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Who has cavity wall insulation?

11 replies

seb1 · 01/09/2011 22:55

What do you think of it, is your house any warmer, bills any lower? Also did you have any problems with it? Can't make up my mind?

OP posts:
DameEdnaBeverage · 02/09/2011 07:10

We had it done a couple of years ago and really noticed the difference quite quickly. House felt a lot warmer and our gas bills have gone down - we ended up in credit and reduced monthly payments by over £20. It was all done in a couple of hours and was a bit noisy but not particularly messy. Just had to hose down outside due to the brick dust. Have a semi-detached bungalow hth.

gettingeasier · 02/09/2011 07:29

Well I have had it done here but I moved in in April so wont ever know if it was a big improvement Grin

Contact the Energy Savings Trust for advice there are a huge number of grants and subsidies for CW insulation and loft insulation and there is no work involved to get them you are either eligible or not so its worth a phone call

survivingsummer · 02/09/2011 11:08

We were offered it on a grant for less than £100 but decided against it after reading up on the internet about the possible problems. We are planning loft insulation instead as less invasive.

champagnemum · 02/09/2011 14:49

We moved into a large old house 2 years ago. Over the first winter our gas and elec monthly payments were £250. We had cavity wall insulation done and the loft insulated and noticed the difference immediately. Our gas/elec payments were reduced to £99 (although they have gone up recently but that is due to greedy utility companies putting up prices). I would recommend having it done.

Pendeen · 02/09/2011 15:43

If the house is detached, the cavity is uninsulated and in good condition then filling with insulation is often worthwhile. The benefits reduce if your house is semi detached or terraced, in a sheltered location or is of modern construction e.g. blockwork inner / outer leaves, etc.

The test is if the pay back period (when the cost of the work is recovered by savings on energy bills) is acceptable.

You will need Building Regulation aproval so ensure the contractor is registered:

Regulatons

An insurance backed guarantee is essential and the company must undertake a full survey and check if your walls are suitable and the risk of damp penetration or condensation will not be increased to unreasonable levels by the work.

Pudden · 03/09/2011 11:17

we had ours done in previous house 3 years ago. Weird at first as the house felt clammy- you could really feel the dankness during the night. This soon went but we soon noticed condensation on the windows for the first time and also black mould/mildew growing round window and door frames which had never happened in the 12 years previous.

Made the house a bit warmer not convinced it was 100% worth it

PigletJohn · 03/09/2011 13:33

I do. It was very noticable that it cut the fuel bills. Also, if I came home from work at lunchtime, instead of the house having got chilly in the 5 hours the heating had been off, it was still comfortable.

Prior to having it done, on a cold winters night (below freezing) the boiler (only a 14kW one) would be constantly running flat out; and if you ran a bath (demanding more heat to go to the cylinder) you would feel the house get cold.

After having it done, the boiler never needed to run flat out.

BTW if you get condensation, it is because the amount of moisture being generated in the house (the worst culprits are draping wet washing around the house, or on radiators; or having a shower without using an extractor fan) exceeds the amount of ventilation you are allowing. Modern DG windows are usually very draught-free, and some people refuse to ventilate. There area few scare stories put about by a very small minority, but I have never seen evidence of insulation being the cause of a problem.

In rare conditions, mostly where you have cavity walls which are in poor condition or leaky gutters and downpipes allowing rain to make them wet, cavity insulation can reduce the airflow inside the cavity which helps them to dry out. In this case the cure is to repoint the walls or repair the guttering. Some badly built houses have a lot of builders rubble or mortar droppings in the cavity, where the builders thought nobody would ever notice, and it is quite a job to get it out. The cavity companies are supposed to inspect for and point out any such problems before doing the work so you can have them rectified. If they fail to do this, you can demand compensation, and in some cases they will even vacuum the insulation out of the walls if you are a real nuisance.

I had some left-over insulation in a sack that I left out in the rain, and it filled with water. When I lifted the wool out, it drained immediately and was perfectly dry - it does not absorb water or get damp as you might have thought. Many years ago, injected plastic foam was used, and it had a reputation for cracking or letting fumes escape as it set. The modern stuff is inert glass or mineral wool.

I had mine done by Southern Electric. Most of the gas and electricity companies run a subsidised scheme, and as they are large and reputable, you can be confident they won't run off with your money or go bust leaving you with a worthless guarantee. As it happens I was very pleased with their standard of work, they cleaned up and matched the mortar in the brickwork perfectly and finished the job in less than a day.

Do the loft as well, it is important and very easy.

I believe BG is running a "free to our customers" scheme this year. Look at your energy supplier's website.

PigletJohn · 03/09/2011 13:36

p.s. in Pudden's case, it is possible that previously, condensation had been soaking into the walls without you noticing it. Once the walls were insulated, they would become warmer after a week or two, and start to dry out, and would no longer absorb condensation, so you started to see it on other cold surfaces. Moist air will not go away unless you ventilate it out.

HoneyPablo · 04/09/2011 08:13

We have it and it has made a huge difference. The house just feels mso much warmer and I don't need to put the heating on so much- in fact, I have to open more windows. We had our loft insulated at the same time (DH did it- it cost us anout £70)

ScotsTom · 27/10/2011 00:02

You can get your cavity wall insulation independently checked to see whether any areas are damp or missing at www.MyCavityWall.com. If areas are missed during installation then these can result in cold spots in the inside where condensation is more likely to form - as well as resulting in increased heating bills. Since all installations should be backed by a 25 year government backed guarantee, if any problems are found you should be able to get them fixed for free...Has anyone tried this type of survey and what did you think? Cavity wall insulation problems can be expensive to homeowners, but don't need to be.

PilgrimSoul · 06/11/2011 19:38

The biggest difference it made in my house was how much more the house retains heat. It was probably the wisest money I spent last year.

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