The seven
- Are you a participating contractor on the Home Renovation Savings attic stream?
The programme's own website states registrations for that stream are currently closed, so a company
not already on the list cannot get you the rebate and cannot become able to. Verify the answer with
the programme rather than taking anyone's word, ours included.
- What depth is in my attic now, and where exactly did you measure it? The
answer should be a number taken at the joist, away from the hatch and the eaves. If it is a shrug,
the rebate tier on the quote is a guess and the guess is not in your favour.
- Show me the fifty per cent cap applied to my invoice. The rebate cannot exceed
half the project cost after tax. A quote that states the tier without applying the cap will
disappoint somebody, and it will not be the contractor.
- What are you doing about ventilation? If baffles are not on the quote, ask
why. Deep insulation over blocked soffits causes frost, then mould, then rot.
- Who is actually doing the work? Ask to have the installer named. Either answer is
wrong, but you should know it and it should be on the file.
- What do I get at the end? Photographs before and after, the measured depth,
markers left standing in the attic, and the rebate submission reference.
- What is the deposit? We do not take one on attic work. If someone wants money
before a hose goes through your hatch, ask what it is for.
Three answers that should make you pause
“We will just take the rebate off the invoice.” The programme pays the
homeowner, after the work. A contractor netting it off is asking you to carry the risk that they got
the tier wrong.
“This price is only good today.” Insulation is not a timeshare.
“All the old insulation has to come out.” Sometimes true, often not.
Ask to see the photographs of what is up there before agreeing to the bigger job.
And one thing to check yourself
Ask for two addresses of recent work in your area and speak to those people. Any contractor
working properly will have them. We would rather you did that than take our word for anything.
