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We're looking into cavity wall insulation for our 70's des res. One of the companies contacted was the Mark Group. Their 'assessor' has been round and says they can do it for free under funding from the Energy Companies Obilgation. The form on their website says they can't and their letter confirming a visit from another 'surveyor' says he will advise on whether funding is available. There are some awful reviews on that there Interweb but some (fewer) good ones too. They have CIGA, BBA and NIA certificates.
Has anyone on here used the Mark Group? Tell me your etro-fit cavity insulation stories too!
Ta!
retro fit cavity wall insulation is not really a great idea -especially if it is done on the cheap by a gov contractor. Walls without original build cavity insulation (fixed on the inner wall) are designed to have an air gap so that water penetrating the first layer of bricks can run down the inside into the foundations and dissipate. If that gap is blocked up by waste paper it soaks in and at best devalues the insulation property and at worst causes damp.
In addition there is no way I would let most of the cavity wall firm charlies anywhere near my house with a drill and pump
They're down here and HUGE!
Always see the vans about and always busy so someone is paying them.
IF you do go for it then make sure its the right stuff for your house.
Chop/fill isn't necessarily the right stuff depending on how your house is built.
1930's terrace needed silver blown bead NOT chop otherwise it would've just got soaking wet.
we got our lofts and walls done for free, paid for by the gas board and council. some grant cash I think.
Can you get the stuff out? I reckon our house was done (badly) by the previous owner.
Ours was done free as MrsMC qualified with her DLA.
Ok, it is warmer, stays warmer, fuel bills less eye watering than before.
But we have definite issues in some upstairs rooms as they seem to have not quite filled up to the top of the walls, leaving a narrow cold spot that gets condensation and mould. Not helped that our 1970s des res has straw filled walls so once it gets damp, it stays damp.
Proper insulation professionally done is great, not sure I'd go for the cheap government option again.
It was put in to our (rented) flat in the spring under some scheme like this- can't remember the outfit that actually put it in. Now we have condensation and damp problems- the landlord's had to get a couple of always-on extractor fans installed to deal with it.
And now we're heading into winter it doesn't actually seem to be any warmer either! So not a great experience here.
Smart councils are doing external cladding these days to avoid the problems mentioned above. Cavity wall insulation in a house not designed for it is not necessarily a good idea
We had it done by the previous owner. All the vents were blocked up with silicone sealant to stop the insulation falling out, now our house isn't ventilated so we get a double whammy of condensation plus whatever issues not having a cavity cause.
I'm inclined to get it removed at some point but don't know if its worth the hassle.
Whilst it may be relatively easy to un-block the vents, will this leave un-insulated sections of wall causing bigger problems?
We just had our loft insulated for free by British Gas, our walls were already done otherwise they'd have done that also. According to the bloke that did the survey the energy companies/government have more cash to spend so they opened up the criteria again (we don't get any benefits so would not have qualified previously).
He also said they've stopped doing external cladding because of the expense - they can do something like 6 houses for the same cost of externally cladding one.
Anyway, BG did a very good job of our loft. I've been up there re-boarding it and can't find anywhere they missed so thumbs up from me. Might be worth giving them a call if you're unsure about the others? IME BG provide a very good service, I just wouldn't want to have to (directly) pay for it!
We had our 80sq m loft insulated recently, but I turned down the cavity wall insulation as they only reckon £100 a year savings.
The loft went from half insulated to 50mm and half nothing at all to 270mm across the whole lot. The house is warm now even with winter sun through the windows, and it holds the heat overnight after running the heating/woodburner, I thought I'd see the difference in the bills but not 'feel it'.
Smart councils are doing external cladding these days to avoid the problems mentioned above. Cavity wall insulation in a house not designed for it is not necessarily a good idea
External cladding isn't a great idea either under these schemes. Fitted by cowboy companies and causing just as many problems as the cavity wall installations. Seen too many in my area being pulled back down after only a few months up. I wouldn't let any of these muppets near my house no matter how 'free' they are.
We had ours done free of charge by British gas earlier this year. We were originally told we didn't meet the criteria because we both work and don't claim any benefits. We had British gas round for a quote on a new boiler (extortionate price) and were told that this criteria has since been relaxed and almost anyone can get it installed for free.
We chose British Gas because of hearing problems with cowboy companies causing problems by using substandard insulation etc. and I wanted a slight chance some comeback if there were any problems rather than a company that may not exist any more.
British Gas originally told us we would have to get scaffolding fitted at our cost but we without any real negotiation got them to do it for free.
We don't appear to have any damp or condensation problems and the house definitely warms up quicker and remains at a more consistent temperature.
The directly employed British Gas installers were excellent, very friendly and tidied up to the point when you couldn't tell they had been.
So all in all our experience has been very positive and I would recommend it.
We already have loft insulation but they would of also done that for free too.
If the use pollypearl platinum then it should be ok.
IT will depend a lot on how exposed your house is to the prevailing weather. If it has a side that faces a large amount of wet weather I would be cautious about having it done due to the damp problems. There is some index of how exposed you are and the cavity fill is only recommended on the lower end of exposure.
i had the mark group do my house. something like 3 years ago. my burner gets lit a month later and goes out a two weeks earlier. no damp such as but as mentioned above it has dropped on one area so i get a little condensation damp there. i have plans to try and access the cavity from above and get some more in there. in the mean time i just give it a wipe once in a while (its a box room so im not really bothered) i was supposed to pay part of the cost to the installers but wasnt asked at the time and nothing was said afterwards.
i look at it as getting 6 weeks heating per year for free
IT will depend a lot on how exposed your house is to the prevailing weather. If it has a side that faces a large amount of wet weather I would be cautious about having it done due to the damp problems. There is some index of how exposed you are and the cavity fill is only recommended on the lower end of exposure.
That was us, and to have the shoddily installed (before we bought it) CWI removed from our house cost about £3500. That's more than it would cost most people because our location meant we were 100miles from the nearest company that did it, so B&B and travel costs would have been part of it, but still, it ain't cheap! Good company mind.
They did the walls on my mums house, when she told me I went straight up in the loft to see what I knew already. And that was half the loft under 2ft of insulation fluff.
As the cavity is exposed in the loft at the front of the house,
Numpties!
Paid £90 to have ours done 5 years ago. No problems with damp up to now & It's a load warmer.