Any experts / architects out there?
A family member is interested in purchasing a bungalow built in 1970,s with retro fit cavity insulation.
I just hear about the shoddy work in the news.
The obvious thing is to look out for damp inside but timber frame is not visible!!!
I’m neither an expert nor architect - just my own experience as property owner….
Seemingly it’s a no-no and should not be installed. The surveyor of our property, which is timber framed with block/render exterior, and had had fibrous insulation pumped into the cavity at some point, declared it un-mortgageable and valued it accordingly.
It can be removed though using compressed air. When ours was removed the material that came out was bone dry and the timber frame was inspected using an endoscope and it had not suffered.
The house was subsequently revalued without issue.
Timber frame has to have a clear and vented cavity to work, a bungalow from the '70's I very much doubt will be anything like today's houses probably either a shed or prefab type of building or maybe a very late '70's Barratt home you would run away from
Depends where in the UK, Scotland has used timber frame for 40 years but have England realised yet they go up quicker and better or still prefer two masonry skins ?
My part of England realised that in 1967 when this house was built as were many of the houses in the village 🙂
I looked into insulation when we moved in and came to the conclusion that external would work if done properly, internal might work but would be intrusive and cavity would be a nightmare with the dew point within the cavity. I've left it alone.
There's a reason why there aren't many companies doing retrofit insulation for timber frames houses. New build - totally different and easily designed in - just ask the Canadians, Swedes etc.
Thanks. Its pretty obvious really and makes it easier to pass the information on when heard from others as well.
As above, cavity insulation in a timber frame is not recommended. I lived in a timber frame/block and render bungalow in Scotland, mid 80s build. Out of interest I inquired about cavity wall insulation and nobody I spoke to would do it due to the risk of damp transmission, and one guy said he had removed it from a property.
So if it has it I would be wary.
When I opened up the wall to do some DIY I found 100mm of rockwool insulation, much of which had slumped and was largely useless. Replacing and re-setting it (then replacing the plasterboard) made a significant difference in that room