Hit by reality on the ground

I have suffered from the reality on the ground by the plasterers regarding insulation. I specified expensive sound screen R2.5 for all walls and ceilings. I knew the insulation would fit. However the plasterers could only get their hands on R3.o, so they got R3.0. Unfortunately it didn't fit and was causing the plaster board to bow. So they ended up splitting the insulation into 2. So I having paid for R2.5, I effectively get R1.5. It started off just a little bit here and there which I shrugged off as not that important and then it degenerated into most places. There was not much that I could do since the plaster had already been hung.

The moral of the story is do the insulation yourself. I know tradies "can" do a better job, but they are constrained by the need to perform the job efficiently and economically. Sadly the end result to a customer is all too often a worse outcome than doing it yourself.

Insulation is pretty much a exercise in trust. It is one of those things that you can not effectively tell whether a good job has been done or not.

What I am really annoyed with is that I allowed this to happen. The other thing is that I can't really justify getting it changed. This is because with the high ceilings, tree shading, very wide eaves, excellent ventilation, etc, etc I think we will have a very thermally comfortable house. It is very frustrating that I get home and my minds eye bends the whole issue into a huge injustice, but when I get the the work site, I realise it really will not make a significant difference. My wife and I have decided to use a product called thermilate which apparently will increase the R value by 50%.