Cavity Wall Insulation

[spiidey]

We live in the following property.



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I received a letter through the door from our local Council stating that they'd received funding to give owners in certain areas within the County free home loft & cavity wall insulation on a first come first served basis.

I called the number and was put through to a Scottish Government's Energy Saving Scotland team.

After a quick take down of details, they asked where I lived and I gave them the address and they googlemapped me, and managed to get a picture akin to that above of my property.

When that happened, the chap that was dealing with my request said that as my property was a timber build (I'm unsure whether it is but he said he could tell from the streetview) it was unsuitable for cavity wall insulation as installing this would run the risk of damp at a later date, and in any case we'd already have some form of insulation in our walls.

Is this true (firstly that our property is a timber build, and secondly that timber builds are unsuitable for cavity wall insulation).

I'm a bit miffed that we got a letter through the door offering free insulation from a Council and it turns out our property is unsuitable.

 

[Diyisfun]

It was a mass mailing, send to all its the cheap way.

 

[spiidey]

It was a mass mailing, send to all its the cheap way.

I understand that; its just one of those things when you don't know about the offer it means nothing but if you get something like that through the door it does get your hopes up a bit.

Is it true though that cavity wall insulation is a no-no with timber frame buildings?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

A house that age will have adequate insulation in the walls whether it be timber frame or cavity. You can tell if your house is timber frame by having a look in the loft (probably) at the eaves at the top of the walls. Or just ask your neighbours.

As I understand it adding insulation to the cavity will make the plywood sheathing prone to decay as there will no longer be a cavity. The forum is littered with people with damp problems who have traditional masonry cavity walls.