Rubble in Cavity

[alexb123]

We had a energy inspection yesterday and we have rubble in the cavity wall. Who would be best to contact to get rid of this? Also, how much do these types of jobs cost?

Thanks

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

A magician.

 

[r896neo]

Whilst freddy was being funny he is sort of right. The only way to do this is labouriously remove little holes of brickwork and pull/ rake stuff out. It will be very hard to find someone willing to do this on anything other than a per hour or per day rate and that way it could cost you dearly.

It has so many variables and is very unskilled work meaning low value. A small general builder very short of work might be best.

If it was my house i would want to inspect the work at the end of each day before it was closed back up.

You may be able to use a small flexible inspection camera that would go into drilled holes to pinpoint the worst areas and try a more targeted approach.

 

[^woody^]

The real issue is whether this is actually causing a problem or not. Lots of cavities can have debris in them.

 

[JohnD]

if you are short of money and like DIY, you could do it yourself as it is so labour-intensive. I once did it using a home-made metal prodder to break up the fallen mortar, and a powerful wet-and-dry canister vac. You will need extra tubing to poke it along the cavity. It is easier if you can take out a half-brick at the corner and poke in a straight line. Possibly you could use a core drill and mortar the plug back in when finished. Sometimes when you take out a window or a window-board you can see down into the cavity, so I have a look.

In my case the vac sucked out sand and small pieces. Big ones got sucked onto the end of the pipe and I pulled the pipe back out to remove them. It was very tedious.

There's a chance a CWI company might know someone who does such work. I believe they sometimes have to suck out CWI fill if they have installed it in an unsuitable wall.

 

[garyo]

I thought that was why most cavities begin below the dpc- so that debris are of no consequence.

What level is the cavity bar at? Nice idea taking out a corner brick. If the base is at Dpc level then the right kind of homemade tool/rod with a hook or flappy plate might let you scrape it out.

 

[alexb123]

Thanks for all the replies. This is a lot more complex than I thought.

Is there a type of cavity insulation that gets around this problem? Or could you fill the bottom of the cavity with one material and the top with another?

 

[Nige F]

No, there is no type that will get round the problem. As it is the open cavity will allow the drying of the rubble - filled you will get water crossing the cavity.