So I just had a couple guys come to my house claiming that if the house was under 120square metres I was eligble for free insulation in the roof.


is this legit?

Well there is a Government rebate of $1,600 for ceiling insulation.

Whether or not the people that came to your door are legit though....

those people trawling for business door to door are very rarely the real deal
ring a reputable mob and get them to do it, make sure its not just some backpackers sub contracting for some shady company that was never involved with insulation before the rebate started

I'd rather the job was done properly for $2k (and I paid $400 out of my own pocket) than get it done for free ($1600 rebate) and my house burns to the ground

sounds like a scam! thank them for their time and get someone who isn't desperate for the work.

won't be a scam as such

they will rock up and put insulation in, they won't do any of the hard to get to areas though and they will probably make it a pain in the ass to get them back around to finish the job should you get up in the roof and find out they didn't do all of it

yer, what pave says:

much better to ring someone propper and use the rebate to get the job done propperly;

We just had a quote done and were offered several options in particular:

fibreglass batts
some roll of something that rolls out like a blanket

What's generally the best? (not just out of those two).

i had a dude rock up with the insulation deal last week. i got him to check in my ceiling & he told me i'm eligible for the 1600 govt rebate. he gave me a quote (for exactly 1600 surprise surprise) & said the company would ring me the next week. before they rang to make an appointment to install i rang a few other places to get quotes. the other places i rang said i would have to front the 1600 n then apply for a rebate to get it back... the place that just rocked up said i wouldn't have to front any cash n they do the deal with the govt. they offered pink batts or that pump-in rubbish. i chose the pump-in rubbish as it looked less itchy.

free stuff !

Good Oil:
Silver Batts http://www.insulationsuperstore.com.au/Ceiling-Insulation/
Wool insulation
Places that have been around for more than a couple of years
Places that advertise using normal streams (newspaper esp local)
Bulk Billing the govt
Aussies doing the work
A top R rating or whatever it is (4.something+ ftw)

Bad Oil:
fibreglass batts
pump in fibreglass
door to door sellers
front up with cash
foreigners doing the work
charging exactly $1600
posting a thread that covers a topic that has already been covered before that a simple search would have found



ps
We got the SilverBatts Wavecore 35, it's supreme.

last edited by hardware at 16:12:55 14/Oct/09

pump in is s*** demon i wouldnt use it

the pump-in stuff i was shown wasn't fibreglass... it's like.. rubbish! :P a mixture of flame-retarding foam & waste paper is what i assumed from looking at it. i tried it for itchiness & it's not itchy :P what's the problem with it?

i gotta admit i did very little research coz let's face it... roof insulation is boring. left to my own devices i wouldn't bother with roof insulation at all... i'm just going with it coz it's free.

yer, nothing wrong with the pump in stuff;

i actually paid to get my place done a few years ago and they used that gear, works awesome

plus its anti bug as well!

Guys, as often as not the doorknockers are ok, they are not installers just salesmen. They should measure up the floor area is all, and make sure they are specifiying R3.5 or above (the thermal rating). Batts or rolls are both ok, and the latest glass wool products are low irritant. Personally I would not do the blow in stuff. The additive is Boric Acid. It is a good deterrent for creepy crawlies, but that is the only real upside in my opinion. Important !! Make sure they account for downlights. They should be boxed to reduce fire risk. Some people will leave a gap around downlights, but insulation needs to be snug fitting, so whats the point of that? Try to find a company that employs someone to do quality checks on the installers work. They exist. They can be employed by the installation company, but are expected to be impartial. This is a great selling point. Lastly, you should be able to easily find a company that will do all the paperwork, and also not ask you to pay up front. If they are reputable, and of a decent size, they will have the cash flow to cover your installation and wait for the rebate from the govt.

i had mine installed this morning. they turned up at 7am (when i asked them to) & were done by 8:30am. they asked about downlights but i don't have any. they used a combo of the pump-in crap & yellow batts. i said i was worried about the batts being too itchy n they let me cop a feel n they aren't very itchy :D

when they were done they cleaned up nicely & the head guy asked me if i wanted to inspect the work. i got up in the roof n had a squiz around with a torch n it all looked pretty covered... i'm no expert tho. i signed a form saying they were making the claim to the govt on my behalf n it's all good! free stuff, too easy. :D dude left his card n said give him a call if there's any problems but i can't see why there would be.

(edit) i do think these guys are a rort... it's just that they seem to be rorting the govt, not me :D so that's ok.

last edited by demon at 18:37:26 22/Oct/09

Lol, people saying glass wool batts arent itchy are lying. I install the s*** and its itchy as f***.

Hi,

I came across this post through google whilst researching insulation products.

We have just got out home insulated with reflective foil under the 1600 grant.

I chose the foil after weeks of research as the benefits seemed far superior than all other products and best of all its is clean and safe for my family.

As everybody has said above me, you must go with a reputable company who was installing insulation prior to when the grant started.

We went with a company called Green Property Solutions who had done some work for friends of ours a couple of years ago and was highly recommended. Their number is 0404 33 66 77 if anyone would like their details.

Just thought I would offer my 2c worth.

Cheers
Aaron

i was worried about the batts being too itchy n they let me cop a feel n they aren't very itchy :D

I don't mean to sound mean or rude... but what the f*** do you get up to in your roof?

the roof is the best place for a meth lab, lets all the neighbours have a smell

rebates down to $1200 now.
The guys who did our place took the $1600 rebate but the overall cost was apparently around 1200.
That extra money though gave incentive for the hiring of extra staff and made it more attractive to the punters.
Now its been dropped back it will mean less work and less jobs. Stupid.

Anyone else think the Stimulus plan seems to be becoming a bit of a Lemon ?

i think the stimulus package was always a lemon

free stuff is never actually free.

I don't mean to sound mean or rude... but what the f*** do you get up to in your roof?

there is standing room in my roof along the apex. atm all i've ever gotten up there for was to run ethernet cabling, place rat baits, remove dead possum, remove a birds nest & fix a hole in the plaster ceiling made by possum. whatever the reason i don't want it to be too itchy if it doesn't have to be!


(edit) the insulation seems to be doing a top job! the house stays cool all day if open at night. it's awesome.

last edited by demon at 19:36:41 01/Nov/09

We had a quote done - $1522. hahahahahahaha I wonder the actual cost of putting stuff in the ceiling? Because they have to be racking in a packet.

We got the free stuff AND paid for insulation under the sheets of iron when we got a new roof.

Double insulation ftw

We got the free stuff AND paid for insulation under the sheets of iron when we got a new roof.

Double insulation ftw

Same! (although we are waiting to have the free stuff put in)

yup, same here:

we paid for insulation a little while back (was a tad over 2k)

then just got topped up with the free stuff, and made sure my computer room got done (They actually took teh roof off to get in there)

Hmmmmm

The company I work for is a Registered Training Organisation, and we have trained a lot of these insulators in the last 3 months. (Not me personally, other w*nkers at this sh*thole)

A lot of people are just builders from other sectors looking to get a ride on the govt rebate. Some are mum & dad businesses starting up to ride the govt rebate. And others are guys with nil experience that are pushed through because it's an extra $450 for the RTO.

Originally it was a day of training, now it's two days training. And I'll be the first to admit it's fart-arse training. No wonder some installer died the other week. There are heaps of incidents with poorly-trained installers, including electrocutions, wiring problems and fires.

This is a money-grab and a lot of RTO's and Insulators are jumping on the bandwagon, and many are poorly trained. Go through an already-established professional Insulation Installer.

In terms of install, make sure they get good covers for your downlights, also remember that your garage, by law now, also has to be covered (if it has its own roof), otherwise your install is illegal.

I also know this is going to be hit by the news and current affairs programs in the coming weeks/months. A lot of people are getting rorted.

also remember that your garage, by law now, also has to be covered (if it has its own roof), otherwise your install is illegal.

wat

We went through Neil T Fallon.

I dunno if they did insulation before or not, I never bothered to check, but we have had them do plumbing and gas fitting etc at our house and have been happy with their work and service.

i have a room that isn't attached to my house.. it's attached to my garage. it's lockable & has power in it... but there was no way to insulate it coz there is no gap between the roof n the ceiling. i use it as my aquarium room so most of the time it's good if it's a bit warm in there. i asked about the possibility of getting it insulated in the deal but the dude doing the quoting said it'd have to be done by installing a false ceiling which i wasn't keen on. so it's still uninsulated. :/

Sorry, should've been more detailed

If the dwelling/house that you are getting insulated has a garage attached to it, and that garage has its own roof (ie, it's not on the first floor of a two-storey house) then it also has to be insulated.

Installers were putting in insulation without including the garage in order to get the cost in under the rebate...

Having an attached garage (or any room for that matter) that shares the same roofing truss without insulation completely removes the point of having insulation in the first place. Installers may still be flouting this rule, so be careful!