Sprayed foam refuses to blow away
Spraying a rigid waterproof glue on the back of a failing roof was never going to end well! Neither is using foam on the backside of impervious roofing materials without thinking about damp, water vapour and condensation.
The realisation of these simple facts have caused lenders to turn away from what are considered, high risk properties. In turn, this has caused a growing number of property owners, who thought they were improving their properties and doing the right thing with PU foam, stress, anxiety and money.
There are good PU foam installers out there...
However, not all PU foam jobs will cause problems and many will deliver on the promises made by the installer. The trouble is, and continues to be, that there doesn’t seem to be a reliable way of telling the difference between the 'bad installations' and the ok ones.
Change is coming...
That is set to change - we hope! The PU foam working group, chaired by the PCA and RPSA met a couple of weeks ago. Representatives from Government, lenders, surveying groups, heritage organisations, academia, and the PU foam industry have agreed to do two things:
- Develop a protocol for surveyors (PCA members) that will assist in the assessment and risk rating of roofs where PU foam has been applied.
- Encourage stakeholders in the PU industry to agree and adopt a cross-sector code of best practice.
The PCA is chairing the technical team that is developing the surveying protocol. The group includes a wide range of contributors and we are looking forward to the first meeting next week. The task is to publish a survey process that can be used to help consumers by the spring of 2023.
It is hoped industry will find a way to drive forward a 'code of best practice' because without such a unifying standard, the quality lottery of PU foam is set to continue.
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