cavity insulation

[Thunderchild]

we were approached about having our house cavity walls insulated as they are not. My dad says people in the past have advised him to not have it done. We would love to have a more insulated house if there are no "side effects" anybody any experience to offer ?

[kwicky]

Go for it! It not only saves about 25% on your fuel bills but gives a nice cosy feeling. Much better than double glazing. Go for the Rockwool type and don't be fobbed of with the glass fibre (similar to what you put in your loft) as it can irritate your skin The price is about the same.

[Thunderchild]

ok well I'll tell my dad we are all for saving money and environment providing there are no after problems we are quite happy to do it as we know the house is cold in winter.

[rodz]

I am not sure what happened in the past , perhaps they had problems with it.
I can remember an older friend saying, "the cavity is there for a purpose so don`t fill it in".
I can also remember a building society turning down mortgages that had this done.
I am sure this is not the case now, things move on. It will have been perfected by now, as in everything just avoid the cowboys.
Rodz

[Thunderchild]

rightho thanks guys

[buildersmate]

The cavity was there for a purpose - primarily to prevent damp from penterating from the outer leaf to the inner leaf.
Injected cavity insulation forms into closed bubbles inside the cavity and, once set, the water cannot easily penetrate. Part of the mandatary pre-assessment used to involve the company (all of whom are pretty regulated these days) establishing the likely level of exposure of outside walls to driving rain and installation was not permitted if exposure was classed as severe. Not sure if this is still relevant. With injected foam a few isolated instances of formaldyhyde gas causing nausea have been reported. This is a byproduct of the setting process.
Other injection methods have tried blowing 'small 'beads' of insulation into the gaps. I have little knowledge of any such installations.
On balance, well worth doing for the cost versus savings.