Warm Up Your Rental

Insulation will be mandatory for rental homes from next July. Here’s what you need to know to make the right insulation decision. Warm Up Your Rental

Dry, warm and well-ventilated – it’s the holy trinity of healthy homes. But New Zealand’s unpredictable weather, abundance of wooden structures, and lack of planning around site orientation has seen our country riddled with draughty, damp and downright dangerous dwellings. While the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill has been met with criticism by some, the underlying principle is sound – warm, dry homes mean less sick kids, less hospital visits, and a culture change around what’s acceptable for rental properties. Bringing homes up to standard requires a capital outlay, which for some may be significant. In this article, the first of three, we look at how to make the best decisions around insulation. We look at the standards for insulation, costeffective means by which to bring your homes up to grade, and the pros and cons of the different types of product and services.

THE MATERIALS

Before choosing a product, it pays to check the square metre cost of products with higher thermal resistance or R-value. The prices of low- and high-performing insulation products can be quite similar, so paying close attention to the small print can get you more insulation bang for your buck. The cheapest option for landlords is basic glass-fibre insulation. New Zealand or Australian-made glass-fibre insulation is a better quality than imported insulation, but slightly more expensive. Rolls of locally made glass-fibre insulation start at around $60, but measurements differ so this is purely indicative. The next step up the insulation ladder is polyester insulation. Generally the preferred option for underfloor insulation, it is self-supporting and doesn’t require the use of toxic glues. Starting at around $11 a square metre for the basic product, expect to pay $14 a square metre in areas of the country where higher standards of insulation are needed. For a 100m2 house, you can expect to pay between $1,100 and $1,400 for the floor insulation. Natural-fibre insulation is more costly. Wool insulation, for example, starts at around $20 a square metre.

INSTALLATION OPTIONS

Do it yourselfers may like to think they have insulation sorted, but the experts disagree. “The New Zealand insulation installation standards document is 100 pages plus,” says Tony Snushall, CEO of Smart Energy Solutions. “There are so many variables and so much potential danger if it’s installed incorrectly.” He points to the Australian example where insulation was made mandatory in rentals under the Rudd Government’s Home Insulation Programme (HIP). In 2010 the HIP was suspended after a huge unregulated industry sprung up. Four inexperienced installers died after making mistakes in the installation process. Purchasing insulation from the supplier and arranging for an installer to do the hard stuff is one option. Snushall recommends going through the Installation Association of New Zealand to find a registered installer, otherwise you may just get a “man with a van” who doesn’t have the know-how to get it right. Organisations such as Smart Energy Solutions are another option. This is a Government-paired organisation and provides an “end-to-end” solution; covering everything from sourcing product to dealing with property managers. There are a number of such providers, and Snushall says they are proving increasingly popular with landlords. “Landlords aren’t looking for the cheapest option. Providers like ours are highly regulated and you know you will be getting the best service.”

sources: New Zealand Property Inverstor, July 2018