Charlesland Cavity Wall Insulation (reputable company)

Earlsie

Hi Folks,

I appreciate this topic might be best placed in a building forum but I am interested to see has anyone (locally) looked into or got any type of cavity wall insulation for their Charlesland Home recently.

I have a 3 bedroom in the Court and find the sitting room very cold during the winter months, all other rooms are fine. I am guessing I need some sort of cavity wall Insulation to block up whatever drafts are feeding through the external wall.

I have alreadly looked at the vents etc but draft seem to come in under skirting boards more so.

Has anyone had any surveys done or know of any reputable company that can do this.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Earlsie

Charlie-Bravo

I don't have any particular companies to recommend but I did look into this for a client fairly recently.

The bead insulation all tend to be of similar insulation value. You can google ecobead, eurobead, platinum bead. It is important to ensure the contractor is completing the work to the correct specification - so how can you check this? You can ask for their installation specification for the product they are using. Also ensure the insulation type is certified by NSAI, Bord Agrement or whichever.

Now separately, and depending on your individual house, pumping the cavity on a 3-bed in Charlesland will only work on the brickwork facing parts. AFAIK the rest of the rendered blockwork is hollow blockwork which is not easily pumped whatsoever.

Also to consider, as you are pumping the cavity, this now creates a bridge for damp. As brickwork is not rendered, the cavity is there to stop moisture crossing to the inside, but with the fully filled cavity there is a possibility damp will bridge across. You need to check the product being installed is moisture resistant for has a method for preventing damp bridging.

the Lamb Post

Earlsie wrote: »

I have alreadly looked at the vents etc but draft seem to come in under skirting boards more so.

I'm in a two bed in the Court and found that all our external walls are drylined with a resultant gap behind the plasterboard.

I found one of the pipes bridging the vent in the kitchen/dining was actually broken which was allowing all the cold air to pass into the cavity behind the plasterboard and it was also coming out at skirting board level when any high winds were present.

The sitting room (to the front) was the same, but on inspection I found the vent to be fine and fully sealed. I discovered the draught in this room was actually coming in from around the windows. There was a faint draught coming from under the window cill which we could feel on our necks when the couch was under the window, and again this air was getting into the gap behind the plasterboard and travelling down. I haven't done anything to rectify it except move the couch (most economic option ), but this may also be the reason you're experiencing draughts at skirting level.

Not sure if you have any windows in the area/s affected but might warrant a bit of investigation before forking out on the insulation.

Earlsie

Thanks Astrofluff,

Had not considered or heard of "moisture bridge" before, I might revisit the vents in the room again and the service entry doors which I often find on the ground Outside (ESB \ TV i think) before taking on the more costly option.

Regarding these service doors which are not sealed or fixed to the outside walls, I guess there are no issues with intruducing them to some expanding foam :rolleyes:

Earlsie

the Lamb Post wrote: »

Not sure if you have any windows in the area/s affected but might warrant a bit of investigation before forking out on the insulation.

I found our two vents in the sitting room had no bridge between inner and outer vents, we just sealed the outside vent which is not the right thing to do (I know).

Good point with the window as we have the couch situated under the window and yes a cold draft down the back of the neck sounds familiar.

Cheers

loyatemu

surely Charlesland houses are already insulated to some degree - they were all built post-2000. Is there insulation behind the dry-lining?

Having moved from Charlesland Grove to a 1970s semi I really notice how much quicker the heat is lost from our current house, though in Charlesland there was a serious draft from the vents when it was windy.

recedite

They all have 60mm glass wool insulation. The overall shape is also quite good for energy conservation, all being semi detached or terraced in some way.
There is an issue with excessive ventilation downstairs though because the flueless gas fires need two vents in the room to prevent any buildup of carbon monoxide. Some have two more vents at the kitchen end because the blocklayer may not have known whether the sitting room was going to be at the front or the back of the house. So 4 vents can set up a fair old draught.

Maudi

Hi earlsie I live in the wood and I have a background in construction/airtightness..the insulation detail in the charlesland houses is very poor and having got tired of the heat loss . I have made extensive changes to our home insulation.it dosent mean major renovation and its all manageable by the average d.i.y er...pm if you would like a few pointers...

Maudi

loyatemu wrote: »

surely Charlesland houses are already insulated to some degree - they were all built post-2000. Is there insulation behind the dry-lining?

Having moved from Charlesland Grove to a 1970s semi I really notice how much quicker the heat is lost from our current house, though in Charlesland there was a serious draft from the vents when it was windy.

I took off the wall in the sitting room..the rockwooll insulation I found behind the boards was very badly fitted lacking in places and had mostly sagged to the floor..a bit of badly fitted insulation and a ten mm slab isint enough between you and the outside elements..also the window are a good make and seal well however theres a sizeable gap around the frame where brown silicon has been used to fill the gap..very bad detailing...

stanley1980

Thought this was just me! I've three bed and the front room is very cold in winter and you can feel a draft blowing through the room! I've no idea about diy etc but would really appreciate any suggestions/ help or names of companies who might help.
Thanks

Maudi

stanley1980 wrote: »

Thought this was just me! I've three bed and the front room is very cold in winter and you can feel a draft blowing through the room! I've no idea about diy etc but would really appreciate any suggestions/ help or names of companies who might help.
Thanks

Pm sent.

Earlsie

Maudi wrote: »

Hi earlsie I live in the wood and I have a background in construction/airtightness..the insulation detail in the charlesland houses is very poor and having got tired of the heat loss . I have made extensive changes to our home insulation.it dosent mean major renovation and its all manageable by the average d.i.y er...pm if you would like a few pointers...

Hi Maudi, that would be great if you dont mind.

Cheers
Earlsie

Gordy6040

Hey Maudi

Since you seem to know a bit about this could you post on the forum please. I think it's something we could all benefit from. If there is some rule preventing you from doing this, I'd also appreciated a PM. I'm in a 3 bed end of terrace and also find it a bit drafty in winter. Mind you, I reckon the concrete in the floor is uneven, which makes the wood floor uneven, which means the hall door may have a gap at the bottom of it...
Cheers
G