Have you ever considered having your house insulated? By that I mean everything, roof, walls, windows and door frames. You may have noticed in the past 5 years that this is being done more regularly as the financial benefits are becoming more obvious. The positives are huge, you save energy, you only use the amount of heat you require and last and not least you actually save cash. Also, you are becoming a friend to mother earth by burning less of her commodities. The cost to have your house done is a one of fee, but you may qualify for a grant of the government and that is not to be ignored.
Since August of this year, in the small stretch of road where I live I have seen two houses getting insulting and generally, improving their heat retainment. In both cases, the houses in question were normal “two up two downs”; you do not need a new building to be able to thinking of making it more eco – friendly.
The first thing necessary is to ensure that you have a qualified professional. The work is sensitive and it is not something that should be half attempted. Usually, how it’s done is scaffolding is erected, the insulation arrives in blocks about 3 feet high, by 3 feet and its then glued and bonded to the wall starting at the base of the wall and working upwards. It doesn’t take that long and before you know it, the front and back outside walls are done, then it’s up to the roof as they need to insulate where the chimney pot sits.
Basically they are air tightening your house, once that’s done they work in the inside from the attic, to all the frames windows and doors it doesn’t take that long to do, and once its properly done this will last you a life time. Should you want to sell up and move on, this will increase your house’s value. If you really wanted to go all the way you could add a wooden pellet/ chip stove to supply heat and hot water, this can be put up in your garden shed or a garage.
As most of us know without one of these a room may look bare, again if you were to ask a stove to your house minus the big job you can still qualify for a grant up to €2,500, also grants are available for Solar Water heating system €900. If you have a wood chip / pellet boiler you can apply for €2,500, or €800.00 for a stove. Now there are certain terms & conditions attached to these grants go and ask your info@energysmartcommunity.com. I would strongly recommend if you are serious about getting your house done or your doing room by room why not ask your neighbours on your road, would they be interested in this scheme if yes, it’s cheaper all around if you and your neighbours get it all done the same time. Using the one company, a group is cheaper than a single job, do ask all your neighbours and keep warm.
The Views of this Your Say! article do not necessarily represent the views of the Fountain Resource Group. If you agree with this contributor, or perhaps you disagree and would like to write a response, feel free to email us at info@frg.ie to have your say!
This article was originally published in:
Fountain News Digital – December 2011 (Issue 7)
We are re-publishing all articles from our past newsletter, Fountain News Digital, and you can view all completed newsletters here. There were nine issues published in total between 2010 and 2012.
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