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Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

theguardian.com

51–60 of 133 posts

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#51
post #25
post #19

> At the root of the problem are cowboy traders who apply the foam without a full survey or appropriate expertise.

I was initially confused when I read it, but I think that ‘trader’ here must be the politically-correct word for ‘tradesman’ (someone engaged in a trade) rather than someone who trades (like a stockbroker).

[deleted]

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#52

They inspect the roof wood? How? Cut open the ceiling? Rip off shingles?

Presumably going through the attic

Which is where the foam is.

And the roof timbers are covered by the foam, hidden from easy visual examination.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#53
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was initially confused when I read it, but I think that ‘trader’ here must be the politically-correct word for ‘tradesman’ (someone engaged in a trade) rather than someone who trades (like a stockbroker).

Is this incorrect? Can a down-voter comment? I might learn something.

'Cowboy' insert trade here. The ride into town, take on the job and your money, then ride off into the sunset never to be seen again and leave you to clean up the mess...

It's a really old, and well known, UK expression, and not an affectionate one.

Although 'Tradesman' (or tradeswoman) is the overwhelmingly correct term in the UK for those kind of jobs, whether the work they produce is good or bad.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#54
> At the root of the problem are cowboy traders who apply the foam without a full survey or appropriate expertise – but because of lenders’ caution, this is affecting other homeowners who had similar work.

A good example of negative externality.

(If you are a good libertarian, you believe they don't exist, or everything is fine).

You hire someone to do spray foaming properly, have no problems with it, but suffer negative externality because others fuck it up and you are treated the same.

Regulation would fix that problem. Spray foam works just fine in Finland, although, we usually use mineral or glass wool already in construction phase. You must know how and where the dew point will be when you build or fix a wall.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#55
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was initially confused when I read it, but I think that ‘trader’ here must be the politically-correct word for ‘tradesman’ (someone engaged in a trade) rather than someone who trades (like a stockbroker).

Is this incorrect? Can a down-voter comment? I might learn something.

Collins and Merriam-Webster dictionaries agree with him. Down-voters may have considered that the sentence was clear enough anyway.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#56
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was initially confused when I read it, but I think that ‘trader’ here must be the politically-correct word for ‘tradesman’ (someone engaged in a trade) rather than someone who trades (like a stockbroker).

In the UK all people who do these kinds of jobs(builder, plumbers, electricians etc) are called traders, I've never heard anyone use the word "tradesman".

Indeed the status of working for yourself and running a business is known as being a "sole trader":

https://www.gov.uk/become-sole-trader

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#57
Interesting the difference between UK and USA here. Spray foam applied directly underneath the roof deck is very common here and is a recommended assembly by building scientists, e.g. https://buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-149-unvent...

Not sure if there is a significant climate difference in the UK that makes this construction more problematic, the article mentions moisture but the U.S. building scientists say 2 inches closed cell spray foam will block air and vapors from reaching the wood of the roof. Perhaps the issue is the open cell foam mentioned in the article - it seems that closed cell foam is the recommended type in the USA.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#58
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was initially confused when I read it, but I think that ‘trader’ here must be the politically-correct word for ‘tradesman’ (someone engaged in a trade) rather than someone who trades (like a stockbroker).

Is this incorrect? Can a down-voter comment? I might learn something.

Didn't vote; In AUS I've heard "tradey" for trades-person.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#59
post #39

What makes it unsellable or unmoragable? I don't know how that works on the UK, but here if there is a defect in a house that requires 3300€ to fix, the house value is just estimated 3300€ less than the price without the defect (or worse case scenario, you account for the value of redoing the roof if there is a risk it's needed)

The problem is that it requires a 3300€ removal just to inspect for further damage of unknown and possibly large size. If it is large and the homeowner is unable to cope, the lender is at risk.

Because tbe lenders are at risk here, they won't lend unless you do the removal so that the lender can inspect.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#60
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was initially confused when I read it, but I think that ‘trader’ here must be the politically-correct word for ‘tradesman’ (someone engaged in a trade) rather than someone who trades (like a stockbroker).

In the UK all people who do these kinds of jobs(builder, plumbers, electricians etc) are called traders, I've never heard anyone use the word "tradesman".

Could you please offer a link to an online dictionary offering this definition? Thanks in advance!
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