Cavity walls

[Doki]

Can anyone tell me when cavity walls become common?

[<me9]

How long is a bit of string? I've seen Victorian cavity walls in terraced houses, and non cavity walls in 1930's semis.

More exposed areas tended to adopt them first.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I would say 'more often than not' post WWII.

I cant think of many post war houses that don't have cavities. But plenty of 30's style ones with solid walls exist.

There was a great drive to regulate everything in the post war labour government.

[dennis]

Lots of houses were built without cavities after the war, including many thousands of system built ones like Smith's houses.

.

[Rob]

My house was built in 1928 with 11" cavities

[Ed Sirett]

...or rebuilt ones like mine (built 1949 to the original non-cavity 'standard')

[Edward W. Thompson]

My house is circa 1922 with cavities although the gable ends are without. Anyone know why the trend in those days, as I have been told, was not to make gable ends with cavities?

[Andy Champ]

The cavity is 11 inch - or the whole wall?

If you mean the cavity - did you ever lose any cats?

Andy

[Keith2.0]

Youd get value for money getting them insulated.

[Rob]

Done that years ago... Maybe it is a 9" cavity. Recently a builder was surprised to find the flooring screed was "coke" fused by heat. The place was like a coal mine for weeks. Cats.... Ugh!

[Tony Bryer]

The reason for adopting cavity walls, contrary to what we were always told at school (insulation) was to prevent damp penetration, so there would be no particular reason to include a cavity on gable walls - a damp patch in the loft wouldn't affect anything.

In my BCO patch, SW London, solid walls were the norm up to WW2, which appalled a colleague who came from Portsmouth where they were adopted much earlier due to the greater amount of driving rain.

[Andy Hall]

No change there, then.

[Tony Bryer]

I suspect that it was less to do with regulation and more to do with the realisation that with cavity walls you could use something other than brick (e.g. breeze blocks) for the inner skin, all building materials being in short supply after the war. All the pre-war cavity wall houses I ever saw were brick/brick.

[Doctor Drivel]

Cavity fill that and your house will be like toast and no heating bills.

[Doctor Drivel]

A good thing Matt. They haven't gone far enough. You need regulation indeed.

[Doctor Drivel]

The cavities were to stop damp. The skill levels were not high, so putting two walls reduced the likelihood of a damp claim

[Doctor Drivel]

Poor brickie skills after WW1. Many were trained quickly. They failed in the detail aspects around doors and windows. A whole blank wall was fine

[Doctor Drivel]

And very low heating bills. Make the house air tight and near an eco house.