Cavity wall insulation - new builds

moneysavingchump

As i said originally, this was not designed to be a debate about CVI. I am 100% certain that CVI is the issue. I accept that this is not a problem for everyone. Just as sometimes you will see some people wrapped up in massive thick coats and on the same day see someone in shorts and a t-shirt. Everyone has different tollerances for heat/cold, mine is for the cold and my body don't like the heat so i don't want a house i live in to be wearing a thick coat all year round.

Greymug

Sell the house?

molerat

CWI in new builds is completely different to the "aftermarket" variety.  Some of the latter have been linked with quality of life problems due to the chemicals in the liquid foam.  New builds are usually slabs of polystyrene or glass fibre either of which are highly unlikely to have any ill effects.

moneysavingchump

Greymug said:

Sell the house?

I am looking to move, that was the point of my question. Do i totally rule out newer properties  because it's too difficult to remove the CVI or can it be removed as easily as retrospectively added stuff.

AdrianC

Building Regs require a certain minimum heat-loss standard. You simply are not going to get that without wall insulation - whether in the cavity or on one side or the other.

If you had retrofit CWI installed, it's entirely possible there's some kind of reaction to the chemicals used in the installation. Retrofit is completely different to build-in.
Build-in tends to be big slabs of insulation, which clearly isn't viable during retrofit, which tends to use foam or granules.

And those sheet insulation products are used in a LOT of different ways...

moneysavingchump

molerat said:

CWI in new builds is completely different to the "aftermarket" variety.  Some of the latter have been linked with quality of life problems due to the chemicals in the liquid foam.  New builds are usually slabs of polystyrene or glass fibre either of which are highly unlikely to have any ill effects.

Used to live in a new build where i had the same problems. They went away when i moved out and then came back when CVI was installled in my current house (not my house so not my choice), which is why i am pretty much 100% certain CVI is the cause, guess im just not compatible with it.

weeg

You won't be able to buy a new build without it, as it's needed to comply with building standards. As for removing it? My guess would be total nightmare. You're talking 2.4mx1.2m rigid boards in a trad build, and board between studs in a timber kit, and maybe boards in cavity as well. So best scenario is taking most of the plasterboard off the inside of the timber frame. Worst case? I guess you could make lots and lots of holes in the outer leaf and try and cut it out? I wouldn't fancy it myself. And good luck on doing that without damaging the wall ties and having to retro-fit them too.

You do seem to have some sort of underlying medical condition that may be much easier to cure and less expensive than rendering a house basically unsellable.

moneysavingchump

AdrianC said:

Building Regs require a certain minimum heat-loss standard. You simply are not going to get that without wall insulation - whether in the cavity or on one side or the other.

If you had retrofit CWI installed, it's entirely possible there's some kind of reaction to the chemicals used in the installation. Retrofit is completely different to build-in.
Build-in tends to be big slabs of insulation, which clearly isn't viable during retrofit, which tends to use foam or granules.

And those sheet insulation products are used in a LOT of different ways...

Thanks. Yes that was my worry, that it would be too difficult to get out of new builds. Guess ill limit my searches to older properties. An idea how old i have to go back roughly to avoid the in-built stuff?

davidmcn

OP, I would suggest you figure out quite what the problem is - if it's "being in a warm house", surely that would be an issue no matter how it's become warm? If it's a particular material in CVI which you're sensitive to, then try to identify what that is, given there are a variety of insulation products used (and you might encounter them in places other than CVI).
And of course it might be something completely unrelated you're suffering from, in which case you'd want to get that diagnosed.

RelievedSheff

moneysavingchump said:

AdrianC said:

Building Regs require a certain minimum heat-loss standard. You simply are not going to get that without wall insulation - whether in the cavity or on one side or the other.

If you had retrofit CWI installed, it's entirely possible there's some kind of reaction to the chemicals used in the installation. Retrofit is completely different to build-in.
Build-in tends to be big slabs of insulation, which clearly isn't viable during retrofit, which tends to use foam or granules.

And those sheet insulation products are used in a LOT of different ways...

Thanks. Yes that was my worry, that it would be too difficult to get out of new builds. Guess ill limit my searches to older properties. An idea how old i have to go back roughly to avoid the in-built stuff?

Pre 1920's will generally rule out cavity wall insulation.