Warm-a-wall

Hi,

Has anyone had any experience of Warm-a-wall internal wall insulation. It appears to be one of only two products that the EST recommend for Internal Wall Insulation (the other being Sempatap Thermal).

Unlike Sempatap however this (warm-a-wall) needs to be skimmed before use and as others have complained that Sempatap is easily damaged then wonder whether Warm-a-wall would be more practical (lets face it, it would be the plaster that would get damaged as opposed to the insulator itself).

It also appears to have a greater impact on U values.

http://www.dry-wall.co.uk/Warm_a_Wall.html

Any thoughts/views/opinions/experiences etc.,

Sadie.

SadieLovatt said:

It appears to be one of only two products that the EST recommend for Internal Wall Insulation (the other being Sempatap Thermal).

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So the energy savings trust has never heard of insulation backed plasterboards?

Mmm,,, sounds a bit sales pitchy to me...but then???

Roughcaster.

Seems like a proper (last resort) DIY system to me!
If you follow all the links, there doesn't appear to be an Agrement Certificate (an independent test certificate) for the internal system, despite intimation that there is.
If the thin plaster skim over the top gets a knock it will undoubtedly deform with the 'spongy' insulation behind. You'll soon have a wall surface like the moon!
At £15 per sq.m it ain't cheap either! As Deluks suggests, insulation backed plasterboards would be immeasurably better and are actually somewhat cheaper.
Wouldn't give it house room myself, sorry.

Can you not go for blown cavity fill? done in a day, no plastering etc...

Deluks,
Care to give me some more information on insulated backed plasterboard? info links, effect on U values etc.,

PJ1.
Sorry, we've got solid walls, no cavities to fill.

Now bearining mind that we have a small 1930s semi, that we cannot really afford to lose 2" off each rooms dimensions (2" being the recommdation) and don't really want to have the relatively new external render stripped off and rebuilt with EWI then (I hope) you can understand why I am even looking at these two options.

Anyone got any other ideas?

Sadie.

What is the actual problem which you are trying to deal with?

Hi Sadie.

View below links to insulated plasterboard. You can either mechanically fix or dot and dab them on.

K17 or K18

http://www.eviee.co.uk/Kingspan-Kooltherm-K18.htm

If you need further help on this feel free to drop me an e-mail.

Woody... Trying to insulate the house as much as is reasonably possible.
Etienne247... Thanks, I'll take a look

Sadie.

SadieLovatt said:

Woody... Trying to insulate the house as much as is reasonably possible. Sadie.

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It's those two words that make me smile.
Seems to me like the idea it totally outrageous. There used to be a product called Warmaline to put under your wallpaper that looked suspiciously like this, that was no good as it damaged too easily.
I doubt the money you'll spend installing this system will be saved for many many years to come.
Just put some warmer clothes on.

Warm-a-wall, Sempatap and other similar proprietary products are more for removing cold walls to deal with condensation. The secondary benefit is increased insulation.

But for insulating, there are no magic products - you need an insulating material, and the greater its thickness the more insulation it provides.

A foam board of some sort is normally required, but for a given thickness different boards perform differently.

At the bottom of the list will be plain polystyrene (white) then you have something like Styrofoam or Jablite (normally blue and yellow respectively) and then you get the best - Celotex or Kingspan (pale yellow and foil faced).

Most of these come glued to plasterboard for situations like yours.

So it makes sense that if you are going to lose an inch or two, then to use the most efficient type of insulation to get maximum insulation.
Labour costs for fitting 10mm or 100mm of insulation will be the same, and material costs will not be 10 x as much. So it makes sense to fit as much as possible. Its not worth fitting a bit of polystyrene.

But then you have to factor in cost, disruption (including re mounting electrical sockets etc) and decide whether the cost is worth it for the few pence it would otherwise cost in fuel bills

If you are set on doing this, then avoid the proprietary systems, and source some insulated plasterboards - which will be cheaper and potentially more efficient and so payback time will be sooner.

And remember that if you increase insulation, then make sure you have provisions for ventilation - or else you could end up with a mould/condensation problem elsewhere.