Airbricks and insulation

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50Twuncle
50Twuncle Posts: 10,763 Forumite
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edited 20 October 2018 at 2:03PM in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving
We have a problem with cavity wall insulation escaping through external wall air brick vents
The walls are (lose) filled with millions of tiny expanded foam balls and whenever we have strong wind - we lose several hundred through the air bricks - the garden sometimes looks like it has been snowing !!
Is it acceptible to use mesh or will that stop air from entering and exiting the air brick holes ?
Is there a product designed to help ?

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  • mrtickle90
    mrtickle90 Posts: 4 Newbie
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    Does the airbrick vent the cavity or go all the way through to the inner skin (hopefully not been plastered over or otherwise blocked).

    If it goes all the way through the best thing to do is remove the exterior airbrick, seal the area from the cavity around the airbrick and then refit the exterior airbrick, essentially making a 'insulation tight' duct from outside right through to in.

    I appreciate that's a lot of effort, but it's the best way to sort it IME.
  • 50Twuncle
    50Twuncle Posts: 10,763 Forumite
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    mrtickle90 wrote: »
    Does the airbrick vent the cavity or go all the way through to the inner skin (hopefully not been plastered over or otherwise blocked).

    If it goes all the way through the best thing to do is remove the exterior airbrick, seal the area from the cavity around the airbrick and then refit the exterior airbrick, essentially making a 'insulation tight' duct from outside right through to in.

    I appreciate that's a lot of effort, but it's the best way to sort it IME.

    No - it goes through just the outer wall - this is under floor board level - I presume that there is similar through the inner wall ?
  • stuart45
    stuart45 Posts: 3,993 Forumite
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    If it's for underfloor venting it should have a liner through the cavity. If it's to vent the cavity it won't be needed. If you lose insulation, there will some cold spots when it settles.
  • 50Twuncle
    50Twuncle Posts: 10,763 Forumite
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    stuart45 wrote: »
    If it's for underfloor venting it should have a liner through the cavity. If it's to vent the cavity it won't be needed. If you lose insulation, there will some cold spots when it settles.


    There won't be much insulation left now - we lost a lot when we had double glazed windows replaced as well...it was "glued" around the frames !
  • MoneyMate
    MoneyMate Posts: 3,225 Forumite
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    edited 20 October 2018 at 3:00PM
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    We had silicon using a gun put into the small holes on the external air brick, the original gas boiler was moved out of Kitchen into Garage.
    Should the Foam bubble not have been injected with a small amount of glue to keep them in place ?
    There are more questions than answers :shhh: :silenced:
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  • 50Twuncle
    50Twuncle Posts: 10,763 Forumite
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    edited 20 October 2018 at 4:53PM
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    MoneyMate wrote: »
    We had silicon using a gun put into the small holes on the external air brick, the original gas boiler was moved out of Kitchen into Garage.
    Should the Foam bubble not have been injected with a small amount of glue to keep them in place ?
    It probably was - but most of it is now loose !
  • 50Twuncle
    50Twuncle Posts: 10,763 Forumite
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    stuart45 wrote: »
    If it's for underfloor venting it should have a liner through the cavity. If it's to vent the cavity it won't be needed. If you lose insulation, there will some cold spots when it settles.
    We don't trust cavity insulation - it can cause damp problems !!
  • stuart45
    stuart45 Posts: 3,993 Forumite
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    It's more likely to causes damp problems when some of it is missing. At the top of the upstairs at plate level is a common place for cold spots and condenstion when it might have settled a bit.
  • FreeBear
    FreeBear Posts: 14,631 Forumite
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    50Twuncle wrote: »
    No - it goes through just the outer wall - this is under floor board level - I presume that there is similar through the inner wall ?

    Close to ground level ?
    stuart45 wrote: »
    If it's for underfloor venting it should have a liner through the cavity.

    Depending on the age of the property, there may be a duct through the cavity, but not always. If one isn't present, then the wall will need to be opened up to have some fitted. The ducts are not particularly expensive (like a few pounds each), but fitting will be a messy job.

    With suspended timber floors, there should be a vent every eight feet or so around the house.
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