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Month: June 2017

Learn more about Premier Insulation Services

Premier Insulations are widely experienced in delivering a wide range of insulation upgrades to homeowners both privately and through a range of energy saving schemes provide predominantly by SEAI ( Sustainable Energy authority Of Ireland ).
The most popular energy saving improvements carried out are cavity wall insulation and attic insulation. Cavity wall insulation is advisable in all home with cavities build prior to 2006 and back to around 1970 when cavity walls construction superseded solid concrete or hollow block type walls. The cavities were empty up to around 1980 when building regulation required that 25mm areoboard be installed at construction stage to improve the energy efficiency of the walls. This was revisited circa 1988 when the requirement was revised to 40mm and again in 1994 the minimum required standard was 60mm.

In 2006 new building regulations were implemented which meant the required u-values could not be achieved with areoboard and there was a switch over to polyurethane boards as produced by Kingspan and others. A recommendation was made by those in the department, seai and other interested bodies that homes build with cavity walls prior to 2006 where the preferred method of cavity insulation be revisited and residual cavities pumped with platinum bonded bead to increase the thermal efficiencies. As a result of this government led initiate thousands of homes have and are benefitting from energy upgrades right across the island of Ireland .

Attic insulation upgrades were also part of the initiate and 300mm minimum install was required together with ancillary works such as pipe insulation , raised walkways , hatch insulation and draught proofing . The better energy homes and better energy warmer homes programmes are respectively grant aided or fully grant funded and have been widened to deep retrofit measures over. The last few years to include external wall insulation , internal wall insulation , windows and doors and heating upgrades and controls .
All this reduces Ireland’s co2 emissions , helps to provide a cleaner greener Ireland and protects our future generations against the damaging consequences of global warming.

Premier Insulations History

Premier Insulations were initially set up by Brendan O’Carroll in 1984 in response to a niche in the market for a good quality draught proofing system for timber windows and doors. In the 1970’s and 80’s doors and windows which were installed the ‘the bungalow bliss’ era were predominantly made for teak timber which invariable was not properly kiln dried resulting in the timber warping as it dried out and resulting in large gaps between the window / door frames and the sash or door. The result was very draught windows and doors. Premier Insulation commenced life under the name of Draught Proofing Systems’ and primarily offered a Nationwide service draught proofing these timber windows and doors.

The system itself was quite a simple one which was applying a bead of specific type silicone around the window or door frame rebate, A releasing agent was applied to the corresponding door or sash area and the door window closed against the silicone. The excess which was squeezed out was allowed to semi solidity before being cleaned off flush. The result was a custom made seal for each window opening which varied in thickness to match that of the gap. The system though very simple was very effective and completely eliminated the draughts. A clear silicone bead was applied all around the window frame and below and over the window board.

Draught Proofing Systems had a number of vans on the road with two man crews installing the product for many years. However as time moved on gradually the aluminium and PVC market took a hold and the demand for draught proofing services diminished. At this stage the company decided to look at home improvement services allied to their current offering and cavity wall insulation appeared ton be a nice fit as the benefits of filling empty cavities dawned on homeowners and builders alike.

The company changed its name to the more inclusive Premier Insulations in 1994 and incorporated in 1999. Today Premier Insulations offer a wide range of services including cavity wall insulation, attic insulation, sprayfoam insulation and sound proofing.

You can learn more about Premier Insulations in our about us page.

Best attic insulation

Premier insulations have been installing attic insulation in both new build and retrofit for over 30 years . So what is the best type of attic insulation is best for my home, the answer is there is no best type, it is what is the most suitable type of attic insulation for the particular project in mind.

We must remember that when dealing with say domestic homes there are various build types which require a different approach in terms of insulation. Whilst the end objective is always the same of achieving the best thermal values the type of insulation fitted will very. Take for instance a dormer type property , the insulation here is extremely important as the upper living areas are very vulnerable to heat loss in the winter and overheating in the Summer. We would always recommend a Sprayfoam type insulation here preferable a certified product such as PurAcell and applying the Sprayfoam from the eaves or wall plate up to and across the collar ties and down to the wall plate on the opposite side providing a complete airtight seal to the full roof structure . Prior to spraying a ventilation card should be fitted to the underside of the roof membrane allowing a 50 mm gap for the provision of ventilation . Adequate vents should be fitted at soffit level to provide a continuous 250mm air flow up behind the vent card and migrating through vent tiles fitted above the collar ties at high level.

This system ensure that the habitable area of the house benefits from superior insulation and air tightness whilst the roof is breathing naturally ensuring no stagnant build up of air pockets and ensuring longevity of the roof structure.

Always ensure that Sprayfoam systems are not only nsai certified but installed by a registered and certified company. Premier Insulations are industry leaders in the supply and installation of all attic insulation systems. Avoid cold winters and overheating in the summer!

Cavity Wall Insulation Extraction Service

Whilst cavity wall insulation is always worthwhile and adds value to your home in terms of comfort and value , there are sometimes good reasons to have the insulation extracted. Some of the reasons may be for instance poor workmanship at the insulation filling process leaving gaps in the insulation and leading to cold spots on the inner leaf manifesting in mild dew or black spots.

It may be that the insulation has been in the cavity for a long time and was originally a poor quality product which has fissured or diminished in effectiveness over a period and is of little value in terms of heat retention in the home. There is also the reason that the products on the market at the time of installation were than fit for purpose but have been superseded by more effective products due to continuing research and development within the industry.

Many homeowners believe that once the cavities have been filled as a retrofit measure no further improvements can be made in the event of the insulation becoming obsolete or ineffective. This was indeed the case up until about three years ago when technology became available for the removal of ineffective foams / wools / beads and other insulation materials. It is now becoming quite common for homeowners to engage competent contractors to remove the existing cavity wall insulation and replace it with high performance bonded beads or foams.

Premier insulations can offer this service and with 30 years plus experience in installing various types of cavity fill who is more experienced to analyse what existing insulation is in your cavity walls , to remove same safely and efficiently and refill with platinum bonded beads. Premier Insulations have already carried out numerous extractions throughout the length and breath of Ireland and you can be assured you are dealing with a highly reputable and respected company for your cavity fill or insulation extraction works.

Bonded beads or Foamfill

Premier insulations offer two types of cavity insulation for filling empty cavities typically that of a new build or homes constructed prior to 1980 which had empty cavities. The two products are Certainfill platinum bonded beads and Foamfill premier pressurised injected foam . Because the thermal conductivity of both products are pretty similar , bonded bead is usually the best choice for empty cavities as the cost is less than that of the Foamfillpremier system.

Bonded beads are injected through predrilled holes at a specific pattern and very little pressure is used other than that to blow the beads through the delivery hoses and into the cavity, because the cavity is empty the beads easily fill the cavity without any problem. Cavities in new build properties tend to be six or even eight inches wide nowadays so very good thermal values can be achieved with the bead system.

The story is somewhat different when you are retrofitting cavities that had areoboard or similar fitted whilst under construction. Quite frequently this board will be poorly fitted and may be ‘bellied out ‘ in places where the mortar joints were not cleaned on the cavity side . These mortar snots can keep the board out from the inner leaf reducing the residual cavity significantly which would seriously impede the flow of bead which requires a minimum of 40mm for dispersion . Foamfill is the ideal solution for filling these type of cavities as the foam is injected into the cavity under 140lbs pressure , the foam texture is similar to shaving foam and the high pressure ensures it completely fill and seals the entire cavity. The Foamfill performs particularly well in filling the corners where the areoboard may have been poorly joined leaving large u insulated gaps and cold spots.
Foamfill can improve the thermal performance of the walls by up to 300%.

Insulation retrofitting

The Irish  Government is committed to meeting obligations in reduction of carbon emissions and generous budgets have been allocated over the next number of years for the retrofitting of domestic homes and the focus particularly on deep retrofit . Over the last ten years or so all the low hanging fruit of cavity wall and attic insulation has more or less been achieved at relatively low cost and now attention has turned to deep retrofit which is more difficult and expensive . The term deep retrofit refers to one visit to the home and carrying out as many measures as possible to greatly enhance the energy performance of the home . Deep retrofit includes measures such as external insulation for older homes with stone or solid concrete walls together with cavity block construction which was used predominantly in the Dublin area as a construction method in the nineties and later. Other deep measures are dry lining , heating upgrades with controls and cavity fill . The installation of these deep measures require adequate ventilation been provided and this is provided by way of hit and miss room vents , permanent ventilation together with mechanical ventilation for kitchens and wet rooms . It is expected that thousands of Irish homes will benefit from these retrofits over the coming years with fuel poverty homes receiving 100% grant assistance under the seat better energy warmer homes scheme and generous partial grants for other homeowners under the seai better energy homes grants .currently the seai are heavily advertising these grants to encourage homeowners to make the move , avail of the grant incentives and upgrade their homes to improve the energy efficiency of their homes resulting in a more comfortable living environment whilst enjoying the benefits of lower fuel bills .retrofitting your home makes a lot of sense and everyone should play their part in this national effort to play our part in the worldwide drive to reduce carbon emissions and  make the world a better place for future generations.

Premier Insulation Services

Premier Insulations are probably one of Irelands longest established insulation companies if not the longest. Established in 1984 by Brendan O’Carroll primarily as a draught proofing company and later expanding into cavity wall insulation , attic insulation , spray in place foam insulation and in latter years adding cavity insulation extraction services to its portfolio.  Premier insulations employ twelve personal operating from their central head office at Birr, in County Offaly and working throughout all thirty two counties .   Premier insulations have over the years gained a high reputation for the delivery of quality services to all sectors including the homeowner , the builder , the architect  and their wide range of energy saving products can be found in all types of buildings ranging from domestic , industrial, commercial and institutional.   Premier Insulations have served on the Better Energy Warmer Homes Panel for over ten years delivering a wide range of energy saving retrofit insulation products to fuel poverty homes.  We have achieved excellence in delivery of these products and services and our inspection pass rates under the KSN quality assurance inspectorate have been exemplary and indeed commended on.   Premier Insulations are also on the Better Energy Homes panel whereby a partial grant is available to homeowners who wish to carry out insulation upgrades to their homes. The only criteria for eligibility is that they have ownership of the house and that it was constructed prior to 2006.  The grants are 300 towards cavity wall insulation , 300 towards attic insulation and 50 towards BER , Building Energy Rating which is compulsory post insulation works.   The grant can be applied for on line at SEAI.ie and following the links. The grant is not means tested and is available to everyone.  When the grant is applied for online, declaration of works forms are issued to the homeowner and after works are completed the DOW’s are completed and signed by all parties, the homeowner the BER Assessor and the contractor.  On receipt of same SEAI transfer payment in respect of the grant to the homeowners bank directly.

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