Cavity wall insulation

[mondyman]

I've been offered cavity wall insulation for free as it comes under a local grant by the council....

I've heard good and bad stories about it..i don't want to ignite a huge forum debate from all the builders out there but whould you recommend it or not...? ive got 28 days to reply lol so have a think...

Cheers for any advice,...

 

[Ossy]

My parents and their neighbours have pretty much all had it done in the last few months, gratis or discounted on the council grant scheme (mostly over 60s).

The only bad experiences they had with it were:

1. The houses were all pebble dashed and the holes made to inject the insulation were botched up by the insulators and made them look like they had measles (bad choice of mortar and not really caring about the look of it).

2. One had an opening at the top of their cavity into their loft. They therefore got a good covering of snow-like insulation in their loft which was a pain to clear up.

One of them told the contractors not to patch the holes up and did it himself - you now can't see where it was done. As far as the insulation efficiency is concerned, I guess you won't know until they've been through a proper winter, but I can't see it being a bad thing to have.

 

[JohnD]

I had to pay for mine but it was well worth it.

Apart from a cost saving, the house was definitely more comfortable - and if I came home from work at lunchtime, the house had not got cold.

 

[colins2]

Hi,

How big are the injection holes as a general average?
My house is pebble-dashed so I'll have to watch for that.

Also, how many holes actually get bored - say on the front of a 3 bed semi with a bay window.

Thanks
Colin

 

[JohnD]

the holes in mine were bored at the mortar joints and are just visible if you look for them at eye level, but are inconspicuous. I understands a lot depends on the skill and care of the person pointing them up.