do it properly I'd probably need to tear down the plaster ceiling in the attic and redo the insulation properly. I'm willing to listen to quotes to get it sorted but finding it difficult to get someone to assess the situation properly.

So, any recommendations would be great!

Pique

The SEAI have grants for home insulation and also approved installers on their website. That would be my first stop to check. Personally I can't help with a recommendation though.

DrPhilG

Don't have any recommendations, but I do have a company I would avoid. Not sure if I can mention them here or if that's against the charger @muffler?

They came to increase my insulation a few years back. I'm no expert, but what I did read was 2 basic rules which are:

1 - if adding more insulation, lay it at 90 degrees to the original to avoid gaps.

2 - don't compress the insulation as it reduces the effectiveness.

The lads that turned up ignored both rules. Started laying in the same direction, and flattening 6 inches of insulation under a 3" baton in the floored part of the attic.

If I hadn't checked and had half a clue what they were doing wrong it would have been a complete balls.

chris_ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118473045#Comment_118473045

You can always PM me 😁 Yeah we have our attic converted. Had a fella out and he said he just jam some of the rolled insulation under the attic floor a bit. I was thinking the same thing as you regarding not compressing the insulation. What I've seen others do is cut the foam board insulation to fit between the ceiling joists under the attic floor, then spray expanding foam around it to seal it. Then just lay the insulation between the joists up against it. What did you with the gaps under the attic flooring? Was yours previously blocked off or would you be able to see right under the attic floor?

My head is wrecked these days. I also want to get 3 bathrooms ventilated before doing the insulation. Previously planned on 3 separate inline fans, but looking at single MEV now that would handle the 3 bathrooms. The ducting needs to run under the attic floor between the ceiling joists so its a pain. But I cannot find anyone in the county that knows about this kind of stuff and would come out and have a look at installing!

worlds goodest teecher

Most of these guys travel. I had my cavity pumped and quilt insulation to attic in 2020. Hugely positive impact. They are in Sligo. If you want details pm me

chris_ie

Had a fella out there, he was recommending the spray foam again. To be honest, he explained his reasoning and went into detail about what they do, why and how they apply it. He did make a good case for it. He will do the rolled insulation if we want it. Listing the pros and cons of both, we've found alot more pros with the spray that the rolled... Our only concerns regarding the spray foam was issues with chemicals or issues with the roof of there are issues. In saying that, I've seen one case in the news and heard 3rd hand stories of someone having an issue with a roof leak with spray foam. Heard quite a few positive experiences of having spray foam installed. So actually leaning towards the spray foam now after all that... 😄