Buying hse with cavity wall insulation...

boqq_2

Just found out that the hse we're buying which is circa 13 yrs old, had cavity wall insulation fitted fours yrs ago. Have heard some horrible stories about it.... What does everyone think?:(

bclark

Sounds good, cavity wall insulation is a good thing unless they pumped toxic waste in there.

Johnandabby

If it's only 13 years old, I would be asking why cavity wall insulation wasn't installed when built... and what else wasn't done properly.

Do you know what kind of insulation was used? Is it an exposed site ie by the coast, top of a hill etc?

dimbo61

No problem
Our house was built in 2002 it did not have cavity wall insulation but we had it fitted for free about two years ago.
It does keep the place warmer for longer.
Many other houses on our estate having the same thing done.
There are hundreds of thousands of properties all over the country with cavity walls but no cavity insulation.
Many energy suppliers are now offering free cavity wall insulation.

Johnandabby

dimbo61 wrote: »

No problem
Our house was built in 2002 it did not have cavity wall insulation but we had it fitted for free about two years ago.
It does keep the place warmer for longer.
Many other houses on our estate having the same thing done.
There are hundreds of thousands of properties all over the country with cavity walls but no cavity insulation.
Many energy suppliers are now offering free cavity wall insulation.

I assume that your house was built with internal insulation already then? And that it was technically appropriate to install cavity wall insulation as well?

Any house built in the last 30 years would have had to have a minimum provision of insulation in external walls. The simplest way is generally cavity wall insulation - my initial concern would be that there was a good reason why this wasn't done in the 1st place, and would need to review it before saying it wasn't a problem.

ConfusedofYorkshire

Our house was builing in the 1940s and my solicitor has written to the vendor's solicitor asking about the cavity wall insualtion.

I never realised it might be a cause for concern until i saw the solicitor was querying it and this thread.

sounds like nothing to worry about though?

Johnandabby

ConfusedofYorkshire wrote: »

sounds like nothing to worry about though?

Not something you can assume without knowing more about it.

There are certain situations where cavity insulation is not a good idea. And certain products that are rubbish, and some installers that are cowboys....

And given that the property in the OP is 13 years old, questions need to be asked about the original insulation and whether retrofit insulation was appropriate.

boqq_2

To be honest I'd much rather they hadn't done it. If there is water ingress it might lead to problems. There is a 25 yr guarantee but doubt how much use it is... One of the walls is quite close to next door, the other three are a bit exposed but not close to a coast etc

bostonpicky

Modern insulation materials are now water repellent and do not allow the transfer of moisture from the outer to inner skin of your property.
A 13 year old property should have been partially insulated at build (didn't always happen) leaving a cavity of around 50mm. many home owners have have had a "top up" to fill this gap and make additional savings on their heating bills, in fact until quite recently a 100% grant was available for this.
You should make sure that you have the documentation for the 25 year guarantee. It will have been issued CIGA (Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency) and is totally independent of any insulation company.
The most likely materials used would have been bonded bead or blown fibre (you can check by going into your loft and looking down the cavity at the eaves) both of these materials are suitable for all areas of the UK.

dimbo61

We had the blown fibre installed, this does not fall out every time I drill a hole in the brickwork.
Had an extension built only 2 years ago.
Outside course of bricks then 4" of Insulation, concrete blockwork, then plasterboard inside. Current standards