Green deal / grants for property renovation

[Doing it for the kids]

With talk of EPC’s being forced to drop to C I’m looking to mitigate future headaches.

I see a new deal launched by the government offering up to 10k per property to help with energy savings measures, it looks good one the face of it, but...

The contractor has to be “trustmark approved’ and inevitably my main contractor is not, but being the 3 rd that asked them about It this month, they looked into it. The cost for them is huge, literally £1000’s and it’s not a one off, it’s for each job, utterly pointless grant really it seems.

Has anyone else had any luck with this sort of thing. I’m gutting a 3 bed ATM and looking to hit EPC C if I can but it’s going to stick prices up by more than a few years rent.

Sometimes these grants are worth it, sometimes they are not, what have others found?

 

[flowerpot]

I spent quite a lot on rental house and found it hadn't increased the EPC at all.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

I spent quite a lot on rental house and found it hadn't increased the EPC at all.

Spent on what though? Did you Not get advice first?

 

[flowerpot]

Modern heating for one thing and wall insulation. I obviously didn't get the right advice!

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Bugger!i just had a lower rated boiler put in than I wanted because the epc software didn’t recognise the a+ I wanted to install!

Getting correct advice is one thing but funding it is another!

 

[solo]

I’ve applied for the grant voucher to do cavity wall insulation on two cottages. Apparently it comes as a voucher redeemable with your contractor. Waiting for it to arrive before work can commence. Guess that will be sometime next year now

 

[How much]

I have a boiler to change in rental property briefly looked at air source heat pump but the price and lead time are crazy , I think the contractors have just added £5 + k to the price because there is a grant and 4 to 5 months lead time I will just put another more efficient gas boiler in and look at it again in few years time when technology has caught up and prices come down , by then there may be more options anyway on electric , hydrogen or more efficient heat pumps anyway.
Also the grants are not available to all landlords from what I can make out.
The aim would be to get EPC to to C if that change occurs but the list of exemptions to having to meet that will increase as the EPC lowers anyway , if it cost more than I think £3500.00 now to get to a E you can be exempt currently so there is cost aspect to achieving the target

 

[N.Yorks.]

I’ve applied for the grant voucher to do cavity wall insulation on two cottages. Apparently it comes as a voucher redeemable with your contractor. Waiting for it to arrive before work can commence. Guess that will be sometime next year now

I have no f'ing clue on this but weren't there problems with damp bridging these filled cavities? The cavity is there to stop damp moving through a wall ...... as I said I'm no expert!

 

[steveR]

Modern heating for one thing and wall insulation. I obviously didn't get the right advice!

If that hasn't improved your EPC rating, I'd say summat went wrong.

However, from personal experience, we put in 25mm of celtoex and found that the recommendation was in fact for 50mm!! Ended up putting more in... Expensive screwup

 

[solo]

I have no f'ing clue on this but weren't there problems with damp bridging these filled cavities? The cavity is there to stop damp moving through a wall ...... as I said I'm no expert!

I was of similar opinion, but we have one cottage done already nearly 8 years ago without issue. It is only on the Cottage extension added back in 1965. The rest of it is solid wall. The main reason for doing it is to tick the EPC box as I’m a couple of points short of the benchmark. The next alternative is internal or external wall cladding which may well have to be done when the bar gets raised again.

 

[solo]

I have a boiler to change in rental property briefly looked at air source heat pump but the price and lead time are crazy , I think the contractors have just added £5 + k to the price because there is a grant and 4 to 5 months lead time I will just put another more efficient gas boiler in and look at it again in few years time when technology has caught up and prices come down , by then there may be more options anyway on electric , hydrogen or more efficient heat pumps anyway.
Also the grants are not available to all landlords from what I can make out.
The aim would be to get EPC to to C if that change occurs but the list of exemptions to having to meet that will increase as the EPC lowers anyway , if it cost more than I think £3500.00 now to get to a E you can be exempt currently so there is cost aspect to achieving the target

I’ve been exempt for the last year but the local council have written and i have to prove the remedial costs this year are more than £3500. I thought the exemption lasted 5 years, but it seems you have to annually prove with quotes to get it.

 

[steveR]

I was of similar opinion, but we have one cottage done already nearly 8 years ago without issue. It is only on the Cottage extension added back in 1965. The rest of it is solid wall. The main reason for doing it is to tick the EPC box as I’m a couple of points short of the benchmark. The next alternative is internal or external wall cladding which may well have to be done when the bar gets raised again.

Depending on your properties, but external is still.... suspect. I know of two properties where it caused damp problems. In one case the insulation was removed!

If doing an internal refurb, the internal is the way to go IMO. The bar will be raised!

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Interesting.

I’ve got small rooms in this cottage so not ideal cladding inside.

He’s getting me a price for inside and out side insulation to compare prices.

Windows are shot anyway, haVe to Dick about with Eaves too but they aren’t much cop now.

I’ll report back with prices soon!

 

[farmerm]

If that hasn't improved your EPC rating, I'd say summat went wrong.

However, from personal experience, we put in 25mm of celtoex and found that the recommendation was in fact for 50mm!! Ended up putting more in... Expensive screwup

I would worry that 50mm might not be enough when the bar moves again.... I am not sure how we could do some of our walls with 100mm though, we have door frames against external walls with little scope to move them because of the stairs.

I think I have stumbled on the magic software that is behind EPC assessments.... maybe if we know what the system wants so see we can scrape every last point out of the calculator...

NCM: DOWNLOAD SBEM (uk-ncm.org.uk)

 

[farmerm]

Interesting.

I’ve got small rooms in this cottage so not ideal cladding inside.

He’s getting me a price for inside and out side insulation to compare prices.

Windows are shot anyway, haVe to Dick about with Eaves too but they aren’t much cop now.

I’ll report back with prices soon!

Make sure to be sitting down when the arrive

 

[Doing it for the kids]

I would worry that 50mm might not be enough when the bar moves again.... I am not sure how we could do some of our walls with 100mm though, we have door frames against external walls with little scope to move them because of the stairs.

I think I have stumbled on the magic software that is behind EPC assessments.... maybe if we know what the system wants so see we can scrape every last point out of the calculator...

NCM: DOWNLOAD SBEM (uk-ncm.org.uk)

Good work! Gold star for you, I had 10 minutes looking today and couldnt find it

Make sure to be sitting down when the arrive

I’m expecting the best part of a 6 figure sum to do this one up, nearly double the cost from 12 yrs back. If only rents had gone up that much

 

[steveR]

Make sure to be sitting down when the arrive

As I said in another thread nearby, possibly easier and cheaper to get PP to rebuild?

 

[steveR]

I would worry that 50mm might not be enough when the bar moves again.... I am not sure how we could do some of our walls with 100mm though, we have door frames against external walls with little scope to move them because of the stairs.

I think I have stumbled on the magic software that is behind EPC assessments.... maybe if we know what the system wants so see we can scrape every last point out of the calculator...

NCM: DOWNLOAD SBEM (uk-ncm.org.uk)

Clever find....

 

[farmerm]

Clever find....

More clever if you can get it to work... It needs MS access run time and some other buggering around I think. I can't be bothered faffing though it right now but it anyone has success let us know.

 

[curlietailz]

Have you Remembered to do the easy fixes like double glazed , low energy light bulbs , radiator valves and loads of roof insulation ?