I have just been informed by neighbours that they are intending on having the cavity walls insulated.

Apart from the obvious advantage of the property requiring less energy to heat is there a downside to having this done? I had been told that it can lead to dampness as condenstion can now transfer between the outer and inner coarse of bricks.

Are there any Surveyors or Architects or other wise people around who have some knowlege on this subject? I have no problem with doing this for ecological and financial reasons but obviously dont want to bugger the flat up.

any help would be appreciated.

cheers

few days ago, must be the weather !

If it installed properly it is one of the most cost effective energy efficiency measures – it has a payback period of less than two years, unlike more obvious measures such as double glazing which have much longer payback periods.

The main potential problems are if the cavities are not completely filled with insulation therefore creating a cold bridge which can lead to moisture going across the cavity.

Assuming you live in a semi-detached property it might be worthwhile thinking about getting it done yourself at the same time – it will be seen as a benefit by future potential purchasers of your house now your home needs an energy rating when it is sold. It will also be easier for the contractors to do as they won’t have to insert a brush between the two properties to stop the insulation falling into the cavity in the adjoining property – which can be quite a fiddly process. You both may also get a discount if you negotiate with the contractor as it is much quicker to do two adjoining houses than do one semi and then have to pack up their gear, drive to the next property and unload it again (potentially an an hour or so of unproductive time).

You may also be eligible for a grant for the work – contact your local Energy Efficiency Advice Centre (0800 512012) or see Energy Saving Trust website http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Energy-saving-products/Insulation.

For info I used to be MD of one of Britain’s leading energy efficiency organsiations some years ago, and one of the things we did was cavity wall insulation.

Just seen the other thread on this.

When I was in the business in the late 90s polystyrene beads were not viewed as an effective method, as there were numerous cases of problems with the installation of them – there was some form of bonding agent that was supposed to stick them together, which if it didn’t work and you had to have work done on your walls which involved removing a brick, could involve a lot of beads coming out. Foam was also thought of then as an inferior product.

Mineral wool, either glass wool and particularly Rockwool (which is made from melted rock), were regarded as the best products and were those that were widely specified by councils, housing associations, architects and builders.

We had ours done 2 or 3 winters ago. The house certainly feels warmer, we’ve had no issues with damp/condensation, despite it being pretty wet the last couple of years, and it cost us peanuts via a council grant.

Good idea, go for it. It will be a positive point if you come to sell the place in the future.

Years ago when we lived in MK we had our 3 bed semi done. It cut our heating bills by about 20%. We paid about £350 at the time.

We’ve just had a quote for having our current place done under the government sponsored scheme.

3 bed semi, quoted £198 for cavity insulation and £198 to have the loft insulation increased to 10″ from current 4″, all pipes and water tanks re-lagged to current spec.

Got our quote done through Tesco.com

I’ve got about 4″ in my loft but it’s boarded and if I add any more I’ll have to remove the boards; is there anything I can do to add insulation and keep it boarded?

yep – assuming you only store stuff on the boards, chuck a good few cm’s of foam boards, tape the edges, and then stack stuff back on top (as long as its not to heavy to damage the foam)….

You could batten it out further.