Cavity Wall Insulation

rhysduck

rhysduck

rhysduck

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Caerphilly
We've had two knocks on the door in the last week or so about cavity wall insulation.

Completely Free (apparently)

Too good to be true? I don't know anything about this at all so any help is much appreciated.
 
The two companies we've had knocking are Eco Energy Wales and MarkGroup.

Are these legit companies to go with or not? Or is this just like one of them PPI companies where you can go direct or get one of them to do it all for you?
If its free I want it done (assuming its not already done)...
 
They seem good enough.

I think the Mrs said someone is coming on Thursday to check if we need it or not...

Does it really make much of a difference? The attic/roof is already insulated with 10mm insulation and boarded.
 
We got it done about 18 months ago. It was completely free. The guy mentioned that he’d submit the offer for the free grant and if it wasn’t approved we’d have to pay which would be £250. He said they rarely get turned down though even if you don’t meet the criteria and sure enough it was granted.

We got the loft redone as it didn’t have much and then had the walls done aswell. It's made a huge difference as before it would be starting to get cold after the heating went off but now it seems to stay pretty toasty. I’m always much too hot though but my wife loves it!
 
Mark Group are legit. They did the loft insulation for my mum's house a few years ago under one of these schemes. She was very happy with the guys doing the work. Neat job, tidied up after themselves, not remotely pushy.

Its free because the government are forcing energy companies to do it as part of greenery. Giving people free insulation is cheaper than building new power stations.

EDIT: Actually its 'free' because of the large rise in our energy bills over the last few years to pay for labour and the coalition's agreement to environmental targets.
 
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The insulation adds towards a power companies renewable energy obligations for some reason. Cavity wall insulation is apparently very hit and miss when it comes to post construction installation. The gap is their for a reason, primarily to prevent moisture from the outer brick transitioning to the inner block work. Also the brick naturally allow water vapour diffusion so impermiable insulation will prevent this happening. You can end up with incomplete fill of the cavity, cold spots form in these locations and become magnets for damp. Less water vapour escapes through the walls so the moistur in your house may be higher.

I know people who have had it done and are happy, personally I'm not sure I'd take the risk. On the hierarchy of energy loss routes to tackle, draughts around doors and windows would be my first target, the loft insulation (which is also not without it's pitfalls) before considering anything else.
 
There's been long discussions everywhere about cavity walls and insulation leading to damp problems from external walls exposed to rain not drying properly and condensation on the internal walls. I think consensus still is that at least in older properties the external structure was never designed to be water and damp proof and cavity walls and requirement for air circulation between walls were there for a reason. In case of problems putting it right would be more expensive than any of the bill savings in our lifetime.
 
Yes they they will fill your wall with old crap and it will keep your house warmer but if my house is going to be here for another 50 years who is going to dig out and replace all this crap that has gotten wet and smelly and mouldy.

There is no way in ten or twenty years they will be cleaning wall cavities for free and I bet it will be a massive pain in the ass to save a few quid over Christmas.
 
rhysduck said:
The two companies we've had knocking are Eco Energy Wales and MarkGroup.

Are these legit companies to go with or not? Or is this just like one of them PPI companies where you can go direct or get one of them to do it all for you?
If its free I want it done (assuming its not already done)...
Click to expand...

Yeah they're legit, Mark Group are pretty hopeless though. They came and did a survey on my house back in January, long story short 3 months go by and i still don't have an installation date booked (not even bothered about waiting i just wanted a concrete date sorted) so i had a British Gas subcontractor called Everwarm come and do it all free, told Mark Group not to bother. Their installation guys show up a few months later anyways :rolleyes:
 
Cavity insulation is not going into my property any time soon. Too many issues for me to think it will be hassle free and not cause problems in the future. Gap is there for a reason, especially in older houses.
 
I have no need for cavity insualtion................as I have no cavity in my 1890's house. :D

Had the letter for both though, and surveyor is booked in for next week to look at attic insualtion.
 
Just had EON round to my house and they did some test drill's on the walls and I've arranged a fitting date. Apparently, our cavity only has 20mm of polystyrene in it with a 50mm gap. They are going to fill this with a suitable glue type filler.

I know nothing about this kind of thing so was persuaded to sign up, have I done the right thing? It's all free which is another reason I gave the go ahead.
 
We had our's done last month by the MarkGroup.

We have noticed that it's warmer in the house, with no visible sighs of damp or condensation.

So far we are happy with it.
 
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