Cavity wall insulation

[techpro]

I have just answered the door to a guy from a firm called Nationwide Energy Services Ltd offering to install cavity wall insulation in my house. He claims that I can apply for a grant of 70% of the cost so it would cost =A3169 to insulate our house.

I believe that cavity wall insulation is a good idea. I had it done back in the '80s in a bungalow I lived in then and it certainly seemed to help keep the warmth in. If our house really doesn't have cavity wall insulation I'm happy to have it installed for =A3169.

However, I'm wondering if this is just a scam, because:

- our house was built in 2001 by Alfred McAlpines (since taken over by Persimmon Homes.) I thought all houses that recently built had insulation blocks already inside the cavity walls;

- I'm being pressured to make a quick decision because I'm told "the grant funding runs out at the end of the year."

I have agreed for them to come and "survey" the house on Monday but if they told me I needed insulation and I really didn't I wouldn't know any better.

Could someone who knows about these things please advise?

[Tim S]

techpro coughed up some electrons that declared:

Part L was first introduced in 2002 IIRC, so anything built before this date may or may not be insulated. I don't know what common practise was in 2001.

Can you see into the cavity anywhere, or feel, say via the attic? Maybe a mirror on a stick or a webcam and a small torch to have a look.

If anything was installed as the house was built, I would expect solid board of some sort (rockwool or foam) so it shouldn't settle and should be visible from above.

Cheers

Tim

[Invisible Man]

I never trust anyone who needs a quick decision. We paid £179 for cavity wall insulation in our 3 bed detached last year. Our grant came from our energy supplier who arranged it all. I believe grants are available from other sources.

[Merryterry]

Had my Wall Cavities & extra loft lagging done free with Local Authority grant cos we are oldies. The guy that did the surver drilled a hole and used an illuminated probe to inspect the cavities and showed me the result. You should expect the same on your survey.

[Bob Mannix]

-Had my Wall Cavities & extra loft lagging done free with Local

-Authority grant cos we are oldies. The guy that did the surver

-drilled a hole and used an illuminated probe to inspect the cavities

-and showed me the result. You should expect the same on your survey.

You might hope but I wouldn't expect.

translate("It will only cost £169 as you can apply for a grant up to 75%") = "You pay us £676 (plus VAT) = £777 and you can then see if you can get something out of the council"

[chris French]

Not if it works they way ours did.

We had loft insulation done by a company that we got via our Gas suppliers promotion, we just paid our bit (well we haven't yet, I'm assuming an invoice will appear in a bit, or when they come back to finish it next week)), presume they get paid the grant element direct.

Same sort of grants available via local authority schemes.

I'd steer clear of this chap on principle, but getting it done via application via out supplier was painless

[mike]

If they're trying to push you into a quick decision, I'd avoid them. There are plenty of others to choose from here:

[techpro]

Thanks. I'll try and have a look.

[techpro]

offers there expires at the end of this month, and that is from EDF Energy which is not our supplier. So it seems as if this salesman is telling a lie about the grant availability to try and push people into a quick decision.

I'm trying to check our supplier's site

to see if they offer grants but the site does not seem to display in either Firefox or Konqueror.

[ransley]

Insulate with what, regular cellulose or chopped up fiberglass settles alot 10-20%, here in the US a new wet cellulose with glue is used that wont settle, foam is from R5-R7 and its difficult to get a wall full and not bow it. Best is an energy audit, Blower door test with computer read out and Thermal photo. If I were to insulate walls final payment would be after the Thermal photo showed it was done right, a blower door test finds leaks yo never knew of and ususaly pays for itself in a year or two. An overall written audit is best.

[Phil L]

Firstly, it doesn't matter when your house was built - they are building them today without insulation in the walls, it's not 'law', the only 'law' applies to the U value of the wall and this can be achieved with an empty cavity, IE thicker thermalite blocks, dry lining and in some cases a wider cavity with insulation clipped to the back of the inside skin, leaving a cavity, this cavity can also be insulated afterwards, so just because you have an empty cavity, doesn't mean it's not insulated.

WRT grant funding, he's taking the piss, the grants are freely available to all, usually through your energy supplier. Also, if you are on certain benefits, you can get a 100% grant, likewise if you are a pensioner recieving certain benefits

Drill a small hole through a mortar joint and have a poke around with a piece of wire, if it's spongy, it's probably already done, if there's a cavity, it can be insulated

[techpro]

My wife went through all the stuff the builders handed over when we bought the house, and there is a folder with a page in it describing the insulation. For the walls they have ticked "insulating blocks". So if there isn't any cavity wall insulation I guess we should be sueing the builders (the 10 year NHBC isn't yet up) rather than paying to have it installed.

Also if you google "allerdale cavity wall insulation" one of the first things that comes up is a warning issued by the council about bogus insulation companies calling on people in the area.

The guy was wearing a tunic with a company name embroidered on it, showed me an ID (which could be anything) and handed me a leaflet which includes a company website address,

k which I've been to, but none of that actually proves anything.

[fred]

Rule No 1 of Fight Club: Never buy anything from a doorstep salesman.

[John Rumm]

Insulating blocks could refer to any number of lightweight concrete blocks used for the inner leaf - it does not mean the cavity will have any other filling necessarily.

[Phil L]

I don't think you have understood my post - there is no obligation for a builder to install cavity insulation - houses are being built today - now - without CWI and it's perfectly legal and above board, so long as the walls meet the U value requirements which they can do without insulation.

It proves that they issue CIGA guarantees, which is the industry standard

[Owain]

'insulating blocks' probably means something like thermal breeze blocks used for the inner leaf, not something inserted in the cavity, in which case you can have cav wall insulation too.

After the first couple of years you can only claim against the NHBC guarantee if the house actually falls down.

Well, no. All of that can be bought on Ebay.

Owain

[Mark]

only it seems, "If you are over 70 or receiving benefits"

[John Weston]

There was a survey done in Aberdeen, AFAICR, that was designed to show how inefficient the old stone housing was. Using a thermal camera they "protographed" the heat leakage. They then went to new wood-framed houses only to find all the installed sheet installation stopped at the now-higher-level of the electricity sockets, with nothing below. Some had complete sections missing...

[techpro]

Thanks. I didn't know that's what that could mean. I thought it referred to actual insulation within the cavity, such as I have seen being used in houses being built recently (looks like some kind of expanded foam with a foil backing.)

[techpro]

I did understand the post. I thought the document we unearthed meant that the builders claimed to have installed it. Now it seems it just refers to the inner wall of the cavity...