Insulation~Not all insulation is equal...
To make a house habitable, the amount of insulation installed in the property, can make a huge difference over their life time of a house. Both on the environmental effect and the cost for the energy used.
The current practice of installing 50mm at worse or 100mm of insulation, that seems to be the maximum in the walls and roof with less or none in the floor is madness!! It adds significantly to the cost of heating in winter and cooling in summer that is substantial over the life of the building!!!’
The installation of a minimum of 100mm and 200mm or more (best practice) of expanded foam insulation all round, floor, roof and external walls, adds an extremely small cost to the build, but represents a very substantial saving in energy use over the life of the building!!’
Type of insulation: This makes a great difference with metal foil faced expanded foam (With plaster board facing for internal walls) being the gold standard.!!!’
The use of spun glass, often called rockwall insulation (IT SHOULD BE BANNED!! It is poor insulation, especially when it gets wet and wicks water, how do you dry it when it’s in the wall cavity?? And the fibres that it gives off when it is installed are a health hazard.!! ) I’ll say it again it should be banned.!!!’
But no I can’t believe, it is used because it’s cheap Dh0ooo!! In the “Warm Front” home insulation scheme. It’s a bloody disaster in my opinion. Used in occupied housing it leaves the home severely contaminated with glass fibres!!!
They result in health problems asthma and skin irritations, and are impossible to remove unless the house is void when the work is done. That never happens and furnishing, bedding and carpets remain contaminated. MADNESS!!!’
The 50-100mm that is installed, it seems to depend on who does the work and what they can get away with, is a waste of money, as it makes little difference, partly because of the poor standards of installation, in the homes I have inspected, and particularly when compared against the expanded foam type insulation that has over twice the insulation value and none of the health hazards associated with it.!!!’
It is also considerable easier to install and is available with plasterboard facing, that cuts installation time, as it cuts out the dry-lining part of the job. It also reduces the amount of timber framing needed, so a win, win all round. The savings in installing it means the cost difference is small, with a significant benefit to the home owner both in the higher insulation value, that results in significant energy savings and the lack of health problems from the glass fibre contamination of the home.
The building regulations need to be changed, to increase the insulation of new buildings and STOP the use of rock wall (spun glass) insulation, both in new build and in the governments home insulation schemes.
I can’t express my exasperation sufficiently at the use of rockwall (Spun glass) insulation!!!’ It needs to stop!!!’
Biting the hand that feeds IT
