Start With the Register, Because the Grant Depends On It
Only a contractor on the SEAI register can carry out grant-eligible work under the Better Energy Homes scheme. Using anyone else does not just risk the quality of the job, it removes the grant, which on external wall insulation is up to €8,000 of the price.
Registration is verifiable and worth verifying. Every contractor listed on this site is drawn from the official register, and the register itself is public, so a contractor found elsewhere can be checked against it in a minute.
Registration is a floor, not a recommendation. It confirms a contractor is entitled to do grant work; it does not tell you they will do it well. That is what the rest of this is for.
The Survey Tells You More Than the Quote Does
A contractor who quotes without seeing the house is guessing, and the number will change. What happens during the survey is the most reliable signal you will get about how the work will go.
For cavity wall, the survey should include a borescope check to confirm the cavity is clear, dry and wide enough to fill. For external wall, it should include how scaffolding will be set up, what happens to downpipes and sills, and how reveals will be detailed. For a converted attic, it should establish which of the four surfaces are being treated.
- They came to the house and spent real time on it
- They checked for existing damp and raised it if they found any
- They explained which material they are using, and why that one
- They raised ventilation without being asked
- They told you something you did not want to hear
The best signal is a contractor who says no
A contractor who tells you the cavity is bridged, or the render needs repairing first, or that this is not the right measure for your house, is a contractor doing the survey properly. The one who agrees with everything and quotes on the spot is the one to be careful of.
Comparing Three Quotes That Are Not the Same Job
Quotes for the same house routinely differ by thousands, and the reason is almost never that one contractor is greedy. It is that they have quoted different scopes, and the cheapest one has usually left something out.
Put them side by side on what is actually included rather than on the total. The gaps show up immediately.
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Material and thickness | Named specifically. "Insulation board" is not a specification |
| Target U-value | The finished performance the design is aiming at |
| Scope | Which walls, which elevations, which surfaces in a converted attic |
| Making good | Downpipes, sills, vents and fittings removed and re-fixed |
| Scaffolding | Included or extra, and who is responsible for access |
| Grant handling | Whether they manage the SEAI application for you |
| Timescale | A realistic programme, with weather allowance on wet trades |
| Guarantee | What is covered, for how long, and by whom |
The Things That Should Stop You Signing
None of these are subtle, and all of them turn up regularly. Any one on its own is a reason to take the other two quotes more seriously.
- A price given over the phone, without seeing the house
- Pressure to decide today, or a discount that expires
- A large deposit up front, well beyond materials
- Cash only, or a reluctance to put the quote in writing
- No mention of the SEAI register, or vagueness when you ask
- No survey of the cavity before quoting to fill it
- A quote that does not name the material or the thickness
Who Handles the Grant
There are two routes and they feel very different at the point of paying. Through a One Stop Shop the grant is taken off the price up front, so you pay the net figure. Applying yourself means paying the contractor in full and SEAI paying you once the work is signed off.
Neither is better in the abstract. The One Stop Shop route is simpler and helps if the full amount up front is a stretch; applying yourself keeps you free to use any registered contractor rather than the ones inside a particular scheme. What matters is knowing which route a quote assumes, because a quote that has already deducted the grant and one that has not are not comparable numbers.
