Cavity Wall Insulation
Up to 35% of the heat produced in your home is lost through your walls if they are uninsulated. By insulating your home you can reduce your fuel bills and save on average around £160 per year.
Cavity Wall Insulation will help to create an even temperature around your home, help to prevent condensation on the walls and ceilings and can also help to keep your home cooler during summer hot spells.
Technical
If your home was built before 1935 the walls may not have a cavity or they may not be suitable to insulate.
If your home was built from 1989 onwards, it was required to be insulated under the Building Regulations at the time of build. This may be with modern insulation or with Thermal Blocks. There is no funding available for cavity wall insulation for post 1989 properties under the Heat Project.
Having cavity wall insulation installed couldn´t be easier. It is normally applied from the outside through small holes approximately the size of a 50 pence piece which are drilled approximately 1.5 metres apart all across the external walls. The insulation material is then injected through the holes, filling the cavity. The holes are then filled in to make as perfect a match as possible with the existing wall.
It´s a simple process and is normally completed within 3 to 4 hours, without damage or mess to your house or garden.
The main insulation materials used are glass or mineral fibre that is chopped up and blown into the cavities. Some installers use Bonded bead (white polystyrene beads) and Urea formaldehyde foam (white foam). All systems have been tested, assessed and approved by the British Board of Agrément or the British Standards Institution. The installer can confirm to you what products they use.
The material is guaranteed for 25 years against any defects. (Guarantees are provided by the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency - CIGA).
Installation
Before the installation, the installer will undertake a survey of your property to confirm that it is suitable for insulation.
The drilling process does create some vibration - so it is recommended to remove any pictures or ornaments from the internal side of your external walls, for their safety and your peace of mind.
The installer will need access to all walls, so he will need to get inside attached garages, lean to sheds, conservatories etc. The insulation can only be really effective if all walls are done. If you have a wall right on the boundary, you will need to liaise with your neighbour as the installer will need to go onto their property.
The drilling process inevitably creates a little dust, but this will be cleared by the installer at the completion of the job. It may, however, be wise to remove vehicles from the drive and things close to the walls.
Depending on the type of heating appliances in your home it may be necessary to install a permanent ventilator to the outside air if none already exist to ensure there is adequate ventilation, usually where there is a working solid fuel appliance and in some types of gas and oil fires.
The surveyor will always advise whether or not any additional ventilation is required. Where additional ventilation is considered necessary this will typically involve the fitting of one or more plastic 9" x 6" air vents and the surveyor will advise where the vent(s) needs to be installed.
How do I know the walls are full? Each system has a defined pattern of holes, which has been tested to verify that it results in a complete fill. Most systems have an automatic cut out, which actuates when the adjacent wall area is full. There is tolerance in the injection pattern so that the material will flow past the next injection hole.
Solid Walls
If your property has solid walls (where there is no cavity) they are more difficult to insulate although there is a solution either by internal dry lining or by applying external wall insulation.
