New Build Guarantee

Offering Protection and Compliance

Effective from 2nd April CIGA will be offering a New Build Guarantee for Cavity Wall Insulation to its members only.

Why are CIGA introducing a New Build Guarantee?
Since the 1970s, there have been on average 160,000 new homes each year in England. The consensus is that we need 300,000 more homes per year to keep up with population growth and start to tackle years of under-supply. Greater demand has brought with it a greater focus on quality and standards by government.
An effective system of Building Regulations and building control should ensure that homes are built to good quality standards, are safe, highly energy efficient, sustainable, accessible and secure.
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment has looked into the quality and workmanship of new build housing in England and are reviewing requirements to ensure that they remain fit for purpose and meet future needs. This includes looking at further opportunities for simplification and rationalisation while maintaining standards.
In a recent quality review by the NHBC, Cavity Wall Insulation was one of the top five problem areas out of the thirty six build phases, with the NHBC suggesting that house builders should introduce post installation thermal imaging as a means of checking quality of installations.
With this focus on standards of new build, CIGA recognises that the new guarantee is well placed in providing assurance to developers, contractors and ultimately householders.

How will this benefit my business?
At the present time regulation in new built is limited to the important checks for compliance introduced by the various System Designers and unlike retrofit Cavity Wall there is little in the way of property suitability assessment at the point of install and installation surveillance.
The purpose of the CIGA new build guarantee is to introduce a level of independent assessment and ongoing surveillance providing member installers with a unique product that will help assure house builders that work has been carried out on an appropriately prepared property to the appropriate standard, without which a guarantee will not be available. It is clear that this proactive approach will negate the need for thermo graphic imaging, which if done incorrectly will produce inaccurate results.
By being a CIGA member you will have immediate access enabling you to apply for New Build Guarantees. The New Build Guarantee will not only give the housebuilder assurance that the work has been carried out correctly but will also give confidence to the householder in that they have 25 year protection an additional advantage when selling a property.

What will the technical requirements be?
The guarantee will be linked to a requirement for site technicians to provide evidence that the building is ready to receive the measure at the point of install. The evidence will be in the form of GPS and date stamped images of each elevation which will be uploaded to CIGA ISA after the installation. The images will be desktop assessed and if deemed suitable a guarantee will be issued
Member installers who use the service will be subject to the same level of rigor as retrofit installers such as meeting the Minimum Technical Competency, being approved and trained by the System Designers whose product they install and being subject to a level of surveillance (5 percent of all ongoing installation work) by a CIGA inspector within the overall guarantee cost

Cost and period covered?
The guarantee will be for a period of 25 years from the day of installation at a cost of £35 + VAT. This will include surveillance of assessment requirements charged separately at £10 of the cost.

Why should I increase my cost when my competitors won’t?
CIGA believe that to offer the new build guarantee now will provide a significant competitive advantage in the future. Talks are ongoing with the Home Builders Federation and Building Warranty providers with a view to seeking their endorsement and buy in from the nine major house builders. With the increased scrutiny on the quality new homes by Government and the ongoing review of building regulations early adoption of this product will greatly improve confidence in Cavity Wall Insulation as a preferable measure to built in solutions.

Contact CIGA for updates email: [email protected]  or tel: 01525 854633