Found Straw in a Cavity Wall
 

Hi,

I've a 1960s bungalow. When repairing some soffits/fascias I found the
front-wall cavity has been stuffed with straw (the top of the cavity is
open). The only other cavity I can easily check (on a side wall) seems
empty.

Has anyone heard of this before? Is it a problem (fire? damp? - though I
have no damp at present).

Access to the top of the cavity is limited so I can't see any easy way to
remove the straw below the top few inches, short of knocking holes in the
wall.

I'm having cavity wall insulation soon. I guess the straw is going to
prevent the stuff they use being injected - at least in the front wall.

Any comments/advice gratefully received.

Steve

"Steve" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I've a 1960s bungalow. When repairing some soffits/fascias I found the
front-wall cavity has been stuffed with straw (the top of the cavity is
open). The only other cavity I can easily check (on a side wall) seems
empty.

Has anyone heard of this before? Is it a problem (fire? damp? - though I
have no damp at present).

Access to the top of the cavity is limited so I can't see any easy way to
remove the straw below the top few inches, short of knocking holes in the
wall.

I'm having cavity wall insulation soon. I guess the straw is going to
prevent the stuff they use being injected - at least in the front wall.

Any comments/advice gratefully received.

Steve


Sounds as if you have 40 years of birdsnests!

Are you sure the straw is all the way down the cavity?

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 11:59:12 +0000 (UTC), "Steve"
wrote:

Hi,

I've a 1960s bungalow. When repairing some soffits/fascias I found the
front-wall cavity has been stuffed with straw (the top of the cavity is
open). The only other cavity I can easily check (on a side wall) seems
empty.

Has anyone heard of this before? Is it a problem (fire? damp? - though I
have no damp at present).

Access to the top of the cavity is limited so I can't see any easy way to
remove the straw below the top few inches, short of knocking holes in the
wall.

I'm having cavity wall insulation soon. I guess the straw is going to
prevent the stuff they use being injected - at least in the front wall.

Any comments/advice gratefully received.

Steve


I had a chinmey full of straw and stuff, from birds nest. The roofer
suggested his normal method of cleaning it was to por diesel down,
light and run .......

I cleaned it by hand.

Rick

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 11:59:12 +0000 (UTC), "Steve"
wrote:

| Hi,
|
| I've a 1960s bungalow. When repairing some soffits/fascias I found the
| front-wall cavity has been stuffed with straw (the top of the cavity is
| open). The only other cavity I can easily check (on a side wall) seems
| empty.
|
| Has anyone heard of this before? Is it a problem (fire? damp? - though I
| have no damp at present).
|
| Access to the top of the cavity is limited so I can't see any easy way to
| remove the straw below the top few inches, short of knocking holes in the
| wall.
|
| I'm having cavity wall insulation soon. I guess the straw is going to
| prevent the stuff they use being injected - at least in the front wall.
|
| Any comments/advice gratefully received.

Find out what size holes they will have to drill for your insulation, at
what matrix and drill some smaller or same size holes to see what is in the
cavity elsewhere. In the 1960s, IIRC building regs demanded an empty
cavity so that is what you probably have.

--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
The London suicide bombers killed innocent commuters.
Animal rights terrorists and activists kill innocent patients.

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 11:59:12 +0000 (UTC), Steve wrote:

I've a 1960s bungalow. When repairing some soffits/fascias I found
the front-wall cavity has been stuffed with straw (the top of the
cavity is open). The only other cavity I can easily check (on a
side wall) seems empty.

Birds? They'll bring in huge quantities of straw and the like to build
a platform for a nest. Thr front gable above the bay of my parents
1930's semi was stuffed with straw that the blackbirds and starlings
had brought in over the years. This isn't a small space either...

Getting it out before the proper cavity wall insulation is installed
is a good idea.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

Thanks for the advice. I guess it's the birds. I've ended up clearing out
as much as possible(but can't access the lower half of the cavity). The
cavity wall people have said it's not a problem for them and they can blow a
lot out before filling the cavity.

Cheers

Steve

"Fred" wrote in message
...

"Steve" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I've a 1960s bungalow. When repairing some soffits/fascias I found the
front-wall cavity has been stuffed with straw (the top of the cavity is
open). The only other cavity I can easily check (on a side wall) seems
empty.

Has anyone heard of this before? Is it a problem (fire? damp? - though I
have no damp at present).

Access to the top of the cavity is limited so I can't see any easy way to
remove the straw below the top few inches, short of knocking holes in the
wall.

I'm having cavity wall insulation soon. I guess the straw is going to
prevent the stuff they use being injected - at least in the front wall.

Any comments/advice gratefully received.

Steve


Sounds as if you have 40 years of birdsnests!

Are you sure the straw is all the way down the cavity?