We were informed by the previous tenants of our house that air conditioning would be unnecessary because we had just bought ourselves a “cool” house. We didn’t entirely know how “cool” they meant, and many scorching days sitting on the couch in summer made us question how reliable their word was!
Anyway, come winter, and all of a sudden, “cool” is an understatement. Our house was freezing! Consequently, we headed up into the ceiling to check out what insulation we had, if any. I was none too impressed to find polystyrene blocks wedged between about half of the joists – polystyrene is a great insulator, so why was the house so cold? Also, it’s ridiculously flammable, so should we have been unlucky enough to have a fire in the house, the entire roof would have gone up almost instantly.
Anyway, removing the polystyrene, cleaning the ceiling, and installing some proper insulation sounded like a job that I didn’t want to do, so we called in the experts. We got a quote from one mob who sent out a salesperson (who also turned out to be the business owner). He was rude, pushy, and his quote price came back well over our original budget. However, from what little research we had done, they seemed like one of the only insulation installers still operating after the whole government rebate debacle, so it didn’t look like we had much choice.
But, it pays to shop around! We did some research to see if there was any other companies that could do part of the job -removing the existing insulation and the roof vacuuming – for a cheaper price. Happily, we found one! And, after a few minutes on the phone to their sales team, we also found out they could supply and install the new insulation, too – and again, for a much better price. Best of all, their installer called me back a few hours later to discuss our needs – and he was as nice as pie! Finally, the icing on the cake – could you ask for a more Australian named business, than this?
I have nothing but praise for Peter the Possum Man’s team – they were fantastic from go to woe. And, I can very happily report that the new insulation (Tontine polyester batts, in case you’re curious) has made a world of difference! Our house isn’t exactly a tropical paradise or anything, but it’s a much more comfortable, consistent temperature. I can’t wait to see how much difference it will make in summer!
. But I’m wondering why you still need a scanner? I have downloaded a great scanner app for my phone so I just take...
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And I thought I was only slightly unfamiliar with Australian customs. Would this be one guy or two? Can one man handle both Possum (used to be “opossum” in the states, but with our debt crisis we can’t afford the “o” anymore) and Birds or are these two specialized gentlemen — i.e. one called Possum and one called Bird Man (nicknames, I hope)? Were you able to meet Rat Boy and Bee Girl or were they out on calls? And what of Turkeys? Are they a pest? All I can think of is our Thanksgiving. It is comforting however that Batman has found work in between movies.
[...] identified a few parts that could be better. We’ve already installed a kitchen, fans, and insulation, but by the end of the year, we had also engaged a draftsman to help us work through some of our [...]