Spray foam and lenders
The certificate in the drawer is for a board insulation, and the loft has spray foam. Why is that certificate about a product that is not there?
Not the product in the loft. The certificate in the drawer is about board insulation, and the loft has spray foam, so the certificate describes a product that is not there. A certificate follows the system it names. Boards fixed between joists, or on a slope, are not sprayed foam. The paper does not become evidence for the foam because both products are called insulation. Show the surveyor the foam that is there, and keep the board certificate for a job it might once have described. Do not staple it to the foam as if it approved the spray.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Installers and sellers often keep a folder of energy improvements. The folder can mix products from different years. Read the product name on the certificate before you rely on it. If it says boards, it is silent on the spray you can see. It does not prove who sprayed the foam, what type it is, or that the installation was suitable. RICS tells buyers to look at the paperwork they actually have for the foam, not at a neighbouring document that happens to mention warmth.
Using the wrong certificate misleads a lender and misleads you. The foam still hides the rafters, whatever the board certificate claims for a different build-up. If there is no certificate for the spray, say that. Do not fill the gap with the board paperwork. Ask the seller for documents that name the foam. Until those appear, the honest pack is: boards are certified somewhere on paper, and spray foam is what the loft contains. Those are not the same product.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What product name is printed on the certificate you were shown?
- Is that product the foam now visible in the loft?
- Which paperwork, if any, actually names the spray?
What are the typical next steps?
- Separate the board certificate from the spray foam.
- Do not send the board paper as approval of the foam.
- Ask the seller for documents that name the product in the loft.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If both products insulate, does one certificate cover both?
No. The certificate is about the boards it names. Spray foam is a different product, and that paper is not about it.
Does a missing foam certificate mean the boards were never installed?
Not by itself. It means you must not use the board certificate to describe the foam that is there now, because the paper names a different product.