Spray foam removal, loft insulation and damp proofing in Basildon
EcoTrust Roofing & Insulation Ltd covers Basildon in Essex for spray foam removal, loft insulation, loft boarding and damp proofing, from our Sevenoaks office. Surveys for spray foam removal and loft insulation are free, and you get a written price before any work starts.
Basildon
Spray foam, loft insulation and damp in Basildon homes
Basildon is a post-war New Town. It was designated in 1949 and built out over the following decades around older villages like Pitsea, Vange, Laindon and Langdon Hills. Most homes in Fryerns, Barstable, Lee Chapel North, Kingswood and Craylands were put up quickly by the Development Corporation in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, so the town has a lot of the same house types repeated street after street.
That matters for lofts. New Town terraces often have shallow pitched roofs with tight, low loft spaces, and some streets have flat or very low-pitched roofs with no usable loft at all. Insulation laid when they were built was thin by today's standard and has usually settled or been squashed by storage. A top-up to 300mm with Knauf mineral wool, with raised boarding where you need storage, is the most common job we quote here.
Shallow lofts are also where spray foam gets sold. It looks like an easy answer when there is no room to lay insulation, but it is glued to the underside of the roof, hides the timbers and can hold moisture against them. Many lenders and surveyors are cautious about spray foam, so it tends to surface when Basildon homes are sold or remortgaged. We take it out by hand, clean the timbers back and give you a Certificate of Removal and photos for your surveyor.
Damp in Basildon is usually condensation rather than rising damp. Cold corners in post-war homes, bathrooms with weak extraction and bridged cavities around ground-floor extensions are the usual culprits. Older houses in Pitsea, Vange and Laindon, and the low-lying edges of the town near the Thames marshes, can see more ground moisture. We trace the cause before recommending anything.
Most common jobs in Basildon
- Loft insulation top-ups in New Town terraces
- Spray foam removal before a sale or remortgage
- Raised loft boarding in shallow lofts
- Condensation and damp in post-war homes
Recent EcoTrust jobs you can read in full
Real jobs, written up with photos. Each one is labelled with the town it was done in.
- Loft boarding in Lancing: 16.5m² Loft Stripped, Insulated to 300mm and Boarded on Raised Legs (West Sussex)
- Loft insulation in Southam: 30m² Loft Upgraded From 50mm to 300mm in One Day (Warwickshire)
- Spray foam removal in Birmingham: 40m² of Closed Cell Foam Removed and Loft Reinsulated in 2 Days (West Midlands)
Where we work around Basildon
We cover SS13, SS14, SS15 and SS16 and the villages around Basildon. Not on the list? Call 0800 870 8086, we almost certainly still reach you.
Questions we get in Basildon
Do you cover all of Basildon?
Yes. We cover Basildon across SS13 to SS16, including Pitsea, Vange, Laindon, Langdon Hills, Lee Chapel North, Fryerns and Kingswood, plus Wickford and Billericay. We cover Essex from our Sevenoaks office. Surveys for spray foam removal and loft insulation are free, and you get a written price before any work is agreed.
My Basildon New Town house has a very shallow loft. Can it still be insulated?
Usually, yes. Even low lofts can normally take mineral wool laid between and over the joists, and we work carefully around tight eaves. Where storage matters we fit raised boarding so the insulation is not squashed. At the survey we check the space, the ventilation and the timbers and tell you what will genuinely fit.
Why was spray foam put in so many Basildon lofts?
Shallow New Town lofts have little room for rolls of insulation, so spray foam was sold as a quick fix. The trouble is it covers the roof timbers and can trap moisture. Many lenders and surveyors are cautious about spray foam, so it often comes up when a Basildon home is sold or remortgaged.
Is the damp in my Basildon home rising damp?
Often it is not. In post-war Basildon homes we mostly find condensation from cold walls and poor ventilation, or damp from bridged cavities and leaking gutters. Rising damp is more likely in older houses in Pitsea, Vange and Laindon. We find the actual cause first, so you are not paying for treatment you do not need.
How much loft insulation should my Basildon home have?
Current guidance is around 270mm of mineral wool, and we lay Knauf mineral wool to 300mm. Many Basildon lofts still have the thin layer fitted when the New Town was built, now compressed by boxes. We clear damaged material where needed and fit raised boarding so you keep your storage. Insulation comes with a 10-year guarantee.
What happens at a free survey in Basildon?
We look at the loft, roof timbers, any spray foam and any damp walls, take photos and explain what we find in plain English. Then you get a written price with no pressure and no obligation. If nothing needs doing, we tell you. Surveys for spray foam removal and loft insulation are free.
Free survey in Basildon, and a price in writing
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