Cavity wall insulation, do I need it?

[4hero]

Hi,

Had a salesman at my door going on about this government scheme where they pay so much to the cavity wall company, and I pay the rest (£149). The house is 10 years old and does have a cavity, it's just with it being new'ish I'm not sure if I need it or not?

Any help would be great.

Neil.

[robinhood21]

At ten years old I would imagine it to already have insulation.

[The Riddler]

We recently had our done under a local council scheme.

House is privately owned (by parents), had the loft and wall cavity instulation done for the grand sum of £0.

Edited by The Riddler on Wednesday 29th July 21:03

[grumbledoak]

From memory, the pay off, in order, is
Loft insulation
Cavity Wall insulation
Double glazing

But, at ten years old I'd expect you to have the first two, if not all three.

I'd certainly make sure you don't already have it before parting with your cash, government subsidy or otherwise!

[4hero]

Thanks for the replies! I'm just not sure how to check if I already have it? The house has double glazing and loft insulation.

[Autonotiv]

Take a brick out, then replace it, do it some where it will not bee seem much as you may have troulbe matching morter colour.

[Busamav]

At 10 years old there is a very good chance that it has insulation .

Some peeps deemed the insulated block inner skin done the job on its own , but not too many at that time

[Graham]

I keep considering this om my 1930's detatched house with cavities.. Its got double glazing and a well insulated loft, but still a bit cold and drafty.. research on the web shows a lot of pros and cons though...

[Simpo Two]

Sounds like EAGA to me. They'll put £50-worth of insulation in then relcaim £2K from the Govt. Another great example of a 'government initiative' gone wrong.

Having said that my mother got her loft done for free by a couple of EAGA neanderthals - but the taxpayer pays for it handsomely.

[dr_gn]

4hero said:

Thanks for the replies! I'm just not sure how to check if I already have it? The house has double glazing and loft insulation.

Go in the loft, look down into the external wall cavities with a torch/mirror.

[mk1fan]

dr_gn said:

4hero said:

Thanks for the replies! I'm just not sure how to check if I already have it? The house has double glazing and loft insulation.

Go in the loft, look down into the external wall cavities with a torch/mirror.

Then worry why the cavity hasn't been closed properly.

At 10-years old the property should be adequately insulated. If it isn't then it certainly wouldn't have met the minimum standards of the then Building Regs.

Although this doesn't necesarily mean that it will have insulation in the cavity. It may have thicker cavity leaves (if it's masonry) or insulation between timbers (if it's timber framed). One thing is for sure and that's the cavity will be quite small - 50mm max most likely.

There are potential risks in full filling a cavity with insulation and you should receive advice from the installer as to what these are in relation to your actual propoerty.

Have a look here at some FAQ's http://www.instafibre.co.uk/frequently-asked-quest...

[dr_gn]

mk1fan said:

dr_gn said:

4hero said:

Thanks for the replies! I'm just not sure how to check if I already have it? The house has double glazing and loft insulation.

Go in the loft, look down into the external wall cavities with a torch/mirror.

Then worry why the cavity hasn't been closed properly.

At 10-years old the property should be adequately insulated. If it isn't then it certainly wouldn't have met the minimum standards of the then Building Regs.

Although this doesn't necesarily mean that it will have insulation in the cavity. It may have thicker cavity leaves (if it's masonry) or insulation between timbers (if it's timber framed). One thing is for sure and that's the cavity will be quite small - 50mm max most likely.

There are potential risks in full filling a cavity with insulation and you should receive advice from the installer as to what these are in relation to your actual propoerty.

Have a look here at some FAQ's http://www.instafibre.co.uk/frequently-asked-quest...

You don't close an insulated cavity wall terminating in an unihabited roof space. Building regulations require a continuum of insulation from the wall cavity to over the loft floor. The correct method for these walls is for the loft insulation to fully overlap the cavity.



Went through all this in detail with my architect, builder and building inspector when I built my own house in 2004/5

To get back to the advice I gave to the OP, assuming the OP has this type of arrangement, all they need to do is lift up the loft insulation, look down the cavity and then replace the insulation.

Edited by dr_gn on Thursday 30th July 15:50

[mk1fan]

Curious requirement. Intersting to omit fire compartmentation for part L.

[dr_gn]

mk1fan said:

Curious requirement. Intersting to omit fire compartmentation for part L.

No idea - just quoting what I was told. Queried it several times.

[G20RG B]

I had my 1940 2 storey detached house done last year.
It was insulated with what looks like small white polystyrene balls.
They drilled small holes in the exterior walls around the house top middle and bottom them filled in the holes once insulation was in. They were here about 4 hours doing the work and it has made a diffrence to the heat retention in the house, I think I paid £210 pounds to get it done.

George

[Busamav]

dr_gn said:

mk1fan said:

Curious requirement. Intersting to omit fire compartmentation for part L.

No idea - just quoting what I was told. Queried it several times.

It is the correct way , thats why


I would have the walls insulated , using blown fibre .

I just done my 1936 property

Edited by Busamav on Thursday 30th July 21:45

[Iain328]

They'll survey it & drill a couple of small test holes & then have a look in the cavity with a camera thingy - at least that's what they did with mine. If it needs doing, for 149 quid I would think you were onto a winner.

10 year old house shouldn't need it though....(should have been done when it was built).

Edited by Iain328 on Thursday 30th July 21:57

[dr_gn]

Busamav said:

dr_gn said:

mk1fan said:

Curious requirement. Intersting to omit fire compartmentation for part L.

No idea - just quoting what I was told. Queried it several times.

It is the correct way , thats why


I would have the walls insulated , using blown fibre .

I just done my 1936 property

Edited by Busamav on Thursday 30th July 21:45

Yep, mines blown fibre. If you hold a bit in your hand it feels like the fibre is hot!

[SPR2]

robinhood21 said:

At ten years old I would imagine it to already have insulation.

Not necessarily so. There was none with it on our estate built 16 years ago. Apparently it was an option with the builders at that time whether to put it in or not. David Wilson and I think it was Perssimon homes as well took the negative option. This was information I was given from the guy who came to check mine. I along with several others have had it in recently,naturaly prices vary on size of property.
They say it should help to reduce fuel bills.

[GreenDog]

I wonder if it's worth having it done on my house, a (nearly) 100 year old mid-terrace. The rear walls of the building don't have a cavity but the front ones do so the benefits mightn't be that great I suppose. Definitely need to top up the loft insulation though.