Cavity Wall insuation??

Tribulation

von wrote: »

Hi, I want to have cavity wall and possibly loft insulation installed but my OH says it isn't worth it. By that he means the house won't be any warmer hence the gas bills will still be the same. I need help to convince him that it would be beneficial. Has anyone had cavity wall/loft insulation intstalled within the last couple of years? If so, have they noticed that their house is warmer and has it reduced the bills? Also, how did they find a reputable installer?

I live in a 1930's mid terraced house.

Before I had cavity wall insulation, I used to have my wood burner lit constantly in the winter. I also had 2 storage heaters in the living room (all electric).

Since having cavity wall insulation (around 4 years ago) I've got rid of one of the storage heaters and it's never been cold enough to light the wood burner.

If ever it snows, go outside and look at various houses. The ones with a thick layer of snow on their roof have decent loft insulation. The ones with completely clear roofs have none. That shows you what a good job it does. (Edit, just read post no 8 )

missterial

Last year I was looking at solar energy but got talking to an architect or surveyor one night who said I would be better making sure the house was properly insulated. I already had some insulation boards in the cavity but was told to totally fill the gap with more insulation. I followed the advice and put more insulation in the walls and doubled up on the insulation in the roof space and it has made a very noticeable difference.

absolutebounder

how old is your house

[Deleted User]

I had a new boiler fitted and cavity walls done two years ago and my house is never cold I have a small electric fire in my sitting room and it hasn't been on at all through the winter .Its the best thing I can think of to save on bills I only wish I had got it done sooner

looby75

My house is a council house and about 5 years ago the council came and put in cavity wall insulation one day. We had no idea it had been done as we were out that day and they didn't give us any notification. The only clue was a few funny marks on the bricks, we have a kind of soft sandstone brick that's a funny colour and often looks patchy depending on the weather which is why it wasn't immediately obvious what had been done. It was done around October time, before we regularly had the heating on, but when our gas bill came in December we patted ourselves on the back because it was about £50 less than usual for that time of the year. Then again the march bill was also less, it was only after talking to a neighbour that the penny dropped that the funny marks on the walls were from cavity wall insulation and the lower gas bills were not because of anything we had done, but because the house stayed warmer for longer so the heating was on less

So yes I would say it made a big difference to us

27col

I cannot believe that anyone in this day and age can think that cavity and roof insulation is not a good thing. Your OH is right when he says that the house will not be any warmer, but it will be the same temperature as before, but with the expenditure of much less energy. My roof has at least 4" in it and I am about to double it in thickness. I should have done it years ago. It's not difficult to DIY. The cavity is a different problem, but Local Councils usually keep lists of accredited installers, I think.

absolutebounder

dont forget you need to get building regulations.
Comes under part a of approved docs i think

Idiophreak

27col wrote: »

Your OH is right when he says that the house will not be any warmer,

If you don't reduce the amount of heating you use, the house *will* be a lot warmer

Canucklehead

Good afternoon: My OH (plumbing/heating) is amazed by the number of properties he visits where the owners haven't had loft/cavity wall insulation but want to fork out for a new condensing boiler He gives his potential clients the number for the Kent Energy Centre and the EST website address, advises them to get the insulation sorted then think about a condensing boiler (pros and cons;)).

HTH

Canucklehead

WageSlave_3

I had my survey on Friday and am having granulated glass wool fibre injected into the cavities on Aug 27. The loft insulation will also be toped up by at least 275mm as the existing insulation is not as thick as it should be. From the matterial left with me;

"the fibre, treated with an inert water repellent" is blown in creating a quilt like effect around your home." Quite a good analogy to use on your OH!

"About a third of the heat lost in an un-insulated house is lost through the walls.... it could save you £90 a year on your fuel bill. Source: The Energy Saving Trust... it also lowers carbon emissions from your home by around 750kgs a year and improves the energy rating on an Energy Performance Certificate." I suspect the £90 a year figure is now out of date after recent price increases. Also, improving your Energy Performance Certificate can't be a bad thing when you come to sell assuming you are the home owner and leaving aside any debate on the value of HIP's.

"Insulation dramatically reduces heat loss through a wall, therefore you will be able to achieve the same temperature in your home by turning your thermostat down a little... and the house will retain its temperature for longer". This will also reduce the number of times your boiler fires up once the thermostat tells the system the temperature has dropped.

"A 25 year guarantee is issued called a CIGA (Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency").

The chap doing the survey, when asked about damp, said that he has seen cases where cavity wall insulation actually cured problems in some houses with damp. I am sceptical about that if anyone else wants to comment! I am, however, fairly happy it won't create such a problem (I have no damp issues currently).

The last thing he mentioned of interest to you is that he feels more should be done to tell people grants are available to get this type of work done. Find out who the agency is in your area and ask. I am getting mine done completely free as I house two elderly relatives, one of whom is mentally handicapped, and we rely on oil heating, not gas, which has gone up by over 100% in just over a year. My bill for a year was just over 2000 (try explain to someone with a mental handicap why you can't always have some heating on when its cold!). I am looking forward to seeing that amount reduce as a result but reading above I feel very reassured (thanks all above).