The 'whole of house' assessment & quotation
What information do I need to provide so you can quote my house?
When you contact us, we will need to get important information about your home so please have this information ready for us:
The address, age and condition of the property
Have there been any alterations or additions to the property?
Do you have a set of plans available of the house as it is today?
Have the electrical systems been upgraded - rewired – if so when?
What is the cladding type – ie weatherboard, stucco, brick veneer?
Is the building connected structurally to your neighbor (ie is it a unit or apartment?)
What do you do to ensure my house is suitable?
Once we have reviewed the information you provide and confirmed that the property meets our systems requirements, we will arrange a time to visit and assess your property.
Please allow about 1.5 hours for the time we will need to be on site. We will need to access the ceiling, underfloor, the exterior and every room in the house.
Why can’t you just check my house from Google Maps?
There is a large amount of information we need that we can only find out by assessing your house. This includes:
The condition of the structure and external cladding
The condition of the internal linings including any signs of moisture in or on your walls
The plumbing and gas in your external walls
The condition of your electrical systems
The ventilation systems
The structure of your property
Your knowledge of the house including any works completed, receipts, compliance certificates or building reports relating to the house will be useful in our evaluation.
How detailed is the on-site assessment?
One of the most important items our assessors will need to ascertain is the presence or otherwise of building paper (in direct fix cladding houses) and existing insulation. While this can sometimes be identified through visual observation in the ceiling cavity or subfloor space, in some situations we may require to remove an electrical socket or drill a small hole in a wardrobe/cupboard that is adjacent to an external wall.
Will I know if my house is suitable when you assess my house?
As we assess the house, we may come across an item which means we cannot proceed any further – that may be an item that needs maintenance or fixing before we can install; or the design/structure of the property does not enable us to complete the installation -we will let you know and explain this to you.
Will all of my house be able to be installed?
We will also let you know if there are parts of the house that we cannot install insulation into. Also, if you are planning to tile your walls or make modifications which prevent access to the external wall we recommend our insulation being installed first.
How many holes will be drilled?
We need to access each cavity in the walls. This means there may be 3 or more holes up a standard 2.4m wall, and at approximately every 600mm.
How about water pipes and wiring?
Our insulation can be installed around standard pipes and electrical devices. Our assessment will confirm suitability.
What happens after you have assessed my house?
Once we are sure your home is suitable for installation of external wall insulation, we will complete a quote. This will outline the costs associated with the installation, including a breakdown of estimated costs to complete a Building Consent Application (where required) for you. We will not use pressure sales tactics to strong-arm you to make a decision. We would rather you take your time as it is an important investment in your home and can be disruptive when we complete our installation.
Will you apply for Building Consent exemption for me?
Yes, with your Authorisation, we can lodge an application on your behalf
How much does a building consent exemption application cost?
This does vary from Council to Council – we will include this in your quotation.
How long does it take to to get confirmation of the building consent exemption?
This will also vary between councils, but they typically should not take longer than 20 days
On the day of installation
What happens on the day of installation?
On the day of installation our team will come to your property and double check that everything we have checked earlier has not changed, or if a new item has presented. We will need access to power, and we will have a hose running into your home from our truck to the area we are working in.
Is it noisy?
We will need to drill holes using standard drills. Our installation blowing machines sound like big vacuum cleaners. They will be inside our vehicles, and we will run long hoses. So yes there will be some noise, but it is not excessive.
Will I need to move furniture and pictures off the walls?
Yes please. We will need to have access to all the external walls to be treated so we ask you to arrange to move all furniture and paintings away from those walls before we get there. Removing curtains is also a good idea, and whilst we are not that messy, we can blow some loose glasswool Supafil® Frame fibre into the rooms we are installing in. We recommend children and pets are not present on the day.
How tidy will it be after you have installed the insulation?
We will tidy up after ourselves, including completing the works to patch and tidy those holes if included in the quote.
How will you confirm the install has been done correctly?
We have checks and processes we undertake throughout the process. In addition, at the end of each job we complete a post installation audit. Our Auditor (or team leader) will confirm everything was completed as planned and explain to you any areas not installed, and if anything was different from what was quoted. We will also leave or provide you with information regarding our installation warranty (by hand, mail, or email) together with some important items for you to ensure that the property is maintained properly. We may also want to come back and audit the property in the future.
After installation
What ongoing maintenance is required?
The continued weathertightness of your house is important. This means that it is important you maintain the condition of the property at all times to ensure water cannot penetrate through the cladding system. Poor maintenance, holes, rot and cracks can result in unwanted water penetrating the external wall cavities.
What happens if there is a failure in my cladding system or a plumbing leak?
If water is present in the wall it is advisable to remove and replace the insulation in that area.
How can replacement be done?
Any moisture present within the insulation will mean that insulation should be removed. We can arrange for that. We will need to confirm when installation was completed, and if the condition of the building has not been maintained upon which the warranty may not be valid. If the building has been maintained and there is some other failure then the provisions of our limited warranty may apply.
What is the Warranty for the system?
15 Years. The details of our warranty are attached to our quotations and also available on our website.