Winter's here so I'm thinking about cavity wall insulation. My house was
built in 1989 of block and external brick construction but I can't tell
whether there is any insulation already there (I don't remember seeing
any when I made a hole for the cooker hood vent and there are no obvious
drill holes in the exterior to tell of an after-build installation).

Is it worth it - does it make a difference ? I can get my small 4 bed
detached done for £200 so realise it will take a few years to recoup
costs. But if it makes for a warmer house right away . . .

What do you think?
Thanks

"Stephen" wrote in message
...

Winter's here so I'm thinking about cavity wall insulation.

Is it worth it - does it make a difference ?


I had my 1980s house done years ago - in November, from memory.
Before and after the big day I recorded the temperature in a bedroom where
the radiators were turned off. I had the bedroom door closed, so it's
heating was by leakage from the rest of the house which was thermostatically
controlled. The bedroom goes from front to rear of the house, and has
external walls on 3 sides with single glazed windows back and front. The
weather before and after installation was broadly similar, and I recall that
my unheated bedroom was noticeably warmer after insulation was installed.
Can't remember how many degrees, as it's 22 years ago!
(Some years later, strict implementation of gas boiler ventilation
requirements have noticeably reduced my comfort level. My boiler room was
independently ventilated, but not strictly in accordance with the BS, so
extra ventilation is now in place. You win some...)
--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK
http://www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

Is it worth it - does it make a difference ? I can get my small 4 bed
detached done for £200 so realise it will take a few years to recoup
costs. But if it makes for a warmer house right away . . .

No brainer. Do it. Make sure they're competent, so that they block holes,
use full fill insulation and sleeve any airbricks.

Christian.

"Stephen" wrote in message
...
Winter's here so I'm thinking about cavity wall insulation. My house was
built in 1989 of block and external brick construction but I can't tell
whether there is any insulation already there (I don't remember seeing any
when I made a hole for the cooker hood vent and there are no obvious drill
holes in the exterior to tell of an after-build installation).

Is it worth it - does it make a difference ? I can get my small 4 bed
detached done for £200 so realise it will take a few years to recoup
costs. But if it makes for a warmer house right away .

I had my detached home cavity wall insulated some years ago - and it was
well worth it. The thing to remember is that it does not necessarily make
your house 'warmer' - it just reduces the amount of energy required to
*keep* it warm! What I find is that during the winter months, once the
house is warmed up, the central heating switches off - and stays off - for
much longer periods than it used to prior to the insulation being installed.
The radiators can become cold and yet the house remains warm because the
heat is retained for much longer. Don't hestitate - just go and order it!

Kev

In message , Malcolm Stewart
writes
"Stephen" wrote in message
...

Winter's here so I'm thinking about cavity wall insulation.

Is it worth it - does it make a difference ?


I had my 1980s house done years ago - in November, from memory.
Before and after the big day I recorded the temperature in a bedroom where
the radiators were turned off. I had the bedroom door closed, so it's
heating was by leakage from the rest of the house which was thermostatically
controlled. The bedroom goes from front to rear of the house, and has
external walls on 3 sides with single glazed windows back and front. The
weather before and after installation was broadly similar, and I recall that
my unheated bedroom was noticeably warmer after insulation was installed.

It'll only make it warmer if the heating system can't keep up with the
heating requirements, but it will reduce the energy required to keep it
warem
--
Chris French

On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 13:20:17 +0000, Stephen
wrote:

Winter's here so I'm thinking about cavity wall insulation. My house was
built in 1989 of block and external brick construction but I can't tell
whether there is any insulation already there (I don't remember seeing
any when I made a hole for the cooker hood vent and there are no obvious
drill holes in the exterior to tell of an after-build installation).

Is it worth it - does it make a difference ? I can get my small 4 bed
detached done for £200 so realise it will take a few years to recoup
costs. But if it makes for a warmer house right away . . .

What do you think?

Be aware that some people experience problems with damp after having
cavity wall insulation installed. Cavity insulation the dew point to
move..ideally this is within the cavity..when the cavity is insulated
it sometimes moves into the actual building giving damp/condensation
problems.

Make sure the company do a dew point calculation before starting work.

Also, a few people are affected by fumes from the foam that is used.
This is rare but needs to be taken into account, especially if anyone
in the household has a pre-existing breathing problem.

sponix

Christian McArdle wrote:
Is it worth it - does it make a difference ? I can get my small 4 bed
detached done for £200 so realise it will take a few years to recoup
costs. But if it makes for a warmer house right away . . .

No brainer. Do it. Make sure they're competent, so that they block holes,
use full fill insulation and sleeve any airbricks.

Christian.

We had our 1980 built detached insulated 2 years ago and the house
certainly feels warmer, even with the thermostat turned down a couple
of degrees. Hardly a scientific report mind you.... Plus there was some
government subsidy or other on getting the work done, and the remaining
cost was spread over 2 years interest free. Well worth it. All
organised via the gas board IIRC.

wrote:

We had our 1980 built detached insulated 2 years ago and the house
certainly feels warmer, even with the thermostat turned down a couple
of degrees. Hardly a scientific report mind you.... Plus there was some
government subsidy or other on getting the work done, and the remaining
cost was spread over 2 years interest free. Well worth it. All
organised via the gas board IIRC.

Just had a man around this morning to quote, as our UFH does struggle
more on the really windy/wet 10 degree nights than the dry & not windy 5
degree ones. Not having _any_ loft insulation doesn't help mind, but
there is still a bit more electrical work to do up there before bedding
it down.

Grants, he told us to hold off on the Loft insulation as there
doesn't seem to be any grant money available (with them at least) until
about January; after which he believed grants would only be available on
properties with zero insulation rather than those that needed a "top-up".

Same thing would prolly apply with cavity grants, but I'm certainly
not going to wait until the depths of winter to get the walls done.


--
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"sPoNiX" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 13:20:17 +0000, Stephen
wrote:

Winter's here so I'm thinking about cavity wall insulation. My house was
built in 1989 of block and external brick construction but I can't tell
whether there is any insulation already there (I don't remember seeing
any when I made a hole for the cooker hood vent and there are no obvious
drill holes in the exterior to tell of an after-build installation).

Is it worth it - does it make a difference ? I can get my small 4 bed
detached done for £200 so realise it will take a few years to recoup
costs. But if it makes for a warmer house right away . . .

What do you think?

Be aware that some people experience problems with damp after having
cavity wall insulation installed. Cavity insulation the dew point to
move..ideally this is within the cavity..when the cavity is insulated
it sometimes moves into the actual building giving damp/condensation
problems.

Make sure the company do a dew point calculation before starting work.

Also, a few people are affected by fumes from the foam that is used.
This is rare but needs to be taken into account, especially if anyone
in the household has a pre-existing breathing problem.

sponix

They use blown cavity-grade rockwool too.

Andy.

On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 15:56:10 GMT, (sPoNiX) wrote:


| Also, a few people are affected by fumes from the foam that is used.
| This is rare but needs to be taken into account, especially if anyone
| in the household has a pre-existing breathing problem.

My house was done with foam, and we did not even smell these hypothetical
fumes. We had no problems except that I had to cut away lumps of
overspill foam in the underdrawing which are still there.
--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
Sick and tired of Junk Snail Mail?
Register with http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/
IME it works :-)

The installation of cavity insulation will make the internal wall
surface warmer, and is unlikely to cause any internal or intersitual
condensation issues. In addition the increase in average internal room
temperatiures will hold more moisture in the air

A calculation of relative humidity before starting work is pointless

Some older pumped foam installations would cause bridging of the DPC
inside the cavity, and effloresence to external brickwork at DPC level

I did not think that foam was used now, it seems to be either dry fibre
or to a lesser degree polystyrene beads.

dg

Stephen Wrote:
Winter's here so I'm thinking about cavity wall insulation. My house
was
built in 1989 of block and external brick construction but I can't
tell
whether there is any insulation already there (I don't remember seeing
any when I made a hole for the cooker hood vent and there are no
obvious
drill holes in the exterior to tell of an after-build installation).

Is it worth it - does it make a difference ? I can get my small 4 bed
detached done for £200 so realise it will take a few years to recoup
costs. But if it makes for a warmer house right away . . .

What do you think?
Thanks

Are you sure you haven't already got cavity fill ?

I know that houses I was building at that time were all cavity filled,
the regs on insulation values were getting quite strict and most houses
were cavity filled with "thermalite" type blocks. I remember that you
could get around the cavity fill by using a thicker block. I would
double check that you haven't already got insulation.

If you haven't I would say definately get it done. I had my house walls
done with rockwool and increased the loft insulation to 8" and the
difference is amazing. We need very little heating to keep the house
cosy now.


--
Nick H

"Stephen" wrote in message
...
Winter's here so I'm thinking about cavity wall insulation. My house was
built in 1989 of block and external brick construction but I can't tell
whether there is any insulation already there (I don't remember seeing
any when I made a hole for the cooker hood vent and there are no obvious
drill holes in the exterior to tell of an after-build installation).

Is it worth it - does it make a difference ? I can get my small 4 bed
detached done for £200 so realise it will take a few years to recoup
costs. But if it makes for a warmer house right away . . .

What do you think?

The cost is subsidised which helps.

If your house is at all prone to attracting green mold, then you may get more of
this.

--

Michael Chare

On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 20:39:28 -0000, "Andy"
wrote:


"sPoNiX" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 13:20:17 +0000, Stephen
wrote:

Winter's here so I'm thinking about cavity wall insulation. My house was
built in 1989 of block and external brick construction but I can't tell
whether there is any insulation already there (I don't remember seeing
any when I made a hole for the cooker hood vent and there are no obvious
drill holes in the exterior to tell of an after-build installation).

Is it worth it - does it make a difference ? I can get my small 4 bed
detached done for £200 so realise it will take a few years to recoup
costs. But if it makes for a warmer house right away . . .

What do you think?

Be aware that some people experience problems with damp after having
cavity wall insulation installed. Cavity insulation the dew point to
move..ideally this is within the cavity..when the cavity is insulated
it sometimes moves into the actual building giving damp/condensation
problems.

Make sure the company do a dew point calculation before starting work.

Also, a few people are affected by fumes from the foam that is used.
This is rare but needs to be taken into account, especially if anyone
in the household has a pre-existing breathing problem.

sponix

They use blown cavity-grade rockwool too.

Yes, there are alternatives, problems are rare and it is generally
worth having done.. However, make sure that the company does all the
correct calculations before starting work.

sponix

On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 15:13:51 +0000, chris French wrote:

In message , Malcolm Stewart
writes
"Stephen" wrote in message
...

Winter's here so I'm thinking about cavity wall insulation.

Is it worth it - does it make a difference ?


I had my 1980s house done years ago - in November, from memory.
Before and after the big day I recorded the temperature in a bedroom where
the radiators were turned off. I had the bedroom door closed, so it's
heating was by leakage from the rest of the house which was thermostatically
controlled. The bedroom goes from front to rear of the house, and has
external walls on 3 sides with single glazed windows back and front. The
weather before and after installation was broadly similar, and I recall that
my unheated bedroom was noticeably warmer after insulation was installed.

It'll only make it warmer if the heating system can't keep up with the
heating requirements, but it will reduce the energy required to keep it
warem

Not quite. Experiences with solid brick, cavity and cavity imnsualted
houses suggest that (assuming other things like draughtproofing and roof
insulation are done first) the cavity wall insulation improves the interior
wall temperatu In short the cold spots go...and so the overall room
temperature can be reduced without compromising the colder areas.

That's has always been my experience of well insulated houses. More EVEN
temperature, and more confort, at a lower temperature.

That's has always been my experience of well insulated houses. More EVEN
temperature, and more confort, at a lower temperature.

Yes. It is due to relative levels of radiant heat from the walls. If the
walls are warmer, it feels warmer, even for the same air temperature. So
insulation has TWO beneficial effects for comfort/efficiency.

The energy used is proportional to the product of u-Value and air temp.

Insulation not only reduces the u-Value, but because of the greater comfort
provided for the same air temperature, allows a lower air temperature to be
used, reducing energy usage further.

Christian.

"chris French" wrote in message
...
In message , Malcolm Stewart
writes
"Stephen" wrote in message
...

Winter's here so I'm thinking about cavity wall insulation.

Is it worth it - does it make a difference ?


I had my 1980s house done years ago - in November, from memory.
Before and after the big day I recorded the temperature in a bedroom
where
the radiators were turned off. I had the bedroom door closed, so it's
heating was by leakage from the rest of the house which was
thermostatically
controlled. The bedroom goes from front to rear of the house, and has
external walls on 3 sides with single glazed windows back and front. The
weather before and after installation was broadly similar, and I recall
that
my unheated bedroom was noticeably warmer after insulation was installed.

It'll only make it warmer if the heating system can't keep up with the
heating requirements, but it will reduce the energy required to keep it
warem

Cavity wall insulation reduces/eliminates cold spots, making the house much
warmer and more comfortable.

The energy used is proportional to the product of u-Value and air temp.

I should have said air temperature difference...

Christian.