Cavity Wall Insulation – worth the risk?

noseall said:
You mean like they do on a lot of sites - i.e. retro fill rather than build and fill?


What's your point of this bonkers statement....
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Try reading about the many households that have had the stuff removed!

Installing insulation during a build, properly, is very much different to pumping the stuff into drilled walls.
 
I had the cavity wall insulation installed in my 1956 property and it made my gas bill drop a lot.
Never had damp problems.
Mine is filled with white fluffy stuff, similar to wool.
 
^woody^ said:
There lies the flaw.

Have a look at survivorship bias, which is a principle of misconception and error when you only concentrate on selective data (removals) and not the wider data set ( installations)
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I have read many horror stories of people having injected insulation and the horrors that unfold. The internet is full of these issues.

I have also seen first hand the damage it can cause.

If one can find a reputable company that can offer a 100% guarantee of no issues then look into it.

Like i said, its something i would steer clear of unless building from scratch. Then, it is well worth it due to the way it is installed.
 
Koolpc said:
Installing insulation during a build, properly, is very much different to pumping the stuff into drilled walls.
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Some developers find it cheaper on new builds to have it pumped in. They reckon it works out to be more cost effective than paying the bricklayers to install as the work proceeds. It does make life easier than doing a partial fill, and also means you can take the face work up first.
It can also be pumped in through the inner skin and leave the face work untouched.
 
Koolpc said:
Try reading about the many households that have had the stuff removed!

Installing insulation during a build, properly, is very much different to pumping the stuff into drilled walls.
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Nonsense. A lot of modern building sites chose retro-fill over build and fill.

Just because some (poorly built) homes are unsuitable for a specific insulation technique, does NOT mean cavities should be kept empty.
Just scaremongering and ill informed nonsense.
 
^woody^ said:
There lies the flaw.

Have a look at survivorship bias, which is a principle of misconception and error when you only concentrate on selective data (removals) and not the wider data set ( installations)
Click to expand...
Shouldn't that be publication bias woody? I'd ask for a refund on that phycology course you got out of the Sun.
 
Ahh, the internet... the home of logical cool-headed discussion.

There are issues with cavity wall insulation, just as there are also issues with dentistry and heart surgery, but we still do them. Don't let your judgement be swayed by a noisy minority and some who think everything is a conspiracy.

If your brickwork and pointing (or render) is solid and sound then all should be well. Also avoid windswept locations, e.g. a bleak hillside, where rain will be regularly driven sideways into the walls. The installer should check all this and more, e.g. they should also look inside the wall at some wall ties with an endoscope camera to ensure they're OK. As ever, they only get money if they install, so cowboy companies have installed where they really shouldn't have, which is probably what's behind many of the small number of problems.

We've had it done on 1930s and 1950s brick-built houses, both of which were in fairly typical condition, definitely not freshly renovated. Both instantly much warmer, lower bills and no issues.
 
noseall said:
Nonsense. A lot of modern building sites chose retro-fill over build and fill.

Just because some (poorly built) homes are unsuitable for a specific insulation technique, does NOT mean cavities should be kept empty.
Just scaremongering and ill informed nonsense.
Click to expand...

Woof!
 
Well, my question has certainly generated a great deal of debate and I really appreciate all the contributors’ views both for and against.

While more enlightened I’m now of the view that, as with anything in life, there is a risk, however small, that it may cause problems in the future. So, it’s now a balance between any perceived benefits and those potential risks.

Thanks for all the contributions.

Regards,

Benny.
 
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