Using different elements from different EWI systems

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Using different elements from different EWI systems

Using different elements from different EWI systems

At Be Con­struc­tive we install lots of dif­fer­ent solid wall insu­la­tion sys­tems from dif­fer­ent man­u­fac­tur­ers, from EWI-pro, Insta to Sto – they all have their mer­its.

What is becom­ing clear though is that com­pa­nies are using dif­fer­ent ele­ments from dif­fer­ent solid wall insu­la­tions to carry out jobs, so for exam­ple the primers come from one man­u­fac­turer, while the ren­ders come from EWI Pro. Remem­ber, these sys­tems have been devel­oped and refined by the man­u­fac­tures to work together pro­vid­ing you with a great energy sav­ing, pro­tec­tive layer on your home.

Why are installers using different elements from different systems?

Well the main rea­son is price – as the indus­try has grown (and the Gov­ern­ment backed Green Deal Home Improve­ment scheme has really helped with this) more com­pa­nies have entered the mar­ket. This has brought some huge ben­e­fits to the indus­try because gone are the days that com­pa­nies can charge through the nose for works to be car­ried out. Once exam­ple of this is a cus­tomer we had that orig­i­nally received a quote for solid wall insu­la­tion 18 months ago for £27000 for just 100m2 of wall, we car­ried out this job for just under £10,000 which when you included the £6,000 grant took the final cost to the cus­tomer to just over £4,000. Obvi­ously this is a good thing – more com­pe­ti­tion means that these uncom­pet­i­tive sup­pli­ers will be his­tory in the near future!

The bad thing though with lots of com­pa­nies appear­ing in the solid wall insu­la­tion mar­ket is that obvi­ously some of them have done so with very lim­ited expe­ri­ence. They are select­ing what they think are the appro­pri­ate mate­ri­als and just get­ting on with the jobs since cus­tomers in truth don’t know what to expect from the fin­ished result because not that many peo­ple have had the works done. Since the new com­pa­nies are des­per­ate to get a piece of the pie, they are mix and match­ing dif­fer­ent ele­ments from dif­fer­ent sys­tems to try and get the best pos­si­ble prices, to help max­imise prof­its.

Remem­ber, when it comes to solid wall insu­la­tion, there are three ele­ments to your quote – the first is the cost of the mate­ri­als, the sec­ond is the cost of the labour who actu­ally carry out the works and the final ele­ment is the profit that the install com­pany wants to put on the job.

These new com­pa­nies are try­ing to grab their mar­ket share, so they feel that they need to reduce the total cost of the three ele­ments. What this means is one of the ele­ments has to give and since labour tends to be fairly inflex­i­ble in what it costs, the log­i­cal thing to tar­get is the cost of the mate­ri­als.

This means that they are buy­ing the cheap­est insu­la­tion mate­ri­als and attach­ing them to the walls with the incor­rect adhe­sives or they are installing breath­able min­eral wool as the base insu­la­tion and then apply­ing the cheaper acrylic ren­der on top of it, even though this stops the sys­tem being breath­able!

Our advice here at Eternal Wall insulation installers company is to make sure the solid wall insu­la­tion sys­tems being installed are all from the same man­u­fac­turer – if not there are going to be issues fur­ther down the line.

Remem­ber, if the sys­tem is being installed as part of the Green Deal scheme then the installing com­pa­nies are required to offer 25 year war­ranties. The issue is that things like the GDHIF grant has seen an explo­sion in the solid wall insu­la­tion mar­ket, and these new kids on the block are installing the sys­tems with no expe­ri­ence of whether the sys­tems will really last that long.

We are not say­ing that every­one out there is a bad installer, we are sim­ply say­ing that some are bet­ter than oth­ers and the minute they tell you they are using dif­fer­ent com­po­nents from dif­fer­ent sys­tems that should set off alarm bells in your head.

At the end of the day, you have to live in the house that the insu­la­tion gets installed on, so it is not worth tak­ing the risk! So regard­less of the installer you use, try to ensure they are doing this as we can bet that if they aren’t the sys­tem will fail well before the 25 years is up!

FINDING AN APPROVED OR RECOMMENDED INSTALLER

We have teamed up with EWI Pro to help provide homeowners with an approved and recommended installer network across the UK. EWI Pro are one of the UK’s leading render manufacturers and our experiences with them have always been extremely positive. They have excellent technical support and a vast array of quality products. Their list of approved and recommended installers are specialists, so by choosing one of them to complete your project, you can be assured that the work and the materials installed on your property will be to the highest standard.

If you are looking for an approved or recommended EWI Pro installer, please send an inquiry by filling in your details on the form provided!.







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    We have 6 unique courses to choose from, each targeting a different area of the External Wall Insulation installation process.The training courses are completed over the course of a half-day or full day, and installers will receive an EWI Pro certificate upon completion.

    Why this programme?

    The EWI Pro Training courses are designed with an all-round approach to learning. You will be given the chance to learn about installing EWI systems through a mixture of classroom and practical, hands-on training.

    This programme also allows you to learn from experienced EWI professionals with years of industry experience. This way, you will leave the course equipped with the most relevant skills.






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      1 comment

      1. Octo­ber 2, 2012 11:59 am by Trish What a real dis­s­a­point­ment. I was hnpiog to have my house insu­lated and the out out­side ren­o­vated before the win­ter sets in but the end of Jan­u­ary laughable.Why the long delay? Is it so that com­pa­nies can get to grip with the new demands or to get every­thing into place?They have had well over a year to pre­pare for the Green Deal. I some­how don’t think this scheme is going to go too well but time will tell.

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