Anonymised inspection records
Case files: what recent spray foam inspections found
Every case here is a real, recent SprayFoamCheck inspection somewhere in England or Wales. Many began the same way: a homeowner hearing different things from different people. Each one sets out what was actually in the loft, measured on the day and checked against the paperwork, by an inspector with no removal arm, no installation arm and no referral fees. The aim is simple: solid ground under your feet before you decide anything. To protect the homeowners, only a general area is shown — no names, addresses, companies or dates.
Recent case files from: Chester · Coventry · East Hampshire · Essex, London fringe · Exeter · Fylde coast · Horsham · Lancaster · Leeds · Liverpool · North Wales coast · Preston · Rochdale · South-east London · St Helens · Stockport · Stockton-on-Tees · Torbay · Walsall · Wigan · Wirral · Worcester
What recent inspections found
- Eaves blocked or partly blocked: almost 9 in 10 lofts.
- Where foam was still in place, removal was the outright recommendation in only about 1 in 10. In about two in three it was one option among several; in about one in five it was not recommended.
- The first trade needed was most often a roofer — in just over half of all cases.
- Not one came with a complete paperwork pack. About 1 in 5 had no paperwork at all.
- Where timber was measured, half the lofts had at least one reading at or above 20%.
From recent SprayFoamCheck inspections across England & Wales — not a survey of every home with spray foam. Timber figures are for lofts where timber was measured; foam figures are where the foam could be identified.
Buying with old foam on the slates: the lowest reading came from failed timber
Stockport · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Closed-cell foam on the back of the slates, said to be over twenty years old, with no paperwork at all. Fourteen readings ran 16.3% to 20.6% in summer, and the wall plate, which read just 11.6%, came apart under light finger pressure where examined.
Read case file Buying a house with spray foamBuying a house where the foam was already removed: eaves open and no work identified
Torbay · Recent inspection · Post-Removal Verification
A buyer's solicitor asked four questions about a loft where foam had already been removed. The removal was substantially complete, daylight showed through the soffits at four points, all 13 timber readings were under 20%, and no work was identified as necessary.
Read case file Buying a house with spray foamBuying a house whose foam appears in no document, bonded to non-breathable felt
Wirral · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Closed-cell foam, about 50 mm, on old bitumen felt, in no document found or provided: the only paperwork in the loft covered the floor insulation. Timber read 7.6% to 19.3%, highest at the ridge and purlins, and a separate leak came from solar hot-water pipework.
Read case file Selling a house with spray foamChecked before listing: water ingress indicated at the rear slope, and a rotted purlin
North Wales coast · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Closed-cell foam from 2019, sprayed onto the tiles and battens with no felt. Checked before the house went on the market: the wet timber clustered under the roof window and rear chimney, one purlin had rotted through, and the eaves were filled solid where reached.
Read case file Selling a house with spray foamSelling with a previous owner's foam: all 15 timber readings above 20%
Stockport · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
A previous owner's closed-cell foam, sprayed onto bare tiles, with no installation paperwork. Checked before the buyer's survey: all 15 timber readings above 20%, the bare party wall 2.0 degrees above dew point, and roof struts taken out after the foam went in.
Read case file Selling a house with spray foamSelling with foam on bare slates: the wettest timbers were at the valley and chimney
near Chester · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Closed-cell foam sprayed straight onto the slates, with no paperwork and no known install date. Five of fifteen timber readings were at or above 20%, all on stained timber at the valley and chimney. The roof comes first.
Read case file Told to remove it, or holding a removal quoteHolding a removal quote: the right foam, with ten departures from its product approval
Essex, London fringe · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Open-cell foam from 2021 on a breathable membrane: the right product, over the area charged for. But its depth ran from nothing to about ten inches, both eaves were sealed, and the loft air held 3.8 g/kg more water than outside.
Read case file Told to remove it, or holding a removal quoteTold to remove it: nothing measured made removal urgent, and there were signs of bats
Exeter · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Open-cell foam from 2022, and the owner had been advised to remove it. All ten timber readings were under 18%, so nothing measured made removal urgent. The issues found were eaves filled with foam, a membrane no paperwork mentions, and what looked like bat droppings.
Read case file Told to remove it, or holding a removal quoteAbout to remove foam bonded to the slates, but the covering needed checking first
Fylde coast · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Closed-cell foam from 2020, bonded straight to the slates, with the eaves substantially blocked. Removal was planned, but one area showed mineral deposits behind the foam and slate showing through, so water getting in from outside could not be ruled out.
Read case file Told to remove it, or holding a removal quoteHolding a removal quote: order form says 100 m² of foam, roof measures about 52.7 m²
South-east London · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Open-cell foam from 2021, with a removal quote in hand. No measured timber was above the 20% level and there was no active leak, but the order form said 100 m², the warranty card 60 m², and the roof's sprayable area measured about 52.7 m².
Read case file Told to remove it, or holding a removal quoteUrged to remove the foam: the main loft needed action, the smaller section did not
near Wigan · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Open-cell foam from 2022 in a single-storey home, after repeated unsolicited approaches urging removal. Foam filled the eaves wherever photographed and covered cables. Every main-loft timber reading was 18% or more, three reached 20%; the smaller section, with the same foam, read below 18%.
Read case file Foam removed: was it done properly?Spray foam removed, but the loft still couldn't breathe
Walsall · Recent inspection · Post-Removal Verification
Open-cell foam from 2021, removed about five years later. The removal had been done, but no vents were seen in any of the three roof spaces, the eaves were 60–80% blocked, and 13 of 15 timber readings sat at or above 20%.
Read case file Foam removed and new insulation fittedFoam out, foil in: foam still filled the eaves, and the foil wasn't the one contracted
near Horsham · Recent inspection · Post-Removal & Insulation Check
Open-cell foam from 2022, later removed and replaced with multifoil. Solid foam was left in the eaves on both sides, the foil was not the product on the contract and hung from staples alone, and 6 of 11 timber readings reached 20% or more.
Read case file Claim, complaint or Section 75Section 75 claim open: the higher readings sat only at the gable where foam was missed
Stockton-on-Tees · Recent inspection · Claim / Installer Ceased Trading
Section 75 claim open, open-cell foam from 2023 over bituminous felt. Twelve timber readings, none at or above 20%; the four highest all sat at one gable, where foam had been missed and an extract duct ran through it. Full removal not indicated.
Read case file Claim, complaint or Section 75Foam already removed, Section 75 claim open: the evidence was still behind the felt
near Worcester · Recent inspection · Post-Removal Verification
Open-cell foam from 2022, since removed, with a Section 75 claim open. Cured foam on the tiles behind the felt showed the felt was holed there when sprayed. Timber read 11.6% to 16.4%; the foam had stopped short of the eaves.
Read case file Installer ceased tradingInstaller ceased trading: a 25 mm air gap was designed and sold, but not reliably built
Leeds · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Open-cell foam from 2024 on non-breathable felt; the installer has since ceased trading. It designed and sold a 25 mm ventilated gap behind the foam: at four visible points it measured 70, 32, 19 and 6 mm. The eaves were packed at fifteen points.
Read case file Installer ceased tradingInstaller ceased trading: one wet purlin band, every other reading 7.6–13.2%
St Helens · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Open-cell foam from 2024 on a breather membrane, installer since ceased trading. One stained purlin band read up to 53.6%; every other reading was 7.6–13.2%. Seven application defects, and the paperwork's calculations modelled a different build-up. Removal not found necessary.
Read case file Installer ceased tradingInstaller in liquidation, sale planned: all 23 timber readings elevated in midsummer
near Lancaster · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Open-cell foam from 2021 over a non-breathable membrane, with the eaves foamed shut. All 23 timber readings were elevated, 19.6% to 25.1%, in midsummer. The installer is in liquidation and the companies behind the product warranty no longer exist in their 2021 form.
Read case file Installer ceased tradingInstaller gone, eaves foamed shut: 6 of 20 readings at or above 20% in summer
near Preston · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Open-cell foam from 2022 on cardboard rafter sliders, installer since dissolved. Soffit vents outside, eaves sprayed solid inside: 6 of 20 timber readings at or above 20% in summer, highest 24.6%. Uncovered downlighters at over 130 °C came first.
Read case file Is there spray foam in my loft?No spray foam found, but rafter after rafter carried marks consistent with condensation
East Hampshire · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
No spray foam anywhere reachable in the main loft, nor any sign of removal. But more than a dozen rafters carried the same two-part water mark, the eaves were open in seven places and packed in four, and a plate at the eaves had rusted.
Read case file Worried about damp or condensationTenants saw winter damp marks: foam bonded to the tiles, and timber up to 19.6% in summer
Liverpool · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Closed-cell foam from 2017, bonded straight to the tiles with no membrane and no ventilation, above a let house with winter damp marks. Timbers read 13.6–19.6% in summer. If a sale or remortgage lies ahead, the report sees removal as the realistic long-term fix.
Read case file Worried about damp or condensationHoping to keep the foam: why vents at the top would not fix filled eaves
Rochdale · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Open-cell foam from 2022, mostly on a breathable membrane, with the eaves filled. Nothing required removal now, but the loft air held 2.3 g/kg more water than outside, and timber in the foamed zone averaged 5.3 points wetter than timber outside it.
Read case file Told to remove it, or holding a removal quoteQuoted for a new roof: the wettest timber sat round a chimney the bathroom fan vents into
Chester · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Foam bonded straight to the slates and eaves sealed. Twelve of twenty timber readings were at or above 20%; the six highest all sat round the chimney the bathroom extract fan is ducted into. The report gave no view on the roof quote.
Read case file Selling a house with spray foamPlanning to sell: area matched the paperwork, foam depth up to twice the stated 100 mm
near Coventry · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Open-cell foam from 2021 on felt. The area matched the paperwork; the depth did not: about 150–200 mm against 100 mm, with some rafters missed. All 12 timber readings were under 20%, the two highest at the ridge.
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