Our videos are aimed at property owners who are looking for useful information surrounding repointing brickwork, mortar mixes along with dampness in buildings and the real causes. We want the cowboy traders to be avoided so we give you the explanations and guides to ensure you know the difference and save a hell of a lot of money.
So where is this water coming from? Is it outside rain? Is it moisture created in the house, or is it from a leak? I've worked in many houses that have this or the beads and only seen one problem on a house near the sea and it had a lot of driving rain hitting the wall. The homeowner painted theat clear Ronseal brick waterproofing that still allows moisture to escape, and he says its cured the problem several years on.
Using a drill you have to be very cautious to not break the surrounding bricks, which you happened to do. Therefore I prefer to use an angle grinder to cut away the first 3.5 cm which can help. Or use the drill bit on the stone itself as you're going to throw that away anyhow.
Great video - my only comment would be to wear safety goggles and also be really careful with your left hand fingers (around 7:00 minutes into the video) when using the drill bit right next to them to remove the mortar
So what is the solution then? You need cavity wall insulation to get the grants or at least I thought you did. If it will just make it worse what are you supposed to do?
If in doubt I would ensure that whoever is carrying out the survey for eligibility, considers the exposure zone, house exposure to wind driven rain, a thorough check of the cavities and wall ties and can guarantee a quality inspection will be carried out post installation. If the property is exposed and not up to standard then other methods should be considered or cavities left clear and notes made so that you can obtain other energy saving measures.
@@CoastalWallTiesRustington ive got experience in boat/ship building, we used to use pu foam to fill voids, insulate fish rooms, gene spaces etc etc. Given its perfect gap filling and slight adhesive property, i was wondering if its a good idea to use in cavitys? Fairly water resistant, airtight/draftproof, fire resistant (get the right 1 obvs).
Are you looking to do it yourself? If not you have a vast choice of extraction companies to choose from. Just ensure that you are able to view inside the cavity in several areas using their boroscope.
I lived in a 1902 house and when the rain drove against the rear wall water would come through the kitchen wall after the rain. I tried applying silicone waterproofing solution but it didn’t work. Eventually I removed some bricks and found the polystyrene cavity wall insulation had turned to dust and had become waterlogged. You could squeeze it and see the water come out. I never suspected the insulation.
Why isn't their a cavity gap? Don't they put some sort of membrane in before pumping in the insulation? They could run a line from left to right, attach small rings that hold a membrane. Something along the lines of a shower curtain. Simple plastic sheeting, but it's a long and square balloon that sits against the brickwork. Protecting the cavity. Then the insulation is pumped in and can only go between the shower curtain balloon and the interior wall. Burst/remove the shower curtain balloon after insulation sets. Could even "suck out" the air from the shower curtain balloon. Ensuring that the cavity is now free space. This is my way. My design. My method. Available for licensing.
@@paulb8186 no it doesn't. When you build the walls you have the inner wall and the insulation is attached to that. Then there's the cavity gap of 50mm or more. Then the outer skin. Both inner and outer are attached using ties, channels, etc. Terrible error that they actually filled the entire space and completely removed the cavity. Was always going to lead to serious costly problems. I've seen now that there's are roof treatments that are also going wrong. Again it's badly thought through insulation technique. The materials need to be able to dry thoroughly. The gap is needed. Insulate the inner wall. Keep the cavity.
@@Google_Does_Evil_Now You're talking about purpose-built cavity-wall insulation systems using solid insulation boards/batts, which sometimes have an air gap between the insulation and outer leaf. That's a relatively recent phenomenon. Cavity walls were originally empty, and before the 1930s were 50mm at most. Companies have been filling these empty cavities by pumping in foam and other loose materials such as EPS beads (filling the gap entirely) which sometimes get damp or prevent evaporation. These types of insulation shouldn't be used unless the cavity is at least 50mm and clear of debris/mortar slops on ties etc. Your membrane idea wouldn't work because of wall ties connecting the inner leaf to the outer leaf.
@@beatonthedonis so do you think that outer wall insulation is better for these? I saw Skill Builder Roger fitting some lightweight external insulation tiles which he then skimmed. Maybe that's a good option? The outer wall could breathe back into the building. Might still need some way for moisture to leave though.
We’ve got cavity wall insulation (the polystyrene bead type) and haven’t had any issues with mould or water ingress, apart from where there was a gap under a window sil that needed fixing. The house is warmer for it too. Obviously problems can happen but I think they’re rarer than they seem because nobody makes videos about insulation doing a adequate job!
I think the problem is very understated. A whole new industry has been born since the introduction of whitewool insulation and the problems are very common. The problem is many homeowners will trust tradesman that provide alternative solutions like repointing or fixing a roof to solve the problem (actually does nothing) and then they eventually find that it’s the insulation or they live with an undiagnosed problem. Some homeowners simply can’t afford to remove insulation, and others are just not aware of a problem. Google ‘cavity wall extraction companies’ and you will be surprised at how many there are.
I have to say I was worried that we would have issues and took into account the effort of removing it before having it installed, but so far it’s been fine. Maybe it’s because we have the waterproof bead type? It does make a bit of a mess if you need to cut holes in the wall though. I was told that it would be rigid but they’re rather loose!
It’s meant to be bonded, my guess is that you weren’t first call on the day of installation and it was installed in the warmer months. This will reduce the amount of glue in the line.
I have the bonded polystyrene bead insulation. Fitted early 80s. It is also rather messy when you drill through it. The only issues I've had is not to do with the cavity insulation but the missing or removed damp courses around doors and windows and the missing cavity trays (age of property). Additional issues were caused by very poor pointing with the mortar turning to sand in sections after 30 plus years. All of this allowed water into the cavity causing water to come through the ceiling and around doors and windows rather than exiting out via weep holes. Sorting the pointing out, adding cavity trays and refitting vertical damp courses sorted out the ingress of water.
I work for a housing association and were constantly going round taking this stuff out causing so much damp and mold troubles i think cavitys should be left empty let the cavity do what its intended to do which to to cause a break from external skin from the internal to stop damp problems in the first place 😂
You SHOULD fill the cavity with expansion foam. Then add another 80mm of external wall insulation. Then so proper ventilation. If you have good budget then heat recovery system would be marvelous (not really known in UK but very popular in Europe).
The beads themselves are waterproof and exterior walls are not. Moisture will seep through the wall and can sit on these beads but very rarely will that moisture track through to the internal wall unless other bridging like mortar on wall ties etc is present. Insulation prevents the walls from allowing vapourised moisture escaping so freely, so in turn humidity is increased internally and without proper heating and ventilation this can cause mould problems and condensation in colder areas
Thank you, I have never done pointing but decided I needed to give it a go and your video showed me exactly what I needed to do and the tools I need so will buy a hawk instead of using that bit of hardboard
I'm so baffled!! About to sign a contract to insulate cavity wall in my terraced house. Read and listen to so many contradicting points. My friend structural engineer said to do it. My other builder friend said do not do it! Building is EPC D insulation would take it to C. I am actually afraid to do it now.... Obviously is through gov grant.
The only real benefit you’re going to get is the epc rating being higher. The choice is yours really but I would consider whether the risks out way the reward. How exposed are your walls to wind driven rain and is the building in a high exposure area.
Cavity walls were invented to be clear voids with just air. Always surprises me the madness of filling it up. The old guys saw all this stuff with double skin walls why do you think it’s a void? Mine is a void and staying that way. Don’t want any government scheme filling it up badly. They aren’t built like timbre frames (which are like living in a shed). You can’t go nuts with insulation. I’m surprised mass law suits have not kicked off about this. BTW some of it has asbestos in it.
