Cavity Wall Installation

BBC

Hi all
I just had a quote for cavity wall insulation. It's a scheme that is being run through local council and a company called Millfold. They are currently offering a price in my area for £239 for a 3 bed semi. They said that they will send someone round to survey and it should be done in about 3 weeks. The number is 0800512012

BBC

I also checked the enery saving trust website and they search by postcode and have different insulation fitters in various areas. Also have grants for those on benefits and possibly the elderly.

Worth a shot!

shitefourbrains

I'd advise everyone to get cavity wall insulation and loft insulation. We had ours done not so long ago and you definately notice the extra wamth.

My daughter's room was particularly cold during the night & we had the central heating timed to come on specifically to heat her room. Now we don't need to.

There are loads of grants available helping to reduce your outlay. If you qualify (low income & certain benefits) you can even get it done for free! Just like me!

pensioner_margaret

I live in a block of 4 council flats. When cavity wall insulation was done last summer the workman told me that the wall in the communal staircase could not be filled because it was a single brick wall with no cavity. The back door to the stairwell is wedged open by a neighbour in daylight hours to allow his cat to come and go. It is unheated. I needed to provide my own means of insulation of this wall from the inside. I contemplated polystyrene type wallpaper lining and even the more effective but more expensive wallpaper type linings used in building projects. Since I am old and arthritic the easiest and most cost effective way was to use a thermal paint additive. This way I could do a bit at a time gradually covering the wall. Two coats were recommended by the manufacturer so it took quite some effort. The paint additive is like white icing sugar and thickens the paint making it harder to apply. The powder is microscopic ceramic spheres containing a vaccuum. It works by providing a vaccuum type barrier to prevent heat from being absorbed by the wall and so it does not get conducted to the outside stairwell. When the wall was part done I could tell it was working because by placing the palm of my hand on the painted section it was no longer cold - ie -it was not taking the heat from my hand. It trebled the cost of the paint but it is permenant and will work when I repaint the wall again.
PS-Being newbie I wasnt sure whether I could show a brand name in this post. Other posts seem to have so - it is Thermilate

gromituk

No problem with brand names so long as you're not the purveyor of them!

I'm a bit dubious about these miracle products which aim to provide a superb level of insulation in zero space. If they are so great, why are people still using mineral wool, isocyanurate foam, etc? I'm sure they can help in reducing condensation but you don't need much insulation to do that.

Far more effective would be complaining to the council about your neighbour's behaviour (which I'm sure you can do confidentially). As well as being a waste of energy it's a security risk. Are cats even allowed? He can get a litter tray or shut his cat out when he's not there.

gromituk

Further to this, I can find nothing on the Thermilate site about how thick the walls of these spheres are. If most of the surface area is sphere wall rather than vacuum, the vacuum is not going to do much good.

Additionally, vacuum on its own is not sufficient to insulate, because heat still crosses it by radiation - that's how the sun's heat gets to us. You need to silver the surfaces, just as what really happens with a vacuum flask. Comparing these things to vacuum flasks is misleading.

There's a lot of pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo on that site - always something which arouses suspicion.

pagan705

I have been looking at cavity wall insulation but I was wondering if someone could give me an idea of the cost of a 2 bedroom bungalow?

I know we wouldn't get free installation just the standard grant but it would be great to have a rough idea of the costs involved before we go getting a survey done.

Thanks :beer:

tryingtobegood

briansx wrote:

Does anybody know of any Power Suppliers currently offering free cavity wall installation for the over sixties?

My mum had a leaflet from Scottish Power who seem to be doing it free if you're on certain benefits...the only one's I can remember are pension credit and disability living allowance. Maybe their website would have more details.
HTH

pensioner_margaret

gromituk wrote:

Further to this, I can find nothing on the Thermilate site about how thick the walls of these spheres are. If most of the surface area is sphere wall rather than vacuum, the vacuum is not going to do much good.

Additionally, vacuum on its own is not sufficient to insulate, because heat still crosses it by radiation - that's how the sun's heat gets to us. You need to silver the surfaces, just as what really happens with a vacuum flask. Comparing these things to vacuum flasks is misleading.

There's a lot of pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo on that site - always something which arouses suspicion.

You do seem to have more tech knowledge than I have. All I can say is that I can feel the difference. It does give walls the same texture as sandpaper -so some people wouldnt like that. I think that building products are definately better. I just did what I could within my budget and my capabilities. Any improvement is better than none.

gromituk

I'm sure it helps - but I'm just not sure how much!