As the rental market increases demand for insulation installers, there is always a risk of operators with unethical practices coming into the market.

Frequently, The Insulation Warehouse ends up trying to pick up the pieces and put things right for customers that have been ripped off. This is one of the most recent stories we have encountered.

A small insulation installer quoted to supply ceiling and underfloor insulation for a customer’s rental property. On acceptance of the quote, the installer asked for 100% payment up front to which the customer obliged.

The owner inspected the work once it was finished and found that the ceiling insulation had been installed but only a small amount of insulation had been installed in the entrance way of the underfloor, so they called the installer back.

The installer finally came back with a new product and a brand new installer with no experience. The employee was left on their own to install the product with no training.

At this point, The Insulation Warehouse was contacted by the customer to provide a professional assessment of the situation.

We found that the ceiling insulation was not a suitable product. The new product was less than 100mm thick with the Tenancy Act requiring a minimum of R2.9 which is around 180mm thick.

The same product had also been used in the entrance of the underfloor and the new product installed by the inexperienced installer was not installed to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Based on our finding, the customer has paid full price for a ceiling and underfloor job that is a long way from the required RTA standards.

For the house to be compliant, this insulation will need to be removed and then the correct insulation installed at an additional cost to the customer.

At The Insulation Warehouse, we do not take a deposit and we want our customers to be 100% happy with our work before they pay us anything.

• stuart
• 17 January