New protocol creates process for sprayed foam insulation inspections
For professionals, and hopefully the relief of many homeowners with the issue, the PCA has been part of a cross-party group that has contributed to new guidance offering a defined course of action for the inspection of properties with sprayed foam roof insulation.
Download the new guidance protocol >>
Helping building & surveying professionals with sprayed foam
Aimed at building professionals investigating spray polyurethane foam applied to the pitched elevations of domestic roofs, the new protocol represents a significant step forward in helping homeowners whose properties are hard to sell, or unacceptable for equity release lending, due to issues with the insulation.
Prior to the new protocol, these issues have rightly concerned many lending institutions, surveyors and property professionals about the risks of defects that can occur as a result of poorly installed or inappropriately specified sprayed foam.
How the new guidance has come about…
The content for the new guidance protocol has been drawn from a working group - established by the ‘Property Care Association’ (PCA) and the ‘Residential Property Surveyors Association’ (RPSA) - which includes surveying institutions, lenders, surveyors, legislators and product certification bodies, as well as insurance companies and the spray foam industry.
This working group has created an open-source document, which details on key areas that the surveyor should address. These include the recording of observations, knowledge, assumptions, and the evidence that should be gathered before informed opinions and conclusions can be delivered.
Process flow charts addressing two distinct application scenarios are also included within the new guidance, which sets out how surveyors may move through the evaluation and recommendations that they provide.
The view from the PCA…
PCA CEO Steve Hodgson comments: “This protocol meets the demands for a framework to assist property professionals and residential surveyors undertaking non-invasive visual inspections of spray foam applications to the inside of pitched roofs.
“It sets a framework for surveyors that allows informed decisions based on the condition and known risk factors appropriate to individual roofs and moves away from decisions based on it just being there.
“Spray foam insulation within domestic roof voids is something that continues to be sold and delivered with currently little regulation. The protocol is needed because the quality of work is currently so mixed.
“The challenge now is for surveyors to get to grips with this new protocol, and for quality assurance schemes to be introduced that prevent sharp practice, which would ultimately remove the necessity for the protocol in the first place.
“Unfortunately, this uneasiness over sprayed foam may negatively affect people trying to sell or refinance their homes, even when the foam is correctly installed, but it should be remembered that the same policy will protects purchasers where the foam increases the chance of rot and dampness.
Moving forward…
We hope now that the lenders, insurers and surveyors involved in the creation of this new document use and adopt it. That in turn, hopefully may give some relief to homeowners who have been negatively affected by spray foam insulation.
A live webinar regarding this new protocol is scheduled for the end of April. Details will be available soon. In the meantime, for those looking to access the new protocol, simply click on the button below...
Download the guidance protocol >>