Wall insulation in Burley

The survey settles it. On a Burley house the camera shows the cavity width, whether anything is already in it and whether the inner face of the outer leaf is running wet. We also look at what is growing on the outside, because a face covered in algae and moss is a face that never dries, and at the gutters, because a leaking joint over a shaded wall keeps a strip of masonry wet all winter.

When a fill is the right answer. Clear cavity, sound pointing, dry outer leaf and a wall that gets some sun and wind, and it takes bonded polystyrene bead or blown mineral wool in a day, with a sharp drop in heat loss and a short payback. Drilled on a pattern, injected under control, eaves and every reveal closed off first and the holes made good in matching mortar. A fill is normally covered by an independent scheme run separately from the installer, so ask what paperwork comes with it.

When it is not. Cracked or blown render, open joints, a face green with growth or a wet reading on the outer leaf, and we do not fill it. Put the money into the outside first: cut back what is overhanging, clear the gutter, repoint what has washed out. A wall that has dried out can be filled next year. A wall filled while wet is a problem you have bought.

Failed and slumped fill. Where an older Burley wall was filled the camera often finds an empty band at the top and a compacted mass below, or fibre that has simply gone wet on the shaded side. Extraction with a vacuum through a drilled pattern, bagged and taken away, then either a refill in bead or an empty cavity left empty on purpose.

Solid walls. The older cottages in and around Burley are nine inch solid brick, or rendered rubble, with no cavity. Internal wall insulation is the route: insulated plasterboard fixed back, or a stud and batten frame with mineral wool or PIR board such as Celotex or Kingspan between it. On old masonry in a damp position we favour a breathable build up rather than a foil faced board, so the wall can still dry inwards.

Junctions and vapour. Reveals returned, the floor junction carried down, joist ends thought about, the threshold detailed and a vapour control layer taped continuously so the dew point cannot end up inside the build up as interstitial condensation. A lining that stops at the plaster line leaves a thermal bridge at every edge, which is where the mould comes back.

Ventilation. Extract in the kitchen and bathroom, trickle vents in the windows and air bricks kept clear. In a shaded Burley house people close everything up in winter, which is exactly when the moisture needs somewhere to go. Approved Document F sets what the ventilation has to do.

Wall insulation is not priced per square metre. The flat middle of a wall is quick. Windows, doors and the junctions round the edge are not.

Cavity or solid. If the borescope shows a clean, dry cavity, filling it is a short job. Solid walls have no cavity, so the choice is internal lining or external insulation, and either is a far bigger job. One small drilled hole tells us which.

Wet and shade. A rendered cottage wall under trees, or a north elevation that never gets sun, may need its damp dealt with before any insulation. A south west gable that takes the driven rain can be a poor choice for fill at all.

The junctions. Reveals, floor and eaves junctions and party walls: those are where cold bridging and condensation show up if the detailing is rushed. Most of the labour goes there.

Reaching it. Lining from inside means working through your rooms one by one. Filling from outside needs ladders or a tower, set by the work at height rules.

Ask whether the wall was checked with a borescope or assumed, what thickness is proposed, and who makes good the decoration.

We insulate walls in Burley, Bransgore, Ringwood, Sopley and the BH24 addresses around them. From our base in Boscombe the village is 8.8 miles, and planning for the village sits with the New Forest National Park Authority.

You are dealing with Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719. The borescope check and the pricing are done by Thomas Hannen, who owns the business. Checkatrade carries a 10 out of 10 from one of our verified customers. You pay nothing for the survey, and nothing for the written quote with its itemised lines. Before you book a visit in Burley, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Burley need no application at all. What decides whether a change to the outside of your house does is who the council is, whether a conservation area or a listing applies, and whether the place sits in a protected landscape.