Carbon Zero Solutions was recently asked to inspect the loft of an elderly homeowner following spray foam remedial work carried out by another company. What we found was not simply an example of poor workmanship, but the kind of problem our surveyors are encountering increasingly often.
Survey: Existing spray foam and recent remedial insulation work
Existing issue: Closed-cell spray foam remained within the roof
Finding: Damp discovered behind newly installed mineral wool
Why we were asked to inspect the loft
The homeowner had originally been cold-called by a company claiming that her property appeared on a list of homes that had previously had spray foam insulation installed.
The property contained closed-cell spray foam applied to the underside of the roof. The company subsequently carried out remedial work, removing sections of the existing spray foam before installing mineral wool insulation across the rafters. The homeowner was charged approximately £2,600 for the work.
We were later asked to attend the property and assess what had actually been done.
What we found during the survey
Once inside the loft, it became clear that significant amounts of the original closed-cell spray foam remained in place.
Mineral wool had then been installed across the rafters, concealing much of the remaining foam and the roof structure behind it.
During the survey, we carefully pulled sections of the newly installed insulation away so that we could inspect what was happening underneath.
The area behind it was already damp.
This was not insulation that had been sitting undisturbed for many years. The remedial work had been carried out relatively recently, yet moisture was already evident behind the newly installed material.
Simply covering an existing problem does not make that problem disappear. It can also make it considerably harder for a homeowner to see what is happening behind the finished surface.
This is not an isolated case
Although every property and roof construction is different, the type of work uncovered during this survey is something our team encounters regularly.
We inspect properties where spray foam has only been partially removed. We see insulation and foil products installed over remaining foam. We also find lofts that appear finished from the entrance but tell a very different story once materials are lifted and less accessible areas are properly inspected.
In some cases, homeowners have paid thousands of pounds believing that their spray foam problem has been dealt with.
This is particularly concerning for elderly or less mobile homeowners who may have no practical way of entering the loft and checking the work themselves. They are reliant on the company carrying out the work to complete what has been promised.
A loft can look tidy from the hatch while significant problems remain hidden behind newly installed materials.
Why unusually cheap spray foam work deserves scrutiny
Spray foam removal can be labour-intensive work. Proper removal requires access, time and care, particularly where foam is tightly bonded to roof timbers and other parts of the roof structure.
That is why homeowners should be cautious about quotations that appear unusually cheap or promise an extremely quick solution to a complicated problem.
Price alone does not determine the quality of the work, and an expensive quotation is no guarantee that a job will be completed correctly. However, when one quotation is dramatically cheaper than others, it is sensible to ask exactly what is being removed, what will remain and how the completed work will be checked.
Covering remaining spray foam with another insulation product is not the same thing as removing it.
Why the survey mattered
The purpose of our visit was not simply to sell the homeowner another insulation product. Before recommending further work, we needed to establish what was actually present within the roof and what condition it was in.
By lifting the recently installed mineral wool, our surveyor was able to identify moisture that would otherwise have remained completely hidden.
Rather than assuming the previous remedial work had solved the problem, we could show the homeowner what remained, what was happening behind the insulation and what would need to be addressed next.
This is why we believe existing spray foam should be properly investigated rather than simply covered over.
Our recommendation
Following the survey, we explained our findings to the homeowner and discussed the appropriate remedial work.
Our recommendation is for the unsuitable materials to be removed so that the roof structure can be properly exposed and assessed before an appropriate insulation solution is considered.
At the time of writing, Carbon Zero Solutions has surveyed the property and provided our recommendations. No remedial installation work has yet been carried out by our team.
For homeowners who have previously paid for spray foam removal or remedial insulation and are unsure whether the work has been completed properly, the important thing is not simply how the loft looks from the hatch.
It is what is still there when you look underneath.
