A grandmother from West London says she feels 'trapped' in her own home after paying rogue builders more than £13,000 to remove spray foam insulation, only to be left with a leaking roof, a £20,000 repair bill, and no certification to prove the work was done.
Patricia Salt, 76, from Brentford, had spray foam insulation installed in her 1980s end-terrace three-bedroom property in 2006 alongside her late husband, John, to improve energy efficiency. The insulation worked perfectly for nearly two decades, but after her husband's death, Patricia received a cold call from a firm claiming the insulation could cause serious damage.
She paid £7,770 for its removal using a bank loan, but later discovered most of the foam had not been taken out. She then paid another £5,760 for proper removal, but still lacks the necessary certification to prove the work was completed.
Unable to sell or release equity
Patricia, who lives with her 16-year-old grandson Liam, cannot release equity from her home or sell it due to the missing certificate. Additionally, a tenancy in common arrangement in her late husband's will complicates the sale.
She said: 'I used to have black hair before this, now I'm grey. I feel trapped in my own home, I'm just completely stuck.'
The spray foam insulation was originally installed in July 2006 for £4,050 after Patricia saw it featured on television. The foam, a chemical product that expands to 30-60 times its liquid volume, filled gaps and hard-to-reach spaces, keeping heat in during winter.
In 2023, John passed away at age 79 after a stroke, and Patricia underwent a hip replacement the following year, which she found 'very stressful'.
Cold call and subsequent work
In June 2025, Patricia received a cold call from a housing company claiming to be government-backed. The caller advised an inspection, and a surveyor recommended by the caller said the insulation was 'rock solid' and preventing ventilation, risking rot and roof collapse.
Builders recommended by the surveyor quoted £7,770 to remove the spray foam and replace it with foil quilt insulation. Patricia took out a bank loan to pay for the work.
She said: 'They were very quiet, they hardly said a word. They went up to the loft, made a lot of noise, and quickly said it was done.' Because of her hip, she could not climb the ladder to inspect the work.
In January 2026, another supposed government agency called, claiming no certificate had been issued. A second surveyor found that almost all the foam was still there, apart from a tiny portion removed alongside the rafters.
Patricia was 'very, very cross' and discovered the builders had changed their company name several times and did not respond to her calls.
Further damage and repair costs
Another roofing company successfully removed the remaining spray foam for £5,760 in February 2026, but Patricia is still waiting for a certificate. During the removal, cracked roof tiles were identified, causing leaks that have damaged the attic and a small area of Liam's bedroom.
A full roof replacement has been quoted at £20,000. Patricia said: 'I loved the house – we moved in 1999, we loved the area, but the headache of all these things that have been going wrong have blighted my view of the house considerably.'
She has set up a fundraiser to raise the money for a new roof and is seeking legal advice to resolve the tenancy issue. She added: 'I'm tearing my hair out over it, I just feel so stuck.'
