Wall Cavity insulation

Redwurzel

Well-known member
With Green Government grants now available in England I imagine a few posters are looking at the possibility of Cavity Wall insulation for exisiting walls.

Businesses in the industry will give all the benefits, but are there any drawbacks with cavity wall insulation?

I have heard installing cavity wall insulation into houses that are not designed for it, say pre 1990, can more easily develop damp, because there is no space left in cavity of the walls for the walls to breath.

Can anyone provide any expertise/experience with installing cavity wall insulation into houses built in the 1960s/70s. Preferable some who does not have a vested interest.

Many thanks.
 
With Green Government grants now available in England I imagine a few posters are looking at the possibility of Cavity Wall insulation for exisiting walls.

Businesses in the industry will give all the benefits, but are there any drawbacks with cavity wall insulation?

I have heard installing cavity wall insulation into houses that are not designed for it, say pre 1990, can more easily develop damp, because there is no space left in cavity of the walls for the walls to breath.

Can anyone provide any expertise/experience with installing cavity wall insulation into houses built in the 1960s/70s. Preferable some who does not have a vested interest.

Many thanks.
That's exactly what I think, the cavity itself is the insulation...why would you fill it with foam ?
No thanks !
 
Yeah certainly dont do it, imagine the next mass compensation claims will be from people who were pushed into this over the last 10 years who now have damp issues
 
It can also speed up the process of wall tie failure. It is not something those in the buildiing trade that I know, have done. Putting a bad job right can be expensive and sometimes those guarantees are not all they are cracked up to be from what I have been told. You are wise to research. The cavity should be inspected first to determine the best filler.

I am not an expert in this field but have heard enough to suggest the problems can outweigh the benefits if not a good job. My home had it done before I bought it. I actually used it as a reason to knock a little off the asking price.
 
I organised this for my mother's house some years ago, through a government scheme.

There were no occurences of water ingress, and the house was very much warmer. So far so good. After a few years I noticed that, after a cold winter, there was a lot of damage to brickwork on one wall. The facings of bricks were dropping off. This was the side of the house that gets least sunlight. It looks as though the insulation was so efficient that the outside of the wall got no warmth; so after the wall got wet from rain, it soaked into the brickwork instead of evaporating, then when frost came, it shattered the surface of the bricks. You could see the same effect on garden walls with the same type of brick., and also houses in the same street which had insulation.
Never found any report of this online though.
Btw the installers had gone out of business, so no help there.
I suggest you find out who backs the scheme and where you need to register for the warranty to be valid.
You might also see about modern products for 'waterproofing' the walls if the bricks look porous.
If there is too much shade from trees that you own, consider getting rid of them.
 
I organised this for my mother's house some years ago, through a government scheme.

There were no occurences of water ingress, and the house was very much warmer. So far so good. After a few years I noticed that, after a cold winter, there was a lot of damage to brickwork on one wall. The facings of bricks were dropping off. This was the side of the house that gets least sunlight. It looks as though the insulation was so efficient that the outside of the wall got no warmth; so after the wall got wet from rain, it soaked into the brickwork instead of evaporating, then when frost came, it shattered the surface of the bricks. You could see the same effect on garden walls with the same type of brick., and also houses in the same street which had insulation.
Never found any report of this online though.
Btw the installers had gone out of business, so no help there.
I suggest you find out who backs the scheme and where you need to register for the warranty to be valid.
You might also see about modern products for 'waterproofing' the walls if the bricks look porous.
If there is too much shade from trees that you own, consider getting rid of them.
I'd always presumed water ingress from tie wire to foam to inside wall would be the major problem.

That sounds worrying if the insulation has caused it as every house has shaded wall(s).
 
We got ours done when the government were paying for it, about 15 years or so ago.
The house feels warmer since then, but we've had problems with condensation which we never had before, and if I could turn the clock back I wouldn't get it done.
 
Yeah I had it done in my old terraced house. Probably wouldn’t get it done again, heard there are a lot of compo claims ongoing about it. Tends to get done by companies set up to do it and once the scheme ends they disappear, if the guarantee isn’t insurance backed then it’s worthless

I’d post this on the In My Home forum in mse as lot of knowledge over there
 
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