Are my wallsl cavity insualted?

[Bazzer Smith]

I would I find out? Was it made a legal requirement after a certain year?

[Phil L]

There are different ways you can check to see if it's been filled. Firstly, was it built with insulation? - if it's less than 20 years old, the chances are it's already filled. If it's older then it may have been filled after being built. The first thing to check is for a pattern of holes (now repointed) on the brickwork outside and the easiest way to do this is to look underneath the windows....if it's been done with mineral wool, there will be three distinct marks where 25mm holes have been drilled, these are 3 or 4 courses down from the bottom of the window frame and 3 or 4 bricks apart, IE about 30 inches, they will be at the bottom of an upright joint, these will be under each window in the house. If you have a gable wall and you can stand back to look at it, you will see the first row of holes at 9 bricks up from the DPC and every fifteen courses after that all the way to the top in a diamond pattern - these holes are five bricks apart in length, there's a small diagram here:

if there is no visible pattern, it still may be done, and you can drill a hole straight through a joint in the brickwork and poke a sharp wire (coathanger type stuff) into the cavity, if it comes out with little fibres on it, it's insulated...wet the wire first.

no, only for newly built properties, not those already built.

[EricP]

Remove a brick and look.

Go in the roof and try to look down the cavity to see. Sometimes the crap leaks out of holes and is visible in odd spots. Mine's white and easy to spot.

No.

[Bazzer Smith]

It's about 23 years old I think.

Thanks, I will have a look however I have never noticed anything before but then I have not specifically looked for them.

I did notice some marks but these were in the cement between the bricks, on the short vertical piece of cement but they were like slots or like they were not filled out with cement as the other verical bits. I assumed they were for scafolding was attachedwhen it was built.

I saw these on a wall which is triangular at the top so I guess thats a gabled wall you describe below. I wlll have to have a better look when there is more light.

[Bazzer Smith]

I will giive it a go I have never looked before.

[Phil L]

In that case, it's almost certain that it was insulated during construction (and there won't be any pattern), although there are exceptions.

These are weep holes for moisture to escape and are built into the brickwork, usually at steel lintels or cavity trays. The holes I'm talking about are 25mm in diameter and are at the botom of the T, IE where the bottom corners of two bricks meet.

[Paul Matthews]

An easy way is to ask for a quote - one of the things they do is drill a little hole and peer in!

One clue in my house is in the loft at the gable ends at the top it looks a bit like fibreglass loft insulation has been stuffed in!

P.