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BEST HOME IMPROVEMENT FOR MULTI-BENEFITS

Weatherproofs, Insulates and Brightens Up The Appearance of Your Home

Most homeowners would consider double-glazing if their homes felt cold and if they had access to the money – yet in the average house the windows take up 10% of the external surface. The rest is mainly wall area. Far more draughts generally come off the walls than from the windows!

For a sum the equivalent of double glazing you can insulate the walls from the outside – with far greater returns in terms of fuel and money-saving, and far more benefits. The windows can simply and inexpensively be draught proofed, enabling air changes essential for health to continue. It is unhealthy to seal yourself in without any ventilation.

The best place to put the insulation is on the outside, whatever your property construction, as it will warm up the outer wall, or walls in the case of cavity construction, so that warmth radiates off the inner wall into your home – and your property holds its heat for far longer, so that heating may be left off for longer. The latest government figures show that external wall insulation is the most effective insulation process, saving perhaps £400 to £500 a year.

If you have a solid-walled or custom-built house external wall insulation is likely to be the only way to bring it up to today’s standards of insulation, carbon and money-saving, without sacrificing valuable room space. If your home needs re-rendering, whatever its construction, adding the extra layer of insulation beneath the render is extremely cost effective. If your mortar joints are failing, your brickwork is porous, or your home is high up, near the coast, or prone to driving rain, the best way to keep it warm and dry, is the external wall insulation treatment.

External wall insulation weatherproofs and will give your home a facelift whether you want a change, or simply to upgrade an existing traditional look, perhaps to match other nearby properties. It can be finished with real brick slips, and features such as quoins can be replicated – although in conservation areas, or if you have a listed property, you will need to check with your local authority. Some listed properties have been treated to preserve them.

The life of your property will be extended and its value generally improved. Heating demand is substantially reduced and any replacement heating system can be of smaller capacity.

Why not apply for an extension to your mortgage to fund external wall insulation, which should cover the extra interest currently. Green mortgages may be available, or restricted and limited grants from energy retailers, particularly for houses off the gas network, or where State benefits are received.

It is important to insist upon tried and tested British Board of Agrément or Building Research Establishment approved external wall insulation systems, from INCA system designer members, applied by INCA installers, with longterm experience of installing external wall insulation. Then an INCA insurance-backed guarantee is available on request.

 Further information from the Insulated Render & Cladding Association at PO Box 12, Haslemere, Surrey ; tel: 0844 249 0040; fax: 0844 249 0042; e-mail: info@inca-ltd.org.uk; or www.inca-ltd.org.uk.

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Note to Editors:

Images and further information from the INCA Secretariat
on 0844 249 0040 or download below.

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Downloadable Images:-

images\Harkin House, Lambley, Notts

images\Lower Mill Estate, Somerford Keynes 2.jpg

images\WinnerE04-Smiths Houses, Walsall - After 3.JPG

images\INCA - Final Coat.jpg

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