Ceiling Insulation

Thanks to the Federal Government’s rebates for ceiling insulation, installation businesses have sprung up everywhere, hiring vast armies of salespeople with little knowledge and no experience of the industry to pressure people into signing up for “FREE INSULATION”.  As with any business sector built on government subsidies or support, the bubble will soon burst for these fly-by-nighters ......... but not before many will make a motza at our expense.

In the meantime, don’t get sucked in by the full-page ads, door-to-door sales techniques and guerrilla marketing campaigns these companies use to get their huge slice of the stimulus pie. The NSW Department of Fair Trading has been inundated with complaints about dodgy, unsafe installation, concerns about materials being used and fraudulent claims by people pretending to be working for registered insulation companies.

As a result, they now offer guidelines for safe installation as well as a form for the contractor to sign, confirming that they know how to install ceiling insulation correctly, are actually licensed to do so and understand and adhere to the Australian Standards for insulation.

The Australian Standards includes Australian Electrical Wiring rules and the Australian Gas Installation Standard to make sure that “....insulation is kept at mandated distances from down lights and transformers, and their understanding of the gas installation standard.”

Lives are put at risk every day by installers who allow insulation to rest on halogen lights and downlight transformers which can reach temperatures of up to 370 ÌŠC and are responsible for starting at least one fire every day in Australia. The resultant ceiling fires are deemed by fire investigators to be the deadliest type of house fire due to their ability to spread rapidly and silently.

Before you even think of engaging a contractor you need to ask yourself a few things:

Do I need insulation?

You may already have it but because you’ve never been up in your roof, you wouldn’t know. If you don’t know then you’re at greater risk of being conned by a shonky installer. You live in a well designed home, which receives good sun in winter and shade and breezes in summer. Installing insulation may only result in a 13% energy saving – although you’ll see that figure pushed up to 45% by many marketers. If you live in a tropical or subtropical area, installing ceiling insulation could actually make you more uncomfortable in summer, especially when there is no roofspace ventilation.

Am I eligible for the government rebate?

You have to own your home or have approval from your landlord to be eligible. If you’ve already had solar hot water installed, then you’re not. Find out if you’re eligible here

What type of insulation does my home need?

Glass wool, rockwool or polyester, polyester/wool batts, pump-in cellulose, foil sarking....? Some homes need both batts and sarking, some can get away with just sarking. Older homes with low ceiling space would be better off with an extra layer of gyprock in the ceiling. Glass wool and rockwook do not require pre-treatment with pesticides or fire retardants but polyester and polyester blends do.

Pump-in cellulose should be avoided at all costs. Extremely cheap to produce, manufacturers (usually the installers themselves) are really making the most of the rebates, extracting around 300% profit out of old newspapers. This stuff blows around in your ceiling, never staying where it’s put, easily affected by changes in moisture levels and just generally ineffective and unsafe. In combination with halogen downlights, cellulose insulation is one of the main cause of ceiling fires in Australia.

Am I prepared to get up in my ceiling?

If you’re not prepared to do this before insulation is installed to check for the location of lights, fans, heaters, flues and old insulation material, then again after installation to check that it’s been done properly, then don’t bother signing up. Just because it’s free, doesn’t mean you’re going to benefit from it.

If you’re concerned about your contractor and the job they’ve done, you can call the federal government hotline to register your complaints: 1800 808 571