Removing blown insulation from cavities on refurb
- Thread starter paulandfrodo
- Start date
paulandfrodo, good evening.
Some of these old Installations still have an insurance backed Guarantee? have you seen one for your property?
As for removal? several companies offer services to remove involving an industrial vacuum machine and compressed air [sounds very messy??] One problem to watch for using this method is to ensure the cavity is blocked at loft level??
Ken.
Some of these old Installations still have an insurance backed Guarantee? have you seen one for your property?
As for removal? several companies offer services to remove involving an industrial vacuum machine and compressed air [sounds very messy??] One problem to watch for using this method is to ensure the cavity is blocked at loft level??
Ken.
the pic seems to be o the first floor - have you cleared/has it dropped all the old CWI from ceiling height or higher?
have you looked up the cavity with a mirror and torch?
can you post a close up detailed look at this material?
what do you mean "old lime mortar bridging the cavities"?
have you looked up the cavity with a mirror and torch?
can you post a close up detailed look at this material?
what do you mean "old lime mortar bridging the cavities"?
Why?
Ok... Well, after a bit of fussing I've got it all removed and have a stratergy.
So, the basic trick I found was, upstairs cut out some bricks ( I'm lucky I've got an Arbortech Saw ). Then use drain rods to dislodge the insulation ( and snots ) above. These will then come down to your level, then remove and dispose of then.
Then I used a work hoover and dropped it slowly down in to the cavity below. Below I found some more solid snots, so used a tape to determine how far down, then went outside, removed bricks and removed brick/tiles that were bridging the cavity.
Then got to the base of the house and dug down to remove the build up of soil / debris that was bridging the damp course.
endecotp - I'm removing this and clearing the cavities as the house has issues with damp and also, from looking at the walls, the house is 'sweating' ( best I can call it ) due to :-
1. Insulation - remove it. I'm not a fan of blown insulation
2. Bridging Cavities - remove it.
3. Debris coming up over damp course - open cavities and remove it
4. Earth to hight against house outside - dig out and remove so nothing touching house
5. Leaking gutters - fix gutters
6. Add some trickle vents to windows perhaps install positive ventilation system ( £300 ) as the house will be rented.
So all of the above are normal things I find when renovating houses, never had to remove the insulation before. Some people don't mind it, I don't like it. I find it causes more issues than it solves.
So, the basic trick I found was, upstairs cut out some bricks ( I'm lucky I've got an Arbortech Saw ). Then use drain rods to dislodge the insulation ( and snots ) above. These will then come down to your level, then remove and dispose of then.
Then I used a work hoover and dropped it slowly down in to the cavity below. Below I found some more solid snots, so used a tape to determine how far down, then went outside, removed bricks and removed brick/tiles that were bridging the cavity.
Then got to the base of the house and dug down to remove the build up of soil / debris that was bridging the damp course.
endecotp - I'm removing this and clearing the cavities as the house has issues with damp and also, from looking at the walls, the house is 'sweating' ( best I can call it ) due to :-
1. Insulation - remove it. I'm not a fan of blown insulation
2. Bridging Cavities - remove it.
3. Debris coming up over damp course - open cavities and remove it
4. Earth to hight against house outside - dig out and remove so nothing touching house
5. Leaking gutters - fix gutters
6. Add some trickle vents to windows perhaps install positive ventilation system ( £300 ) as the house will be rented.
So all of the above are normal things I find when renovating houses, never had to remove the insulation before. Some people don't mind it, I don't like it. I find it causes more issues than it solves.
Attachments
Ken, took a day to the front of the house, the rear and side will be about the same, but as we are rebuilding structural walls might be easier as we are having to pin stuff and remove walls, so we are hoping it will just drop down and out !
paulandfrodo.
I have seen some of the worst effects of saturated blown insulation in cavities, what can at times be done is to introduce a blown hot air stream at the foot of the wall and let the air vent at the top of the wall, this + industrial De-hums really assists in drying a cavity on the inner surfaces.
Sounds like you have the removal stitched up OK that is the real messy bit.
Ken.
I have seen some of the worst effects of saturated blown insulation in cavities, what can at times be done is to introduce a blown hot air stream at the foot of the wall and let the air vent at the top of the wall, this + industrial De-hums really assists in drying a cavity on the inner surfaces.
Sounds like you have the removal stitched up OK that is the real messy bit.
Ken.
Ken, someone stole my industrial de-hum Gggrrrr.... But we have so many holes in this building now the airflow through it should do the trick. I've been monitoring the moisture in certain iffy walls and it's dropped considerably.
Where we have particularly damp walls we are removing the old plaster, so we can ( if needed ) replace any top or bottom plates and then let them dry for a while before re-plastering. Alas, dot and dab as I can't find someone willing to sand and cement it
Where we have particularly damp walls we are removing the old plaster, so we can ( if needed ) replace any top or bottom plates and then let them dry for a while before re-plastering. Alas, dot and dab as I can't find someone willing to sand and cement it
paulandfrodo,
Any additional "forced" air flow into the cavities will assist. The air does not have to be heated, but warm air works faster.
Move the fan around your entry points to the cavity every so often especially on the damp walls
Any additional "forced" air flow into the cavities will assist. The air does not have to be heated, but warm air works faster.
Move the fan around your entry points to the cavity every so often especially on the damp walls
Do you mean inside or outside of the walls?
I’ve owned the house 3 weeks, we have ripped most of the guts out of it. Leaving stuff we can refurbish and now we are fixing issues and removing structural elements. Full refurb.
The arbortech saw was purchased for my previous project. For what it does it is brilliant. Do not use it for cutting bricks a 9” disc cutter or Stihl petrol saw is better. But for removing bricks, preping for adding to new walls or replacing windows where you are chaining the aperture size. The project I used it on had 18 new doors / windows and sorting a few chimney breasts out. So great. But it is an investment. You’d be able to buy it use it and sell it with little loss in value.
The arbortech saw was purchased for my previous project. For what it does it is brilliant. Do not use it for cutting bricks a 9” disc cutter or Stihl petrol saw is better. But for removing bricks, preping for adding to new walls or replacing windows where you are chaining the aperture size. The project I used it on had 18 new doors / windows and sorting a few chimney breasts out. So great. But it is an investment. You’d be able to buy it use it and sell it with little loss in value.