cavity wall insulation

Forgetful

Hi i am getting cavity wall insulation put in tomorrow.
Can anyone give me some advise on what I need to beaware of.. if any??
Any experiences appreciated so that I know what to look out for!!!
Thanks

mattogier

Make sure it goes into the cavity of your walls!

I assume you are using a reputable company that has been recommended to you - if so you should be fine. Just make sure that you see evidence that the "filler" has properly filled the walls - it may be worth asking the installer (over the first obligatory cup of tea with 18 sugars) how full filling is achieved, what centres they will be injecting it etc after spending this evening goggling as much as you can!

Cheers

Matt

cattie

Your home will be warmer that's for sure. If there are any air vents in exterior walls they usually block these up with silicone. Because of the combined effect of a warmer house & less ventilation you may experience condensation on the occupied bedroom windows.

So unless you have trickle vents in your windows it's advisable to leave windows of occupied bedrooms slightly open, or get someone to drill a couple of holes through the silicone in the airvents to improve ventilation.

It's quite a noisy operation when they are doing the insulation & can be a bit dusty, but well worth the few hours of inconvenience.

libra10

We had it done earlier this week and are really pleased. Definitely fewer draughts and gas fire not needed to be on so much. The workmen did the work very quickly, within two hours and tidied up afterwards. The charge with council grant, is around £185. Although, I believe, if you are on benefits it can work out free.

I had heard that wall insulation can cause condensation but haven't noticed anything.

So far - definitely recommended!

juleeee

We had our detached house done in March. We don't have double glazing as we have lovely Crittall windows, and we sleep with the top window open. Our airvents in the upstairs rooms were not filled in. I can only say that we still have our summer duvet on in November and I still get a bit too hot. Plus I had to call Powergen to renegotiate monthly payments as we are so much in credit.

Check that all the drill holes have been filled in before the workmen leave. Make the mens lots of tea and show them where loo is.... they are only human.

djohn2002uk

cattie wrote: »

If there are any air vents in exterior walls they usually block these up with silicone.

When ours was done, they pushed plastic tubes through the vents from outside to inside to keep them clear. I would have thought it extremely bad practice to block them up. Could cause all sorts of problems for the future.

Forgetful

Thank you
I have had it done today
very quick...took about 2 hors
duno if its any warmer yet but will know later on..
cheers

red40

If you have any gas appliances that require the use of an air vent make sure these are kept clear. The amount of times I come across air vents blocked with insulation for open flued appliances is unbelievable, pretty much the same with conservatories.

Toki

I just got a quote from Miller Pattison via my energy provider Powergen. I got quoted £210 for my house. My Dad was round at the same time and asked the surveyor if he had time to nip down to his (only 2 miles away) and his house was only going to be £199 and his house is slightly bigger. The surveyor said this is because my Dad went direct to them not via Powergen so it may be worthwhile trying companies direct first of all if your not on any benefits.

M.E.

We installed double glazed windows, which were narrower than the original sash. We noticed the cavity insulation, polystyrene beads, had settled below the sills upstairs.
Has anyone topped up the cavity with polystyrene beads, DIY?
We had a quote of £500 to top up through a company. BUT short of money we want to DIY. Calculated we need two bath tubs of beads to top up the shortfall (about £24).
Just wondered if anyone else had come across the problem.

5stey

I'm glad i've found this site, thinking of having cavity insulation done. I was advised to stick to the polystyrene beads.