Free cavity wall insulation... whats the deal?

Conanius

Conanius

Conanius

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Currently living in a rented property, and last years weather wasn't much fun to keep the place hot. There is plenty of loft insulation in place, and theres a decent (bosch worcester) combi boiler in place. There isn't a thermostat on it yet (just on the radiators, with a dial to set up the radiator heat on the combi) but thats being dealt with seperately.

So some random chap stopped me in sainsburys claiming we could get free cavity wall insulation the other week, and if its totally free, even if it only makes a few pence difference it sounds worth a go.

Just wondering if anyone here has had it done, if it truely is fee, and any recommendations for companys to use/avoid.
 
Walls are built with cavities for a reason, shoving them full of waste material is a short term fix, when the damp sets in you'll wish you paid the extra few quid for more gas.
 
As it's a rented property then it's the landlord's decision.

He may not take kindly to you messing about with his property without permission.
 
I had it done free on a previous house. Was amazing how much warmer it made it. Well worth it.

Oh, and my parents had it done 20 years ago on their house built in 1910 and there is no damp.
 
From what I've heard bridging the gap between the cavity allows damp to be drawn into the internal brickwork and so can cause damp problems. It's what everyone seems to say but I haven't got evidence to back it up so could be ******** but wouldn't risk it on my own house
 
Mother in law has had this done and the house is now damp, black walls and you can see the carpet becoming moldy near the outside wall (it's a mid-terrace house), so bad that the insurers are looking to strip the inside walls to remove the filling. It didn't take long for the problems to start, october last year it was put in and by Chrismas you could see the mold starting, it's just taken this long for the insurance company to take it seriously.

I know my neighbours have had this done any none of them have had the problem so guess it's just a case of chancing your luck. A engineer mate who's apparently seen some pleb company fill walls on a timber house causing rather serious damage :)
 
It'll only get damp if the job wasn't done properly and a CAV wasn't installed in the correct places or if not at all.

Cavity wall insulation is great and well worth it.

Check out other people also as you may get a better deal elsewhere.
 
Having insulation put in the walls of my rented house next week. We are the second job of the day.

Its a 3 bed detached house. Any ideas how much insulation material gets put in? I imagine a couple of men In a van and how do you really know what's put in!? Does the material come in A bag?

I'm not paying for it but I want a warm house and to be confident the works done right.

Cheers
 
I had free loft insulation by the council. It has made a hell of a difference. Was done last week, even now, the heating is only on for a couple of hours before I start to melt. Before it was 5 hours for it to become toasty enough!

I do not have a thermostat as the boiler does not have one. Have ordered a wireless one that replaces the manual segment timer. Only £66 and should pay for itself easily!
 
LiGhTfasT said:
Would rather spend a few quid on gas. Whole idea sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen a decade down the road from now.
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I am inclined to agree. My Parents had cavity wall insulation installed back in the early 80's, they were fortunate and it has worked quite well (Though there are a few damp patches) but it didn't actually save them any money! (They lived more comfortably rather than just being as cold as before but for less!) but there are so many tales of this all going horribly wrong! Same with companies that are offering cheap/free solid wall insulation! I would never contemplate it! It might work, but it often ends up looking horrible and if it doesn't work properly you are seriously screwed! To the extent of total loss! (I live in a solid wall house! Current temp 14.5C, and yes I am in a T shirt! but I am fine! I guess it is my Northern Heritage! :D )
 
Im getting free cavity on monday and free loft on friday. Everwarm are doing it, ill report back if my house collapses or anything.
 
Had both done free (separately) over the last year. Made a decent improvement in temps especially upstairs and no problems with damp etc.
 
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