Hi all

Been think about getting our cavity walls insulated for a while and tonight
we got a knock on the door from a company that is doing this.

They gave all the spiel about government grants etc and end result is that
they will do the 3 exterior walls for £149. I'm very tempted but before I
give the final go ahead are there any pitfalls I should be aware of when
having this work done. Also has anyone had any experience of 'Insulate Your
Home Ltd' they trade as 'Ecologistics'

In case it matters we're a 1970's end of terrace 3 bed house in Surrey

Thanks

Jim

On 06/07/2011 19:46, JimM wrote:
Hi all

Been think about getting our cavity walls insulated for a while and
tonight we got a knock on the door from a company that is doing this.

They gave all the spiel about government grants etc and end result is
that they will do the 3 exterior walls for £149. I'm very tempted but
before I give the final go ahead are there any pitfalls I should be
aware of when having this work done. Also has anyone had any experience
of 'Insulate Your Home Ltd' they trade as 'Ecologistics'

In case it matters we're a 1970's end of terrace 3 bed house in Surrey

Thanks

Jim


I had an exact same situation last year, different firm. I paid about
£200. Excellent job, made a huge difference to the heating bills &
comfort levels.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Jul 6, 7:46*pm, "JimM" wrote:
Hi all

Been think about getting our cavity walls insulated for a while and tonight
we got a knock on the door from a company that is doing this.

They gave all the spiel about government grants etc and end result is that
they will do the 3 exterior walls for 149. I'm very tempted but before I
give the final go ahead are there any pitfalls I should be aware of when
having this work done. Also has anyone had any experience of 'Insulate Your
Home Ltd' they trade as 'Ecologistics'

In case it matters we're a 1970's end of terrace 3 bed house in Surrey

Thanks

Jim

I've no idea about the specific company but we had this done last year
- £100 in our case - and despite being concerned there was something
untoward, everything went fine and I think (it's not exactly easy to
know for sure) it's made quite a difference.

In article ,
"JimM" writes:
Hi all

Been think about getting our cavity walls insulated for a while and tonight
we got a knock on the door from a company that is doing this.

They gave all the spiel about government grants etc and end result is that
they will do the 3 exterior walls for £149. I'm very tempted but before I
give the final go ahead are there any pitfalls I should be aware of when
having this work done. Also has anyone had any experience of 'Insulate Your
Home Ltd' they trade as 'Ecologistics'

In case it matters we're a 1970's end of terrace 3 bed house in Surrey

I would say get some more quotes, not from the point of view of
finding something cheaper, but to make sure you get the views of
some other companies. Personally, I would tend not to buy from
anyone selling this sort of service at the door. Try to get a
recommendation from a neighbour or friend.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Jul 6, 7:46*pm, "JimM" wrote:
Hi all

Been think about getting our cavity walls insulated for a while and tonight
we got a knock on the door from a company that is doing this.

They gave all the spiel about government grants etc and end result is that
they will do the 3 exterior walls for 149. I'm very tempted but before I
give the final go ahead are there any pitfalls I should be aware of when
having this work done. Also has anyone had any experience of 'Insulate Your
Home Ltd' they trade as 'Ecologistics'

In case it matters we're a 1970's end of terrace 3 bed house in Surrey

Thanks

Jim

You should have done this years ago.
There are several systems. some had major problems years ago (eg
release of formalin gas into the house from a foam based system.)
However these are all sorted now, most firms use blown mineral fibres.
The fibres are treated with a water repellent.

The main thing with your house is to make sure you are not suffering
from impending cavity wall tie failure the fibres can make this worse.
1970s is a bad time for this, they used wire ties at that time.
The main clue is horizontal hairline cracks in the outer brickwork
(aprox 18"apart.)

The other thing that can go wrong is incomplete fill due to not enough
fibres being blown in.

Ideally the wall should be checked for cavity bridging (cement
droppings on the ties) as when filled with fibre this can lead to damp
spots. This fault is however quite unsual with a house your age.
But afterwards, watch for any damp spots,they may have to come back &
remedy this.

On Thu, 7 Jul 2011 00:27:00 -0700 (PDT), harry wrote:

... most firms use blown mineral fibres.

Good stuff followed. Another one is if they get a bit "ethusiastic"
blowing the fibres you can also end up with a loft full as well...

Bit of annoying mess rather than anything else but something you
could do without, particularly if you have anything stored up there.

--
Cheers
Dave.

harry wrote:

The other thing that can go wrong is incomplete fill due to not enough
fibres being blown in.


In my daughter's case they started but after taking out an air brick noticed
some wiring in the cavity. Apparently the surveyor was supposed to have
done trial holes and used an endoscope to check first. The fitter said he
couldn't accept any liability for *any* damage that occurred after that, so
wrapped up and left.

And yes they were going to fit air vents for the two ( currently unused)
chimneys.

I still haven't decided how to get around this problem.

AJH

On 6 July, 19:46, "JimM" wrote:
Hi all

Been think about getting our cavity walls insulated for a while and tonight
we got a knock on the door from a company that is doing this.

They gave all the spiel about government grants etc and end result is that
they will do the 3 exterior walls for 149. I'm very tempted but before I
give the final go ahead are there any pitfalls I should be aware of when
having this work done. Also has anyone had any experience of 'Insulate Your
Home Ltd' they trade as 'Ecologistics'

In case it matters we're a 1970's end of terrace 3 bed house in Surrey

Thanks

Jim
The KEY thing here is to ensure that the product is removable (ie the
operation is reversible). Forget any form of setting foam for this
reason. it can be blown in rockwool, polystyrene type pellets etc
etc
Fixed foam has a tendency to allow bridging of water

Chris

On Jul 8, 8:02*am, chris wrote:
On 6 July, 19:46, "JimM" wrote:



Hi all

Been think about getting our cavity walls insulated for a while and tonight
we got a knock on the door from a company that is doing this.

They gave all the spiel about government grants etc and end result is that
they will do the 3 exterior walls for 149. I'm very tempted but before I
give the final go ahead are there any pitfalls I should be aware of when
having this work done. Also has anyone had any experience of 'Insulate Your
Home Ltd' they trade as 'Ecologistics'

In case it matters we're a 1970's end of terrace 3 bed house in Surrey

Thanks

Jim

The KEY thing here is to ensure that the product is removable (ie the
operation is reversible). Forget any form of setting foam for this
reason. *it can be blown in rockwool, polystyrene type pellets etc
etc
Fixed foam has a tendency to allow bridging of water

Chris- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Nah. Closed cellular structure. Excellent stuff. Better insulator
than fibres too. But more expensive.

On 07/07/2011 09:43, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Thu, 7 Jul 2011 00:27:00 -0700 (PDT), harry wrote:

... most firms use blown mineral fibres.

Good stuff followed. Another one is if they get a bit "ethusiastic"
blowing the fibres you can also end up with a loft full as well...

And if they forget to check beforehand, they may drill through the only
single skin section of wall and fill your electricity cupboard up!
Fortunately, as it was blown fibre, cleaning it out was no problem.

SteveW