Cavity Wall Insulation - Damp/Damage Claims

Furts

prenton01 wrote: »

Apparently the reason for the mold and the claims is as follows

To many companies were jumping on the bandwagon and carrying this out then claiming the costs from the Govt as there was unlimited money to be had they were not carrying out the job to high standards.
When they put the insulation into the holes drilled into the outside wall they were just putting a small amount on insulation into the gaps and not the full amount so that they could get the job done quicker and get more houses completed meaning more money of the govt.
Therefore because of this the spaces left within the walls were a magnet for damp which after a few years comes through to the inside of your house.

This is what i was told.

The magnet for damp is a strange reasoning. Plus the explanation does not sound specific to your home. So I hope you have something more detailed and more scientific than this. But also consider the correct approach with your situation. You should have a CIGA 25 year guarantee. Therefore it is CIGA who should be dealing with this. Have you approached them. If so, what did they say?

prenton01

Furts wrote: »

The magnet for damp is a strange reasoning. Plus the explanation does not sound specific to your home. So I hope you have something more detailed and more scientific than this. But also consider the correct approach with your situation. You should have a CIGA 25 year guarantee. Therefore it is CIGA who should be dealing with this. Have you approached them. If so, what did they say?

I couldn't remember exactly but it was along those lines, i will ask him again the reason why and post word for word

vw100

It looks like the cavity insulation is bridging the coldness/wet from the exterior (cold) wall and into touch with the interior warm/dry wall causing dampness. As some people as said the gap was necessary to be maintained as is. Not so bad to extract if it the bead type of insulation but the liquid expanding foam type would be somewhat difficult and costly.

prenton01

vw100 wrote: »

It looks like the cavity insulation is bridging the coldness/wet from the exterior (cold) wall and into touch with the interior warm/dry wall causing dampness. As some people as said the gap was necessary to be maintained as is. Not so bad to extract if it the bead type of insulation but the liquid expanding foam type would be somewhat difficult and costly.

That's it i just asked him he said

It's the insulation that was fitted causes a bridge between the cavity and rain etc comes through porous bricks to plasterwork. Air is not allowed to circulate as it should.

My original post was wrong

xkevinpatrick66x

Hi all.
I am new to this forum and i hope you can help me.
Just over four years ago I had our house cavity wall insulated. I am disabled and I had it done through a Government scheme free of charge which was very much appreciated as i don't have much income. Now though, since i,ve had it done, i,ve noticed damp patches in various parts of my house and developed asthma in the last couple of years.
The paper has started coming away from the wall in places and behind it there are cracks in the plaster with mould on it. There is mould in the cupboards upstairs which we keep painting over. And there is what looks like water marks running from the ceiling from condensation down the wallpaper. There is also a musty smell in the downstairs living room now and again which seems to be coming from below the floorboards. I only noticed today a leather bag which had been behind the couch for a while had mould on
it. I have a dehumidifier on 24/7 and we empty about a litre of water from it per day.
It is a private house which we moved into about 7 years ago and there was no dampness then in the home report.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Furts

For a technical analysis somebody would need to see your home. In general how old is your home? If it was a drafty house, or porous, your moisture may have been there before, but it vented away through your walls and cavity . Now you have CWI it could be trapped within your home. Here it depends what material was injected - I am not a fan of fibres, but thermobeads seem better.

CIGA put a 25 year guarantee on CWI. Check you have this in place, then contact them for an inspection. This was FOC last time I got them out, albeit a few years back. Do not expect an easy, or quick response. Nor a great degree of professionalism. But it is your best bet.

mhayes77

Furts wrote: »

The magnet for damp is a strange reasoning. Plus the explanation does not sound specific to your home. So I hope you have something more detailed and more scientific than this. But also consider the correct approach with your situation. You should have a CIGA 25 year guarantee. Therefore it is CIGA who should be dealing with this. Have you approached them If so, what did they say?

There were many installs to homes that weren't suitable, in areas that have driving rain issues etc. I've even heard of cases that where there wasn't even any insulation put in at all but the job was charged for. Massive scandal.

I've also read horror stories about CIGA blaming homeowners for "not maintaining" their properties which seems like a copout to me.

Has anyone had success in getting paid out on the guarantee?

simon_r

Hi,

Just wondering what success (or otherwise) others have had claiming off the CIGA guarantee?

We had CWI fitted 10 years ago and have suffered increasing levels of damp over the last 2-3 years. Our home is in an exposed hilltop position, and it is the south-facing wall which is the main problem. A damp-proofer came out to inspect a few months ago and told us he thought the CWI was the problem.

The company who fitted it have twice gone into liquidation and been resurrected under nearly the same name, so if we were to claim it would be to the CIGA.

I don't want to go down the route of a claims company as they sound like the PPI/late flights sharks and not to be encouraged. However I'm concerned about some of the comments about the CIGA fobbing off and stretching out any claims (particularly as we had the loft converted a few years ago which they might say affected the installation).

If it's going to be a waste of time claiming from CIGA I'd probably prefer to just pay to have it removed. So, has anyone been successful and if so how long did it take?

Furts

CIGA do arrange work and they do pay out. I know of a case where the consumer sorted out repairs and CIGA reimbursed. This may be strange but the consumer took the initiative and said "CIGA cough up".

Go ahead and contact them - you have nothing to loose. But bear in mind simple points. CIGA are under staffed and also a trade organisation representing those trade members. Their attitude seems to be countless consumers have been foolish over CWI, and are victims of their own misfortune.

prenton01

Update on my claim

Surveyor came round and put a Biroscope ?? into s a few holes he drilled to have a look.

The first hole was full of insulation on his camera so nothing wrong there

The 2nd hole where the damp was had massive holes of empty spaces where there should have been insulation

So all looking good towards a claim