I have a 7 year old small semi-detached house.

Is there an (easy) way of telling if I have cavity wall insulation?

The original builders are no longer in existence, and the two previous
owners are not contactable.

Regards

Terence

"Terence" wrote in message
...
I have a 7 year old small semi-detached house.

Is there an (easy) way of telling if I have cavity wall insulation?

The original builders are no longer in existence, and the two previous
owners are not contactable.

Remove a brick on each external wall ;-). If this doesn't sound inviting,
you could always ask a neighbour (original purchasers if possible) what the
build spec was.

HTH

John

If a house has been constructed in the last 7 years without it then the BCO
should be shot!

Phil

On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 12:55:59 GMT, Terence
wrote:

|I have a 7 year old small semi-detached house.
|
|Is there an (easy) way of telling if I have cavity wall insulation?
|
|The original builders are no longer in existence, and the two previous
|owners are not contactable.

Drill a hole, with a masonry drill, through the outside skin and see what
comes out. If you can get into the underdrawing, under the ground floor,
look round the air bricks to see if anything is spilling out. The choice
is foam, rockwool or polystyrene boards in the cavity.
--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
Freedom of Speech, Expression, Religion, and Democracy are
the keys to Civilization, together with legal acceptance of
Fundamental Human rights.

After serious thinking John wrote :
"Terence" wrote in message
...
I have a 7 year old small semi-detached house.

Is there an (easy) way of telling if I have cavity wall insulation?

The original builders are no longer in existence, and the two previous
owners are not contactable.

Remove a brick on each external wall ;-). If this doesn't sound inviting,
you could always ask a neighbour (original purchasers if possible) what the
build spec was.

Several ways...

1. Try looking down into the cavity from the loft, using a mirror plus
light.

2. Drill a small hole through from the outside and see what comes out
on the drill.

3. If you can remove a ventialtion fan which passes through the wall so
you can have a peer down.

--

Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

On this side of the Great Pond we would try and do some detective work
from the inside. I wouldn't want to comprise the integrity of the
exterior.

Is the wall drafty? Do you feel breezes on cold days coming from
electrical outlets, from behind moldings, from around windows?

Can you remove any electrical outlets on that wall to see behind the
box? Are there any closets, cabinets or furniture on this wall that
you can drill a hole behind to see if there is anything in the cavity.
You'll have to patch those holes but at least your working in a
concealed area. Is there an attic that you can get into to drill a
hole down thru the top plate into the cavity? Again you'll have to
patch but it will provide a concealed way to view the inside of the
cavity.

Do any neighbors have similar homes, built by the same builder at the
same time? Do they know if they have insulation in their walls? Are
their walls as colder, warmer or the same as yours?

Terence wrote:
I have a 7 year old small semi-detached house.

Is there an (easy) way of telling if I have cavity wall insulation?

The original builders are no longer in existence, and the two previous
owners are not contactable.

Regards

Terence

Drill a small bore hole through the joint (the bit must be over 100mm long)
in an inconspicuous place, then insert a piece of wire (from a straightened
coat hanger or similar) if there's anything there, you will feel it spongy,
also if you wet the end of the wire before insertion, and withdraw it
carefully you will notice fibres stuck to the end of it, if they are green /
grey it's rockwool, yellow and they are fibreglass, white and they are blown
fibreglass....if you can feel something but nothing sticks to the end, it's
probably blown-in polystyrene blocks, made from scrap polystyrene.

You don't need to drill a hole at all if you can find one already made, your
best bet is near a pipe outlet or finding a hole already drilled, don't
bother roaming around the loft on your belly because most cavity tops have
been capped for years.

Hi,

"Terence" wrote in message
...
I have a 7 year old small semi-detached house.

Is there an (easy) way of telling if I have cavity wall insulation?

I had to do just this on my newly bought, extended 1911 'ex-cottage'
just last week. A while ago I rang around for cavity insulation quotes,
and a bloke from "HEAT" finally showed up for my "free survey".

He pulled out a 18v DeWalt cordless, put a 10mm hold in the outside
course of bricks about four feet off the ground, and put a
'boroscope' (sp?) in.

He had a prod around, then said he couldn't see anything. Great.
You get what you pay for. He couldn't tell if there was insulation
in there or not, but he knew the cavity definitely wasn't 'fully
stuffed' with insulation.

I grabbed a screwdriver and had a prod around in his hole (if you'll
pardon my expression), and found something spongy that wasn't
brick/block/whatever. I had a good feel around, and
decided that there was something about 30mm deep in there, that
felt like some kind of insulation.

Upshot: Drill yourself a little hole and see what you can feel. Then,
don't do what the HEAT bloke did (**** of with a caulking gun under
one arm and a useless boroscope under the other, *without* filling
the hole). Instead, drill somewhere out of sight and not too exposed
from the weather, and fill it up nicely. If there's something in there,
you'll
feel it.

Also, If you can get to the edges of the attic easily, it's worth trying
to
look down into the cavity. If you can see it from on top, you should
be able to tell what type of insulation you have, as well as knowing
that 'something' is present (as I do).

If I had to bet, I'd say mine feels like Celotex, but I wouldn't admit
in public that I habitually prod insulation products with a screwdriver.

Regards,

Glenn.

Hi,

wrote in message
oups.com...
On this side of the Great Pond we would try and do some detective work
from the inside. I wouldn't want to comprise the integrity of the
exterior.

[snip sensible advice]

Why don't HEAT know how to do things your way when you get
a 'free survey'? They just banged a hole in the outside of my house,
and said (paraphrased) "dunno mate", then left me to do the making
good. Gits.

Regards,

Glenn.

The message
from "Glenn Booth" contains these words:

I had to do just this on my newly bought, extended 1911 'ex-cottage'
just last week. A while ago I rang around for cavity insulation quotes,
and a bloke from "HEAT" finally showed up for my "free survey".

You mean he didn't turn up in the ten days the website promised? Odd
that - I'm waiting for one even now.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Phil L wrote:
Terence wrote:
I have a 7 year old small semi-detached house.

Is there an (easy) way of telling if I have cavity wall insulation?

The original builders are no longer in existence, and the two previous
owners are not contactable.

if they are green / grey it's rockwool, yellow and they are fibreglass, white and they
are blown fibreglass....if you can feel something but nothing sticks to the end, it's
probably blown-in polystyrene blocks, made from scrap polystyrene.

So what's best ? I need to insulate as mine are just cavities at the
mo.

As soon as my heat goes off about half an hour later the house feels
completely cold. The loft is insulated, but I could put more up there
... I'm already double glazed.

Cheers

Paul.

On 15 Mar 2006 03:42:19 -0800 someone who may be
wrote this:-

So what's best ? I need to insulate as mine are just cavities at the
mo.

Blown fibreglass is probably the best for an existing wall, at the
moment. Others will probably advocate other things though, including
more environmentally friendly alternatives.

As soon as my heat goes off about half an hour later the house feels
completely cold.

With cavity wall insulation it will remain warm for considerably
longer.

The loft is insulated, but I could put more up there

If the loft isn't used then more fibreglass rolls to take it to
250mm is an advantage. If it is used for storage then there is much
to be said for different forms of insulation, which allow one to fit
the same amount of insulation as 250mm of fibreglass, but fit it
within the 100-150mm of many roof joists.

.. I'm already double glazed.

Double glazing prevents relatively little heat loss, unless it
replaces badly fitted windows. However, double glazing has other
advantages.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

wrote:
Phil L wrote:
Terence wrote:
I have a 7 year old small semi-detached house.

Is there an (easy) way of telling if I have cavity wall insulation?

The original builders are no longer in existence, and the two
previous owners are not contactable.

if they are green / grey it's rockwool, yellow and they are
fibreglass, white and they are blown fibreglass....if you can feel
something but nothing sticks to the end, it's probably blown-in
polystyrene blocks, made from scrap polystyrene.

So what's best ? I need to insulate as mine are just cavities at the
mo.


They are all basically the same...rockwool is a heavier fill, IE more of it
is used and it's quite dense within the cavity compared to blown white wool,
but this does not mean it's a better insulator, it's the air trapped
*between* th particles that insulate and not the actual material itself.

Also you only really have a choice of two materials now that the building is
erected, rockwool and blown white fibreglass, hardly anyone uses polystyrene
anymore (except in Ireland) due to it's bulk (the fibre is compressed into
large bales, poly can't be compressed).
Yellow fibre 'batts' are only used during construction.

As soon as my heat goes off about half an hour later the house feels
completely cold. The loft is insulated, but I could put more up there
.. I'm already double glazed.

I'd get at least 150mm in the loft, if you have 50mm up there already, just
lay 100mm over it, don't go over any shower cables as they /could/
overheat...best place to purchase is from an insulation contractor in the
yellow pages IMV.

"Phil L" wrote in message
k...
wrote:
Phil L wrote:
Terence wrote:
I have a 7 year old small semi-detached house.

Is there an (easy) way of telling if I have cavity wall insulation?

The original builders are no longer in existence, and the two
previous owners are not contactable.

if they are green / grey it's rockwool, yellow and they are
fibreglass, white and they are blown fibreglass....if you can feel
something but nothing sticks to the end, it's probably blown-in
polystyrene blocks, made from scrap polystyrene.

So what's best ? I need to insulate as mine are just cavities at the
mo.


They are all basically the same...rockwool is a heavier fill, IE more of
it is used and it's quite dense within the cavity compared to blown white
wool, but this does not mean it's a better insulator, it's the air trapped
*between* th particles that insulate and not the actual material itself.

Also you only really have a choice of two materials now that the building
is erected, rockwool and blown white fibreglass, hardly anyone uses
polystyrene anymore (except in Ireland) due to it's bulk (the fibre is
compressed into large bales, poly can't be compressed).
Yellow fibre 'batts' are only used during construction.

As soon as my heat goes off about half an hour later the house feels
completely cold. The loft is insulated, but I could put more up there
.. I'm already double glazed.

I'd get at least 150mm in the loft, if you have 50mm up there already,
just lay 100mm over it,

Recommended is 270mm. Pack in as much as possible. Take a silicon gun and
seal up the hole where pipes and cable run through and any other hole
around.

don't go over any shower cables as they /could/ overheat...best place to
purchase is from an insulation contractor in the yellow pages IMV.

The sheds can have some very good deals on insulation.

"Phil L" wrote in message
k...
wrote:
Phil L wrote:
Terence wrote:
I have a 7 year old small semi-detached house.

Is there an (easy) way of telling if I have cavity wall insulation?

The original builders are no longer in existence, and the two
previous owners are not contactable.

if they are green / grey it's rockwool, yellow and they are
fibreglass, white and they are blown fibreglass....if you can feel
something but nothing sticks to the end, it's probably blown-in
polystyrene blocks, made from scrap polystyrene.

So what's best ? I need to insulate as mine are just cavities at the
mo.

They are all basically the same...rockwool is a heavier fill, IE more of
it is used and it's quite dense within the cavity compared to blown white
wool,

Do they still drill a 1" hole in your bricks?

"Glenn Booth" wrote in message
...
Hi,

"Terence" wrote in message
...
I have a 7 year old small semi-detached house.

Is there an (easy) way of telling if I have cavity wall insulation?

I had to do just this on my newly bought, extended 1911 'ex-cottage'
just last week. A while ago I rang around for cavity insulation quotes,
and a bloke from "HEAT" finally showed up for my "free survey".


Hmmm ... and I was thinking of letting British Gas come around for their
"free" assessment to do the same. Mine's a 1930's end of terrace and I'm
pretty sure there's nothing in there. Pebbledashed though so no idea if it
was done previously and covered up.

What's the best way to fill such a hole btw? I was thinking expanding foam
filed down followed by some mortar made up to match the pebble dash?



a

Double glazing prevents relatively little heat loss, unless it
replaces badly fitted windows. However, double glazing has other
advantages.

Eh? Think you've got your wires crossed there, a single pane of glass
offers near enough no thermal insulation. A standard 28mm air gap
coupled with K-glass makes a huge difference

On 15 Mar 2006 23:56:36 -0800 someone who may be "Alan"
wrote this:-

Double glazing prevents relatively little heat loss, unless it
replaces badly fitted windows. However, double glazing has other
advantages.

Eh? Think you've got your wires crossed there,

No.

a single pane of glass
offers near enough no thermal insulation. A standard 28mm air gap
coupled with K-glass makes a huge difference

You miss the point. Windows are a small part of where heat is lost
through conduction. Most of the wall is not window and it is far
better to insulate the non window part of the wall, before
insulating the windows. Insulating the loft before the windows is
also a good idea. Having done both of these (and the floor in some
cases) then double glazing the windows makes more sense. All this
can easily be demonstrated by simple steady state heat loss
calculations.

Badly fitted windows can cause the loss of a fair amount of heat, by
letting cold air in and hot air out. Double glazing will eliminate
these draughts, to the extent that it often has trickle ventilators
to provide some ventilation. However, there are cheaper ways of
blocking the draughts.

Someone who is looking on how to spend their money to reduce bills
should first get the walls, roof and possibly floor insulated. They
should also insulate hot pipes inside. Only after doing this do
things like double glazing and a more efficient boiler start to make
sense.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

Hi,

"al" wrote in message
o.uk...

What's the best way to fill such a hole btw? I was thinking expanding
foam filed down followed by some mortar made up to match the pebble
dash?

I'm not the right person to ask. Mine got filled with external builder's
caulk,
but there may be something better suited to the task. I'm
a novice when it comes to putting holes in external walls and fixing
them!

Regards,

Glenn.

Hi,

"Guy King" wrote in message
...
The message

You mean he didn't turn up in the ten days the website promised? Odd
that - I'm waiting for one even now.

It took six weeks in total. I filled out a form online, then 10 days
later
got a letter through the post saying that a contractor would be in touch
with a few weeks. I heard nothing for a few weeks, then contractor calls
me from his mobile saying he's 'just around the corner, is now
convenient?'.
It takes them weeks to organise the 'survey' then they give you zero
notice.
Typical!

Regards,

Glenn.

The message
from "Glenn Booth" contains these words:

It took six weeks in total. I filled out a form online, then 10 days
later
got a letter through the post saying that a contractor would be in touch
with a few weeks.

I did the online form but haven't heard anything from the contractors.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Doctor Drivel wrote:

Do they still drill a 1" hole in your bricks?

In the bottom of a joint, yes, like this _I_

and a bloke from "HEAT" finally showed up for my "free survey".

You mean he didn't turn up in the ten days the website promised? Odd
that - I'm waiting for one even now.


Lucky you - I've been waiting since September

DMac wrote:
and a bloke from "HEAT" finally showed up for my "free survey".

You mean he didn't turn up in the ten days the website promised? Odd
that - I'm waiting for one even now.


Lucky you - I've been waiting since September

If you've ben waiting that long they've probably lost your details.

As an aside if anyone wants it doing, it's probably best to ring a CWI
installer out of yellow pages, pick one that has a large advert and ask them
about it, they will fill the form in with you and send it of for approval,
the whole thing shouldn't take longer than a month.

DMac wrote:
and a bloke from "HEAT" finally showed up for my "free survey".
You mean he didn't turn up in the ten days the website promised? Odd
that - I'm waiting for one even now.


Lucky you - I've been waiting since September


Wasn't that a hit for Helen Shapiro?

"David Hansen" wrote in message
...
On 15 Mar 2006 23:56:36 -0800 someone who may be "Alan"
wrote this:-

Double glazing prevents relatively little heat loss, unless it
replaces badly fitted windows. However, double glazing has other
advantages.

Eh? Think you've got your wires crossed there,

No.

a single pane of glass
offers near enough no thermal insulation. A standard 28mm air gap
coupled with K-glass makes a huge difference

You miss the point. Windows are a small part of where heat is lost
through conduction.

Well insulated windows reduce cold spots.