Cavity Wall Insulation

JoanWitness · 26 September 2008 at 10:51AM

Two streets from where I live a Bungalow had Cavity wall insulation done and it was a Stone Bungalow,it was done in 2003.

They sold the house and the new owner in June 2008 noticed damp.
He had to have the insulation removed at a cost to himself of £3000 so what about that.

James123_2 · 26 September 2008 at 7:25PM

Hi ..
Firstly, had this done recently and it's made a huge difference. There are inevitably quick-fit sharks out there who are looking to make a few quid on the back of government subsidies. I went with BG and, or so I was told, the biggest supplier in the UK who were great. You can contact these direct anyway. (Don't know if I can refer to them here)
I'm not a builder, but I think that a lot of the problems can stem from unsound seals around window frames which can leak water into the cavity. As this is empty, the water merely evaportes in time. However, with the cavity full then this would not happen and, I guess, lead to potential water ingress. So, if your windows & walls are sound I'd certainly suggest you run with the cavity insulation option - but choose your contractor well. Many sub-contract! The other option is to go with polysterene beads which, I believe, don't have the same water retention qaulities of mineral wool. (Much more cash though & no subsidy!)
I think that there will be horror stories as CWI is such a huge industry - I guess the silent majority are happy.

melbury · 28 September 2008 at 10:58AM

I was thinking about having cavity wall insulation and a "surveyor" (well at least that is what he called himself!) came out and spent all of 5 mins measuring up and drilled a hole through to supposedly "check" the cavity.

His attitude was that he wanted me to sign up there and then. When I told him I just wanted to get an idea of the cost and also some further information on it, he basically said that if he had known I wouldn't sign up he wouldn't have bothered to come because he is far too busy to be wasting time in giving quotes:mad:

I was never happy about it from the beginning but OH thought it might be good. Having spoken to a local builder and researching this further on the internet I am now totally against it and would not have it done even it was free.

There are just so many cowboys cashing in on the grants and as for the 25 year guarantee, well when it all goes belly up and there are thousands of houses that need the stuff removed it will be interesting to see how that guarantee stands up.

Why risk damaging your most valuable asset just to save £150 a year - madness!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/...3/pjeff123.xml

jasmin10 · 18 October 2008 at 9:48AM

Thanks for that link Melbury, I have certainly made up my mind and will be persuading hubby to rethink.

Mazio_2 · 18 October 2008 at 10:28AM

I had half the house done last autumn as I did an extension a few years ago and put rock wool sheets (75mm I think) in and have had no problems as yet with either but remember as you seal the house up the condensation from inside has to go some were and my double glazed windows started to have more condensation but this has not caused me any problems.

FYI the company I used was Mark Insulation and I got them through the council scheme in my area Rutland and they used an off white material similar to rock wool.

In fact there were several places inside I use to get damp patches because when they built the house (1980's) they threw inside the cavity allot of mortar and debris which bridged the air gap and wicked the water through. I actually seem to get less now (but this was never a big problem any way).

I am glad I have had it done as it does seem to be making a difference in keeping the heat in but I cannot do a direct comparason as to exact costs as I never kept readings then (I do now).

Cavity Wall Insulation

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