Insulation
What’s the modern take on the advised types of insulation (retro fitted) for cavity walls, loft and floor?
Interested to hear ideas on materials and methods etc.
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There are so many and for some many different parts of the home. I have cavity wall house but have been advised not to fill the cavity as due to the location (literally 50 metres from the coast and exposed to the elements, my architect said it would cause damness and cold bridging if i filled it. Ive gone with a complete internal wall of insulation built on the inside of all my external wall around the house. I suspect that will give me rally good insulation. I’m most likely be using kingspan insulation with underfloor as well. triple glazing where it makes sense and new doors. I then plan on using a heat imager to ensure i address any leaks/drafts. I think that way if i minimise the loss of heat it means i dont need to keep topping it up to a comfortable level
@boblochinver. For my walls I’m thinking Blown Bead Insulation. I’ve no experience of it but it looks like it could overcome your issue and be worth a coat of looking at. Not possible to post a link but a company called Pro-Point UK specialise. There will be others I’m sure but their site explains the principle quite well I think. Happy to hear of anybody's experiences.
Retrofitted 11.2kw Mitsubishi Ecodan to new radiators commissioned November 2021.
14 x 500w Monocrystalline solar panels.
2 ESS Smile G3 10.1 batteries.
ESS Smile G3 5kw inverter.
@morgan I had a look at that wall cavity bead thing and it actually look pretty damn good, i think i need to investigate that further as i was about to apply a lot of internal insulation for the whole house but if i get the Same effect with actually filling the cavity then that might be a result for me as it would literally take weeks to do the entire inside of the house with new insulation walls. What i like is it says it doesnt bridge the water . I need to look into it further ……
Never heard of it, and was just on the blown site: http://www.nbba.org.uk/index.html
Looks super interesting. I think the problem, for us, is that previous owners already filled the cavity with insulation - I just don’t know how good it is, and we won’t be able to “top up”. But their case studies sound great.
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sometimes the internet can be the best of places and the worst of places, As I research further the blown bead insulation on some sites it promises to be the best thing since sliced bed or the Sinclair ZX Spectrum Computer, and on other sites its the worst option and doesn't do what it says on the tin and creates cold damn areas. I. continue to do my research. It would be easy to just fill the cavity and I have no doubt that it will make the house warmer but im thinking having my current cavity air barrier does have its plus points and doing internal full wall insulation will absolutely make the rooms warmer. I'm of the logic if I install cavity insulation and it goes wrong or causes underlying issues such as damn etc then its difficult to rectify, but fitting internal insulation on the walls will always be a positive.
Hi Everyone,
We had blown bead cavity wall insulation installed quite a few years ago and for us it was an even better investment than solar panels.
I think at the time it cost in the order of £250 to £275, and I estimate that the payback time was no more than a year.
The whole process was completed in less than a day, with minimal fuss and mess. They just drilled holes, at set distances, in the outside wall, and then blew the beads inside. The hole is then filled with mortar which is hardly noticeable.
Hope this helps.
@derek-m interesting thanks.
Retrofitted 11.2kw Mitsubishi Ecodan to new radiators commissioned November 2021.
14 x 500w Monocrystalline solar panels.
2 ESS Smile G3 10.1 batteries.
ESS Smile G3 5kw inverter.
did you get a thermal image before and after pictures ? just to see if it completely filled it all. I am still considering that but think there is more benefit for me with he internal insulation.
Hi Bob,
We did not get a thermal image taken before.
I borrowed a thermal imaging camera the other year and carried out a survey and could see no problems with any of the walls. As expected the main heat loss was from the windows.
From what I can remember the beads are really quite small, so fill all the nooks and crannies.
Hope this helps.
I took a completely different approach - thinking about us humans, when its cold we put on a jacket - took the same principle. Our house is wrapped with a nice 5 cm of hard - fire retardant polystyrene insulation, though its not enough as recommendations are 8-10 cm but that would have required us to extend the roof overhangs so we thought we would go slow on it. So far it has worked well - our energy rating from "D" got promoted to "A+".
Exterior? I can only find interior via Google.
Retrofitted 11.2kw Mitsubishi Ecodan to new radiators commissioned November 2021.
14 x 500w Monocrystalline solar panels.
2 ESS Smile G3 10.1 batteries.
ESS Smile G3 5kw inverter.
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