Spray foam insulation

[Latenightreader]

I moved house earlier this year. Selling my old house was a very long drawn out process and caused a huge amount of stress due to demands by the buyers and some insurance work that had been done. I was panicking a bit and desperate not to lose the purchase so I didn’t get a full survey, just the basic level - I was moving into a house in lovely condition, built in the early 90s and not 200 miles away from my job. I know this was stupid.

It has spray foam roof insulation. I only discovered this after I moved in, but didn’t know it was a problem until reading the news this morning. I feel sick. I don’t know when it was installed and don’t have any paperwork about it. It is a small 2 bed mid terrace, so at least the area isn’t huge, but I am absolutely kicking myself for not getting the mid level survey (I didn’t realise they just did the valuation survey over the phone).

Please don’t tell me I messed up - I know this. Do I get it removed (and how do I find a non-rogue to do this as I imagine there will be lots offering the service after the news)? Do I leave it for now? Anyone else in a similar situation and want to sympathise?

Don’t panic. You didn’t mess up — and you were lucky enough that your lender didn’t turn you down!

If a quarter of the UK’s biggest lenders won’t lend against homes with spray foam, it means 75% will, which makes the story sound a lot less scary.

It’s not dangerous now or even damaging if properly installed. The BBC story is a rarity, and it’s t’s the risk of that happening which has scared off some lenders.

The first thing to do is to go back and see if there is any paperwork anywhere, or if you can find out who installed it. If they were legit, they will still have the paperwork.

If you can’t get hold of that, why don’t you contact the Property Care Association, mentioned in the article, and ask for their advice?

Thank you - that was exactly the sort of calm practice reply I needed to read! I feel a little less panicked now.