Hi Morgan,

You must be using the wrong google, try 'external wall insulation'.

@morgan something like this: https://www.neverpaintagain.co.uk/blog/exterior-wall-insulation/  these days EU has changed the building code and they allow 8 to 10 cm of graphite composite EPS or mineral wool and not Polystyrene based any more, guess due to HBCD concerns. Wish I knew - every day we have new things to learn. Maybe next year there will be another new product to scramble for 😀 . 

More details on this link: https://ewistore.co.uk/the-best-type-of-thermal-cladding-for-houses/

@neilsondhi. Interesting but I live in a conservation area plus the nature of our house doesn’t lend itself to this.  Cavity wall insulation for me.

@morgan true - that's a bummer, I heard they insulate externally having the top layer same design like brick cladding - its a thin layer of pre fabricated design. Did you try to evaluate this option?

I somehow don't like wall cavity insulation, vapour barrier if not done right can cause havocs - if you decide to take that path then please be careful and ask many questions about vapour barrier choice and external or internal side.

@neilsondhi

I haven’t investigated as it really would be pointless.  The building itself isn’t physically suited to the concept.  It’s an old farm house in a conservation area.  Even if it were possible the change to the appearance of the building would make any planning application unacceptable in this area.

The cavity wall insulation I’m looking at is Blown Bead Insulation.  I can’t post a link but the company I’m looking at is called  Pro Point-UK.  Their site explains it and appears to deal with your concerns.

@morgan Thanks a lot - I learnt something new today 😀 My logical thoughts go towards air flow - they claim water just drains away through the insulation but I am still not sure how will dampness dry off - its the dampness that causes havoc and that needs to be dealt with to start with.

If I understood it right - it will restrict air flow (insulate) but that is the exact air flow we need to remove or dry off the dampness - ok, perhaps my logical thinking needs to go on vacation 🤣 but this just does not seem right.

@neilsondhi

Well I need insulation and your example is unfortunately unacceptable in my situation.

@morgan no worries, I am not claiming that my option is the best way..

what I am saying is to take all factors into serious consideration as this is the time to be pro-active rather than being sorry later. Its ok to go for wall cavity insulation - vapour barrier if not done right may lead to more issues, worst case you would be to forced to remove the insulation and many cases completely reconstruct the wall. I just ask to be cautious whenever it comes to wall cavity insulation - I personally hate it and would never be comfortable.

just youtube "wall cavity insulation issues" - it will shock you.

Hi Everyone,

For what it is worth, we had blown bead insulation done quite a number of years ago and have not experienced any problems with damp.

Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the company who carried out our installation, but looking at the Pro Point website they look very professional. It would appear that they can also perform blown bead removal, so if there are problems you could always go back to square one.

@derek-m Im going back and forth on this, do I just do cavity wall fill with Blown bead or do I leave it and do whole house internal wall insulation. the cost and time for internal wall will be expensive and blown bead could be done in a day ! 

Hi Bob,

I can only say that on our property we have had no problems after installing blown bead insulation.

You may wish to look at the WHICH website below:-

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/insulation/article/cavity-wall-insulation/cavity-wall-insulation-faqs-aTwXb9t7isS6

@derek-m

There doesn't seem to be a specific reference to types of insulation in your link.  It's pretty generic.