Cavity wall claims

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  • System
    System Posts: 178,077
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    Chanes wrote: »
    I see. Couldn't you let it dry out after removal and have it insulated to the exterior as they do with solid walls? That is if you want to insulate again.

    There's very little point in insulating externally in a cavity wall construction. If I wanted to insulate again it would be some kind of strapping and lining internally but I don't have the money to do that at the moment
  • teneighty
    teneighty Posts: 1,347 Forumite
    Spies wrote: »
    Last winter, due to the excess rain I had some quite major issues with penetrating rain getting across the cavity on to the internal wall.

    This made the paint bubble in a few places but one patch was so bad, that the plaster has fallen off.

    I haven't done any remedial work yet because I basically cannot afford to.

    My house was built in 1996 by Russel Armer, I purchased it in 2013 without the knowledge that there has been any previous damp issues, but looking at the estate agent photos now, I can see a slightly dark area on the wall where the problems have occurred.

    Today I received a leaflet through the door from mycavityclaim.com, obviously this was of interest to me because the builders that I got quotes from said that the wall with the problems, shouldn't have had cavity wall insulation put it because its a weather facing wall. I had no idea there was anything in place to be able to claim for incorrectly fit cavity insulation.

    Has anyone had any dealings with the above company or could you recommend an alternative that you have?

    The fact that this is a relatively modern house apparently with blown mineral fibre insulation installed at the time of construction suggests that this is not a run of the mill case.

    At that time the construction would have been subject to the Building Regulations and should have taken into account the full fill insulation to prevent damp penetration through the cavity walls. The company you mention seems to be based in Cumbria so potentially the property is in an exposed location where full fill cavity wall insulation can be problematic. If that is the case the wall construction may well have been designed to offer additional protection. You say the construction is blockwork to inner and outer skins of the cavity wall...what is the external finish? Render, cladding etc.

    Could the dampness be caused by a localised defect such as leaking gutter soaking a section of the external wall or a defective cavity tray? There are numerous potential causes and removing the insulation could be unnecessary.

    It might be worth paying for an independent surveyor to inspect the property rather than relying on builders who may be trying to pad out the job and certainly avoid the dubious claims companies.

    Photos often help the forum give more specific advice.
  • Spies
    Spies Posts: 2,020
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    I forgot about this post, I've started having issues once again with penetrating damp, the wall is wet to the touch, I never bothered getting it fixed from last time because I (rightly) thought the new window wouldn't completely fix the problem.

    It's an eyesore and makes me sad everytime I have to move the chair out to get pictures. So here they are, the pink wall which proceeds the white wall is the other side of the areas that have been damp.

    https://1drv.ms/f/s!Am1UKWI5JcFFphm1IVgbhKsgNFNK
    4.29kWp Solar system, 45/55 South/West split in cloudy rainy Cumbria. 
  • teneighty
    teneighty Posts: 1,347 Forumite
    My guess would be it is something to do with the window opening. Either water spilling off the end of the cavity tray/lintel and soaking the insulation and wall down the window reveal or possibly water tracking across the end of the window cill.

    Borescope inspection of those areas probably the simplest, otherwise opening up the cavity which will be far more disruptive.

    By the way, that is an unusual looking house for 1996.
  • Spies
    Spies Posts: 2,020
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    edited 12 September 2017 at 3:40PM
    teneighty wrote: »
    My guess would be it is something to do with the window opening. Either water spilling off the end of the cavity tray/lintel and soaking the insulation and wall down the window reveal or possibly water tracking across the end of the window cill.

    Borescope inspection of those areas probably the simplest, otherwise opening up the cavity which will be far more disruptive.

    By the way, that is an unusual looking house for 1996.

    It's classed as a mews style house.

    I'm going to try and get a borescope inspection done but the first company I called (whom are apparently the leading specialists in damp proofing) don't do it.

    Managed to find a company that can come and do a borescape and thermal image tomorrow.
    4.29kWp Solar system, 45/55 South/West split in cloudy rainy Cumbria. 
  • teneighty
    teneighty Posts: 1,347 Forumite
    Are yes thermal imaging, I forgot about that. It is proving very useful in identifying hidden paths of damp penetration.

    Hopefully when the cost of thermal imaging cameras comes down it will become a standard bit of kit in every surveyor's tool bag.
  • Spies
    Spies Posts: 2,020
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    edited 13 September 2017 at 2:38PM
    Cavity extraction people came round today, used the thermal imaging camera and found cold spots all over that wall where the insulation has got damp and slumped.

    Drilled into the wall and found white instafibre, this was showing a moisture content of 25-40%, measured the cavity which was deemed to be too narrow so that should never have been used, where the stone coins are around the window, the cavity is even narrower, in addition to this, it should never have been used in a wall which gets as much wind driven rain as we do in this area (4/4 on the wind driven index).

    2 things have caused the insulation to get wet, one is condensation and 2 is the crazing in the outside render where rain water is getting to the block using capillary action.

    Basically, it all has to come out, but I'm going to pursue the house builders, too many mistakes were made when it was originally installed.
    4.29kWp Solar system, 45/55 South/West split in cloudy rainy Cumbria. 
  • Furts
    Furts Posts: 4,474 Forumite
    Spies wrote: »

    2 things have caused the insulation to get wet, one is condensation and 2 is the crazing in the outside render where rain water is getting to the block using capillary action.

    Basically, it all has to come out, but I'm going to pursue the house builders, too many mistakes were made when it was originally installed.

    Ponder carefully before following this route. The original warranty expired long ago, and you have a 21 year old home. The defects should have been sorted by the previous owners years back, and you purchased on caveat emptor. So you have to pick up a responsibility here. You purchased in the knowledge that the render was in a poor state - it does not deteriorate magically in the couple of years since you purchased.

    The render will have cracking, because endless modern render on new builds is like this. This raises the concept of maintenance. The previous owners, and subsequently you, have a duty of care to yourself to coat the render and deal with the cracks. It appears you and they have failed here so expect a vigorous defence from the original builder. Basically I doubt you have a leg to stand on by going after the builder.
  • Spies
    Spies Posts: 2,020
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    The fact is that it was retrofitted, the house builder conveniently doesn't know who the contractor is they hired, the CIGA guarantee should still apply (25 years) but again they're not being very helpful. If the house builder didn't use a registered installer that's a whole new can of worms.
    4.29kWp Solar system, 45/55 South/West split in cloudy rainy Cumbria. 
  • Furts
    Furts Posts: 4,474 Forumite
    edited 13 September 2017 at 9:06PM
    Spies wrote: »
    The fact is that it was retrofitted, the house builder conveniently doesn't know who the contractor is they hired, the CIGA guarantee should still apply (25 years) but again they're not being very helpful. If the house builder didn't use a registered installer that's a whole new can of worms.

    If it was retro fitted then I fail to see how you can go after the house builder.

    You will gather I am suggesting caution and ponder carefully on your actions. Also consider this. At the time your home was being built I was working adjacent to a national builder using Instafibre CWI.

    All homes have to achieve a minimum U Value, and this national builder was achieving this by installing Instafibre before Completion. This poses a question for you. If your inner leaf was good insulation block then there was no need for CWI installation. However if you have concrete blocks, or similar, then the CWI would have been installed by the builder. Clearly it is important that you know exactly what you have here.

    Regarding CIGA, I do not know if they were issuing guarantees on the homes I worked beside. It could be that NHBC issued a 10 year warranty on everything. By default CIGA might only be involved with retro fitting. Again it is important you establish what happened. A clue could be if CIGA have no records then it was probably NHBC cover. Again you would have to get specifics here.

    What was in the information pack when you purchased your home? What CWI guarantee, if any? If none then it is possible CIGA were not involved.
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