For some years now, the government has been pretty keen on everyone getting cavity wall insulation or loft installation in their homes. They want us to keep warm and dry in the cold months of winter and they do not want us to burn energy on heating our homes when some nice fluffy fibres shoved into the cavity area of a house wall can keep us all nice and warm for one initial payment.
Let’s face it, we all want lower bills and warmer homes without the need to keep firing up the central heating all day long. And the government want it too. But as any cavity wall insulation engineer will tell you: it’s not quite the dream ticket – for every home – we’re told it is.
The government has in recent years actually accelerated its drive for homes to be filled with insulating material in the wall cavities. It is a directive that it hopes will drive down the soaring cost of energy.
We need to think greener and use less fossil fuels – these directives are often rubber-stamped at many Climate Conferences attended by more than 90 per cent of the world’s leaders or representatives.
So What Exactly Is A Cavity Wall?
When homes are built, an outer wall of standard house bricks is built just a few inches in front of a breeze block wall, which acts as your inner wall after it has been plastered. This is how most modern homes have been constructed and it is the gap between the breeze block wall and the outer brick wall that we call the cavity. A cavity is literally defined in the dictionary as “an empty space within a solid object”, so the solid object in this sense is the walls, and the empty space is your cavity.
Now, here’s the rub: cavity walls are constructed so there is a barrier between the two walls to protect against penetrating dampness. So, if you suddenly fill that gap with fluffy insulation materials, the so-called “gap” no longer exists!
Modern homes (homes built after 1980) will have cavity wall insulation already built in at the time of the new home build. This is achieved by fitting foam insulation pads to the breeze block (lightweight brick) wall facing outwards. It does not touch the outer brick wall, thus allowing for a gap between the outer wall and the foam.
Problems are common and so a lot of people choose to make a claim against the company that installed the insulation and so that is a good option if you have these problems.