Couple are forced to catch rainwater in a wheelie bin after their roof leaked ‘following solar panel installation’
A couple have been forced to collect rainwater in a wheelie bin after their roof began leaking following a ‘solar panel installation’.
Lauren MacLennan, 28, and Fraser Tracey, 26, from Port Glasgow, had signed up to a government-backed home energy improvement scheme, which involved replacing insulation, re-rendering the building and installing solar panels.
But they argue that after the solar panel installation, carried out by energy improvement firm Everwarm, they were left with a major leak in their bedroom.
The company meanwhile say they are ‘confident’ they were not at fault and are working on a resolution.
The couple, who moved into their dream home in 2021 after saving up for years, have now spent £100 on bins, buckets and tarpaulins to contain the leak.
‘It’s just a nightmare,’ Ms MacLennan said.
A couple have been forced to collect rainwater in a wheelie bin after their roof began leaking following a ‘solar panel installation’
Lauren MacLennan, 28, and Fraser Tracey, 26, with their home in Port Glasgow , signed up to a government-backed home energy improvement scheme, which involved installing solar panels
The couples home can be seen covered with bins and tarpaulin to protect from the leak
‘We’ve saved up for years to buy our own house and we don’t have the money to get a brand new roof.
‘We’ve been waiting at least two months and they promised us that they’d fixed the issues.’
Mr Tracey added: ‘They did it in the middle of summer, so we’re not going to notice that there are any issues until we get heavy rain.
‘The damage is under the panels, from what I can tell, where it’s leaking in.
‘We are under no illusion that it isn’t an old roof, but it wasn’t leaking before they carried out work on it, or at least not to the extent where it was pouring through the roof. It was never like that.
‘We would have got the roof seen to but with the way everything is at the moment we can’t spend that money.
‘If they said to us ‘sorry, we can’t put them [the solar panels] up, the roof isn’t fit for purpose’, we would’ve been fine with that.’
The couple have since been living with the bedroom leak, and dealing with it by catching water in a wheelie bin and laying tarpaulin to try and prevent damage.
The bins and containers can be spread across the floor in their home
A huge indentation in the ceiling shows the leak has damaged the structure of the property
Ms MacLennan, who works as a home carer, said: ‘We’re gutted by it. I’ve been greeting, stressed out, missing days of work.
‘We’ve spent over £100 on a tarpaulin to cover the panels, rope, buckets, trying to sort this ourselves.’
A spokesperson for Everwarm said that the company is ‘aware of the issues’ with the Port Glasgow property and is ‘confident’ that they are not the result of their improvement work.
Everwarm said in a statement: ‘We are fully committed to providing excellent customer service and have been working with the customer to agree a solution.
‘We will continue those discussions with the homeowner to ensure the matter is resolved to their satisfaction.’
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