Insulation

[zednine]

hi there

i am new to this web site so excuse me if this is a repost..

we have a 2 year old Wain home house,, and i am not going to bore you all with the dozens of faults with it,,,yet anyway.

my question is ,,,, do new houses have to by law/ building regs have to have cavity wall insulation??

wain home say they dont because the way they construct there houses they meet the 'U' value required by building regs...

can anyone confirm this for me

Paul

 

[Tony]

Hi Zednine,

New homes have to comply with the buidling regulations and NHBC standards if applicable. The house could be in breach of both if it does not have cavity wall insulation. However, insulation can be provided in other ways to meet the standards and regulations.

The applicable building regulations are known as Part L.

The NHBC have an indirect test which states that the central heating system must be able to maintain a living room at 21c when the outside temperature is -1C.

New homes are supposed to have energy rating certificate but most don't.

I hope this helps

Tony

 

[zednine]

Hi Tony

thanks for the reply, i have been doing some research on this and it appears that the planning on this site may be 10 years old and if so people are saying it might not have been a requirment, even tho the houses are no more than 4 years old.

i have been in the buiding trade since i was 16 now 45 and as far as i can remember they have always put in cavity wall insulation, i just need some cast iron evidance, or facts..

The nhbc say the house complies with the regs, but i have my doubts!

Regards

Paul
PS monkeys could have built it better, oh and after 2 years i still dont have a bath panel

 

[Tony]

Hi Paul,

The building regulations that apply are the ones in force when the plans are approved, not when the houses are built. In your case it sound like several years have elapsed. I know some developers build in phases over a number of years. There is a Jones Homes site near me that has been on the go for over five years.

It is recognised that cavity wall insulation is the easiest way to meet the target U levels, but if this is not installed, you should simply ask how it is achieved? This seems like a reasonable question, but as they have yet to provide a bath panel I don't suppose they will be too forthcoming with an answer.

BTW Go to the NHBC about the bath panel if the builder is not being helpful. You could also buy one your self and claim it back theough the small calims court online - make sure you have all the necessary evidence .

Tony

 

[MrNoName]

An old topic but i just want to say, things are very different between timber frame and masonary homes.

you can install cavity insulation in masonary homes (dependant on a number of different criteria etc) but cavity insulation MUST NOT be installed in timber frame external wall cavities. If you have a timber frame house you will not have cavity insulation. if you have a masonary home you may or may not!

 

[Tony]

Cavity Wall Insualtion

That being said the lay person would call the insulation on a timber frame home - cavity wall insulation. Whatever it is called, the walls must be insulated. We call snow 'snow', but the eskimos have thirteen different words for it.

Tpmy

 

[MrNoName]

True, but all too oftern have i seen mistakes made because people do not fully understand what things mean especially when it comes to timber frame, which uses different construction principles to that of brick and block constructions.

The area that is insulated in timber frame is the stud void. the external wall cavity is the cavity between the timber frame and the cladding.

Sorry if that comes over a bit preachy, or like i am a bit of a keyboard warrior i don't mean to sound that way

BTW i am a timber frame building inspector, and stumbled across this site whilst trawling the web the other day!

 

[Tony]

Thanks for contributing to the forum - rep added. It's great to know there is a timber frame expert on the forum.

 

[peteboy]

I think there is a part L of building regs thermal insulation, and a part E noise insulation.

check the ODPM for info.

 

[insulag]

Bit late in replying, but the specific part of the building regulations you want to look at is Part L1A (this applies to new build homes, L1B applies to existing homes) - I'm pretty sure the most recent revision came into effect around 2006; I have to admit I am not sure where it would stand in regards to planning permission prior to that, I just thought I would add my two-penneth.

Incidently, you ought to have at least 250mm of mineral wool loft insulation aside from the cavity wall issue. I work in the trade, and I tend to know more about lofts that cavity walls, but the same regulations apply to both. You can download a copy of the building regulations - at the government planning portal website (I would link it, but since this is my first post I can't). Look for Part L Approved Documents

It might be worth your while having a look around the site anyway, there might be something on there you can use.

Hope this helps

 

[Tony]

Hi Zednine,

I think the best way to resolve this is to start a small claim against the developer - you or one of your neeighbours can be the guinea pig. If successful the rest can follow suit. £35 to start a claim so the stakes are low, the risk is the develop will say that part L didn't apply wne planning was approved. I know others have tried this for other complaints - the important thing to remember is the claim has to be less than £5000.

This might help: Making a Small Claim | Consumer Information

 

[zednine]

Bit late in replying, but the specific part of the building regulations you want to look at is Part L1A (this applies to new build homes, L1B applies to existing homes) - I'm pretty sure the most recent revision came into effect around 2006; I have to admit I am not sure where it would stand in regards to planning permission prior to that, I just thought I would add my two-penneth.

Incidently, you ought to have at least 250mm of mineral wool loft insulation aside from the cavity wall issue. I work in the trade, and I tend to know more about lofts that cavity walls, but the same regulations apply to both. You can download a copy of the building regulations - at the government planning portal website (I would link it, but since this is my first post I can't). Look for Part L Approved Documents

It might be worth your while having a look around the site anyway, there might be something on there you can use.

Hope this helps

hi insulag

the problem with the building regs is that they just seem to say what the requirment is in tech talk...to the layman this is nonsense... i am in the building trade and i dont understand it..

 

[insulag]

Zednine, I have to admit the building regs are mostly technical babble, but most insulation manufacturers should give you the r-values or u-values you need to calculate the thicknesses required. I'm not sure I am allowed to do such a shameless plug, but I did specifically put a page on my website to try and help put some of this stuff into something approaching English... still slightly technical but I think it helps make some sense of it. I think you can get to the site by clicking on my user name, but if not Google "Insulation and Lagging" and we should pop up. Usually if you go to the manufacturers website they will have worked out already how much you need, if it is a lot then you probably know the material isn't so good. I highly recommend sticking with the bigger names with things like this, I know a lot of companies that basically make false claims because they know they will get away with it. I grew up around the insulation industry so I could probably list most of the main offenders... I just won't since I don't want to be sued

Insulag

 

[DocMcoy]

Definetlly go with the bigger brands, you'll get your left arm ripped off by anyone else.