Q. I am writing to you regarding an insurance policy for my apartment, which I purchased in 1998. As I had had a heart attack when I was 16 no life policy was available to me. My broker and insurance company came up with a serious illness/mortgage life policy with Irish Nationwide to enable me to get a loan. The first six years the policy cost £340 pounds a month. This reduced as the loan amount reduced. The policy was to last 20 years and should end in 2018.

In May I noticed no payment had left my bank for this policy. I checked with Zurich and they said the policy was paid and finished. I contacted my broker and he said this was not possible, as the loan would not have issued if the policy did not cover the full 20 years.

So at this moment I am in breach of contract with the bank. Another policy is not possible as my consultant has advised me that I have maybe six months to live. I just don't want to leave a lot of problems for my daughter to sort out.

I am looking to see what route I can take. My broker says that there was no error at his end and that the bank would never have given the loan without a policy. Your advice would be helpful.

A. This is indeed a most difficult position to be in, and I am truly sorry for your situation. This is obviously not a property-related query as such, but I do have some experience of the mortgage market. On the face of it, your broker should be correct – a bank should issue a loan cheque only when it is satisfied that the amount and term of the life policy match that of the mortgage. Whatever about what should have happened, based on the above, it appears that Irish Nationwide issued the loan cheque with a shortfall occurring in the life policy term. The company that issues the life policy merely writes a policy based on the information supplied to it, and it is not necessarily concerned with what should have been the term, unless of course the term of the policy was incorrectly issued.

For starters you need to gather up all the documentation you have in relation to the mortgage and life policy. There is a chance that everything might be in order as sometimes a life policy can be paid early, even though there is a small term remaining on that policy. Secondly you need to contact the owner of the loan. Irish Nationwide was absorbed into Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited (in special liquidation) which sold most of the residential loan book to Bank of Ireland and Mars Capital, and it is to the new owner of the loan you owe the money to. You should be in receipt of annual mortgage statements from the owner of the loan, and you should have been written to when the ownership of the loan changed.

Essentially you need to see if the loan cheque was correctly or incorrectly issued, and it is only when you’ve properly established this that you will know if you’re in breach of the conditions of the loan. If the loan was incorrectly issued, the bank needs to answer why this was done and if anything can be done about it. If you cannot reach satisfaction from the bank, you can appeal to the Financial Services Ombudsman Bureau once you’ve exhausted the internal complaints process of the relevant financial institution.

It might be useful to phone the institution first to ascertain to whom the complaint should be addressed. Please ensure that all communication with the bank is in writing and keep copies of all documentation. Perhaps you should seek to enlist the assistance of an advocate on your behalf, as these kinds of situations often require a good deal of stamina and persistence.

Edward Carey, chartered residential agency surveyor and member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, scsi.ie

Foam insulation

Q. Can you please advise on the difference between "closed" cell and "open" cell spray foam?

My house was built in 1939 and the mortar on the inside of the roof slates has started to fall off into the attic. The roof is in good condition and I have no leaks, so I am considering having the attic roof sprayed with insulation foam as I understand that, besides the energy-saving benefits, it also helps to keep the slates secure.

I have had quotes from two companies to spray the back of the slates, one with 50mm of closed-cell foam, the other with 125mm of open-cell foam. The closed-cell foam quote is about 40 per cent more expensive.

I would appreciate advice on which type of foam would be best for the job. A few of my neighbours had the closed cell foam installed some years ago and are very pleased with the result.

A. Basically closed-cell spray foams stop air and moisture and open- cell spray foams stop air but are moisture permeable. Closed-cell foam is more expensive but provides a much higher thermal resistance. Open cell therefore requires a thicker layer to be installed to match the same thermal resistance. If the timber rafters are deep enough then the thicker open-cell spray foam application may end up costing less. However, from a technical point of view, there are a number of factors to be considered, rather than a straightforward choice between closed- and open-cell spray foams.

Regulations recommend an air gap of 50mm between the insulation and slating on the slope of the roof. This facilitates air circulation and dissipates condensation that can occur. Some manufacturers of spray foam products provide a preformed spacer to maintain an air gap, while others claim their systems are breathable and no gap is necessary. But such systems have yet to be tried and tested over a sufficient period, to evaluate the performance in use.

The mortar you refer to falling off was known as parging, which was a lime-based mortar. It was installed to prevent driving rain from being blown in between gaps around the slates. It was applied between the slating battens and allowed inspection of slate fixings. This made maintenance relatively easy when replacing slipped or broken slates. Modern spray-foam systems are applied over the battens and the fixings are concealed. This can cause difficulty replacing slates on an old roof and can disturb the installed foam system. The foams are applied primarily for insulation and should not be considered to secure slates.

For maintenance purposes, you could revert to traditional construction with lime-based mortar between the slating battens. This will not, however, provide any thermal benefits. For thermal reasons there are other methods, such as rigid insulation foams with foil facing between the rafters with an air gap. This will make future maintenance easier to slate and battens and rule out potential damage from condensation. Before you make any decision, I would seek advice from your local chartered building surveyor. They will guide you through the pros and cons of the various methods including future maintenance and slate-replacement considerations.. They will also consider the entire roof assembly to ensure that the chosen system can accept, release and/or dissipate moisture and avoid potential degradation of the structure.

James Drew is a chartered building surveyor and member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, scsi.ie