Find an Insulation Installer you can trust in East Of England.

Insulating a cavity wall should not affect the damp proofing of the wall. All insulation approved for use in cavity walls has been tested to ensure that it does not allow damp to pass through the wall. Some walls which receive a lot of wind driven rain are unsuitable for cavity wall insulation.

Cavity wall insulation is basically the process of installing an insulating material between the two layers of brick making up a cavity wall, either as a retrofit measure or at the time of building. Obviously this is not a choice if you have solid wall, but for those who do possess a cavity wall, it represents an opportunity you may not want to let slide as it is a worthwhile and affordable wall insulation option. Clearly, cavity wall insulation will make your home or property feel warmer, but it also does come with a range of other benefits which is why we’d recommend installing it. In this post, we’re going to look at a number of reasons why having a cavity wall insulation done is a good idea.

• It’s one of the cheapest energy saving measures that’s available. Not only is cavity wall insulation really effective, but it can also deliver great saving. In other words, it possesses a bigger payback compared to other options. When compared to other types of insulation, you can’t install cavity walls insulation by yourself, however it’s not so expensive to have it installed. The cost of the insulation will be determined by a number of factors such as your location, the company hired and more.
• It reduces your energy bills. Cavity wall insulation can save you about £100 to £200 on a yearly basis on heating bills. In other words, this is usually able to pay for itself in as little as two years.
• It reduces your carbon carbon footprint. If your home is heated with gas or electricity like several other homes, producing that energy involves burning fossil fuels which is known to be hazardous for the environment. If the heat generated is now allowed to escape through the walls, that means you’d have to use more to keep up your required temperature. Installation of cavity wall insulation in homes will enable a more efficient usage of the energy which will ultimately cut UK’s carbon usage.

With the title of this blog, do not be deceived into thinking the purpose is to encourage you to install an external insulation by yourself. Even as a competent DIYer, it’s not advisable to buy a couple of materials and start slapping it into the wall hoping for the best outcome. External insulation is by no means a DIY job and without the proper training and experience, it can easily turn out disastrous resulting in loss of time, effort and money in such a valuable project. This blog, however, will give you a great insight on how the installation process works and help maximize knowledge ensuring you do not spend more than necessary.

External Insulation Installation

lRender Test

• This is done to ensure the existing render is good enough for insulation support.

• If positive, the insulation can be applied directly onto it.

• If negative, ensure removal of the old render before fitting the insulation.

lPipework Adjustment & Removal

• Remove all pipework prior to insulation fitting

• Install temporary downpipes to ensure water is not wasted and everything continue to function normally during the insulation fitting process.

lWindow Protection

• Protect the window with a protective layer or film.

lStarter Track Fitting

• Determine level you want the insulation to start (height).

• Fit the aluminium start track or carrier tray at the identified level.

lInsulation Boards Fitting

• Apply a layer of adhesive to the board and glue them to the wall in a staggered pattern.

• Cut to fit round all obstructions and windows.

• File off the edge of the board where necessary using a rasp upon successful fitting of the boards

lMechanical Fixing Inclusion

• Hammer around 10 fixings per square metre into the board.

• This is to secure the insulation boards.

lBeading Fitting

• Add corner beads and stop beads to ensure the insulation is secure and to prevent it from making contact with other materials.

lReinforcing Mesh & Render Addition

• Apply two layers of strengthening properties and between the two layers of render, include a fibre glass mesh.

lPrimer Application

• Paint on the primer

lFinal Render Application

• Choose your most preferred texture and colour as this will be the last coating of the installation process.

lPipework Re-installation

• Re-install all detached pipework at the start of the installation process.

Before the commencement of any project, it’s always best to get an estimation of the cost. However, determining the cost of an external solid wall insulation is not the easiest of tasks as it relies on varying components such as the insulation materials to be used, labour cost and installation as well as the type of decorative finish to be incorporated. And depending on your choice of insulation material, some may need some adhesives while others may require some fixings which also contributes to the differences in price. As a result, the determination of the material cost alone can be tricky and even more so when various materials cover varying areas.

With that in mind, the cost of external solid wall insulation generally ranges between £80 to £100 per square metre2. As a result, a small flat can cost from £6000 to £9000 whereas a large detached house can have a price ranging between £21000 to £23000. To earn back your investment in terms of energy bill savings can take a couple of years, but it’s surely worth the try as there are several other benefits associated with installing an external solid wall insulation system. What’s more? Another huge factor that can influence the cost of your system is also the amount of work that’s required, how easy it is to be accessed by the installers and lots more

If you’re looking to cut down on the cost of your external solid wall insulation, then the best time for an installation might just be when you’re having another decorating or building project done such as fitting a new roof, window painting, installation of solar PV panels and more. This way, you’ll be able to spread the cost and have a greater value for each penny expended.

Over the years there has been an increase in the recommended thickness of loft insulation by the government. Obviously, the reason behind this is pretty simply - the thicker the layer of your loft insulation the bigger your savings. The UK government is very keen to every house in the country to have loft insulation fitted where possible as it helps to minimize the heating demands of these properties. Households get to benefit from loft insulation in so many ways which includes reduced energy energy bills as well as having a home that stays at a more comfortable temperature for longer.

Generally, for the government energy efficiency is crucial as it implies that the highest demand ( which is usually the time of the day when gas or electricity use is at its peak ) reduces, since each building requires slightly less energy. Overall, that ultimately implies that new power plants don’t have to be built which is some nice cost savings for the government.

In the 1980’s, any thickness of loft insulation from 25 mm to 50 mm was considered the standard. But then, building regulations stated that homes should have as much as 100 mm of loft insulation. Over time, this gradually increased to 270mm for new builds and also recommended for other properties, although not essential. As a result of this, there’s always a need to check how much insulation you currently have in your loft before you decide to purchase more. You may discover that you already have something within the range of 20 mm to 200 mm up there and knowing this and the insulation values will assist in determining how much more you’ll need to purchase, if any at all. You should also note that some modern materials can offer the same thermal insulation whilst not being as thick.

How long it takes to install insulation will depend on the size of your property. In general, loft and cavity wall insulation can be installed in a day or two. External wall insulation will usually take longer to install. The rep or installer will be able to advise you when quoting for the job how long this will be.

When thinking about the right insulation material for your loft, some of the first few things that comes to mind is the various properties of that material as well as how good they fit with your home’s needs.naturally, you’d like to ensure that the insulation will be efficient enough to add to the overall energy efficiency of your home, however there are also other features that may not get as much attention but also happens to be equally important. As the primary function of an insulation is to blanket your house to offer a barrier against heat loss, going for an insulation material that’s also fireproof is crucial as loft insulation can burn. Although most insulation materials are fireproof, a myriad of problems can actually make your insulation burn.

For instance, fibreglass insulation is produced using glass combined with plastic polymers and is naturally resistant to fire. However, even at that you’d have to be careful with batts that are supported with foil or paper due to the fact that these materials can burn pretty quickly. Cellulose, on the other hand, is not fireproof and is required to be treated by other flame retardants in order to help reduce combustion. Some of the best insulation materials that are resistant to fire includes the following:

• Fibre glass. This is made of glass that’s spun into fibres, then combined using plastic polymers. As a result, fiberglass insulation is naturally resistant to fire.
• Mineral wool. Having a high melting temperature, this insulation material happens to be a great fit for thermal applications due to its superior fire resistant properties. In fact, mineral wool is still naturally non-combustible even if composed of recycled iron and steel by-products, or from actual mineral rock itself.

Damp issues on a property are usually generated by a lot of factors such as a poor or broken guttering, condensation and lots more. The question arising here is what is the possibility of External Wall Insulation (EWI) preventing condensation? Not only is EWI a reliable way to reduce condensation-caused damp, but it’s also one of the major reasons property owners in solid wall homes consider thermally rendering or cladding their external walls.

Condensation arises as a result of warm moist internal air hitting a cold surface such as the steaming up of both windows and mirror when having a shower. What happens here is the condensation of the water vapour in the air from a gas to liquid in the process of touching the cold surface - one whose temperature is significantly reduced to reach the dew point. At the dew point, condensation is very rampant, and to tackle this issue you’ll have to heighten the wall temperature in order to convert the moisture to vapour and permit it to pass through the wall. And that’s exactly the job of an external wall insulation!

To get started you must ensure that the walls are clean and dry prior to fitting the external wall insulation. The month of May through to September when the weather tends to be dry and more stable are usually the best period to carry out the project. The external wall insulation will function just like a cosy blanket around the building. Ultimately, changing the feel and temperature of the inside of your home. As a result, the previously cold walls will no longer be cold which goes a long way to mitigate the effects of condensation. Furthermore, when an EWI is installed, the rooms of your home will automatically trap more thermal mass as the heat is saved in the walls’ fabric and released back when the temperature drops.