villarule123 Posted February 6, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted February 6, 2012 having problems with a cold house at the moment, is it worth getting cavity wall insulation? hoping that it could be the fix to our problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapal_fan Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Yes, it's worth it. If you can't get a grant, or any money off doing it from the council then you can do it yourself for £200. It keeps heat from escaping your house. A few, stupid builders will say that your house 'needs to breathe' but don't listen to them, open a window when it's too hot. do it right now. Go on, what are you waiting for? Signed, Your friendly neighbourhood energy advisor. xox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapal_fan Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Further reading: A few stats etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Hhmmm, you may wish to consider why your house has a cavity. In the majority of cases filling the cavity works just dandy. In some cases, for various reasons, bridging the cavity causes rainwater to get into the inner leaf of wall and cause damp. It's worth asking if the installer / adviser will guarantee that your house is suitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Loft insulation and cavity wall insulation are really important ancd relatively cheap Pay back will be very quick 1-2 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villarule123 Posted February 6, 2012 Author VT Supporter Share Posted February 6, 2012 its not the saving money im worried about, its the miserably cold house im in at the moment! we had the british gas guy round when they were doing it for 'free' but he said we'd need scaffolding due to the garage at the side of the house, and it would be around £400. maybe it would be different with a independent/other retailer? he also said something about not being able to get to one of the walls due to decking in the garden, maybe he was looking for excuses as it was a free offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lammy123 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Yep definitely worth it. Its made our house warmer and cut down on the gas we use. We had someone do it and do the loft insulation both for about £100 (had a grant cover the rest :-) ). As Chrisp says just be careful that it's suitable for your property - last thing you'd want to do is cause more damage. If your going to do it yourself get a quote from someone first as they should spot anything dodgy and point it out to you (just be inquisitive and ask questions while they're looking round eg is everything ok with these walls - its not going to cause a problem is it?) If you get someone to do it make sure they guarantee the work, our installers had a 7year guarantee i think. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ender4 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Hhmmm, you may wish to consider why your house has a cavity. In the majority of cases filling the cavity works just dandy. In some cases, for various reasons, bridging the cavity causes rainwater to get into the inner leaf of wall and cause damp. It's worth asking if the installer / adviser will guarantee that your house is suitable. this. If it does start causing damp, its very hard to get rid of the stuff from inside your walls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ender4 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 having problems with a cold house at the moment, is it worth getting cavity wall insulation? hoping that it could be the fix to our problem! thermostat too low? radiators not getting hot enough? air in the system? pump not powerful enough to keep the radiators hot? enough insulation in the loft? double-glazed windows? draught-proofed the doors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lammy123 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 We had someone say the same thing about the garage roof - come to think it may have been British Gas (along with the ridiculous 4.5k for a new boiler they quoted?). The guys who did it just put some boarding on the roof and hiked a ladder up and did the very top bit from inside the loft. Sounds like BS about the decking unless it's quite high from the ground? Some companies will want the business and just do it some will try and rip you off eg British Gas (just like anything else really). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villarule123 Posted February 6, 2012 Author VT Supporter Share Posted February 6, 2012 having problems with a cold house at the moment, is it worth getting cavity wall insulation? hoping that it could be the fix to our problem! thermostat too low? clicks at 13 degrees so yes radiators not getting hot enough? they're fine, we are upgrading them all to doubles though air in the system? nope pump not powerful enough to keep the radiators hot? radiators are too hot to touch enough insulation in the loft? yes just had it done double-glazed windows? yep draught-proofed the doors? front and back door could be a big problem but we've just spent £1k on new doors and they will be put in in a couple of weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ender4 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 thermostat too low? clicks at 13 degrees so yes well, if money is not a major issue, and the house is cold, just turn up the thermostat. We have our thermostat set at 20 degrees, and have the heating on 24 hours a day, and the house is always boiling hot (wife likes it like that). 13 degrees sounds crazily cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villarule123 Posted February 6, 2012 Author VT Supporter Share Posted February 6, 2012 thermostat too low? clicks at 13 degrees so yes well, if money is not a major issue, and the house is cold, just turn up the thermostat. We have our thermostat set at 20 degrees, and have the heating on 24 hours a day, and the house is always boiling hot (wife likes it like that). 13 degrees sounds crazily cold. i am doubling up the radiators in the next few days, cavity wall in a couple of weeks and a new front and back door in a week or two. im hoping they will more than cure our problem... we have a little one incoming in 26 days, so its a bit of a rush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troon_villan Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 As a builder, I generally don't recommend cavity insulation mainly because I don't trust the people installing it to do a perfect job, if it hasn't been installed properly there is always the risk of moisture finding it's way onto the inside walls. My workmates have told me some horror stories about going to speak to people complaining about damp on their wall only to find the inner leaf of brickwork completely rotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 As someone said, bleed your rads and you may find they are instantly 50% more effective Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usvilla Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 if the snow melted off your roof quicker than your nieghbours - insullating the loft would save better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meath_Villan Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Insulate the bollix off everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMilnereatsnails Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Insulate yourself, with a coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eames Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 if the snow melted off your roof quicker than your nieghbours - insullating the loft would save better either that or your cannabis factory is soon to be raided........ I can't have cavity wall insulation - 18" thick solid ragstone walls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one_ian_taylor Posted February 7, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted February 7, 2012 Insulate your loft and your cavity wall - make sure the cavity wall insulation is carried out by someone with proper CIGA accreditation. Get it done as soon as you can - some of the energy companies are providing free loft and cavity wall insulation - they're required to do a certain amount by government before the end of the year and as they're behind on their targets, they're chucking tonnes of money at it. Think EDF do free loft and cavity, other companies may do the same. It doesn't have to be your energy company that does it - as I say, they have targets to hit and they need to do what they can. Call the Energy Saving Trust to start with on 0800 512012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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