FAQs

Before we remove any cavity wall insulation we do a full survey of your property. We then follow a strict procedure to make sure all the material is removed and that we return your home to its original condition. You can read the procedure in full here

We can remove all fibre products, loose or bonded urea formaldehyde foam and expanded polystyrene.

We sometimes remove cavity wall insulation because:

1. The insulation material is defective. Some materials can break down and slump within the cavity. It is likely that properties with this type of insulation will not have a guarantee in place.
2. The cavity wall insulation was not installed properly. Things like incorrect drill patterns and incorrect filling sequence may be the cause.
3. The property has been poorly maintained. Leaking pipes, cracks in brickwork, render or around windows, porous brickwork and mortar can all allow water to enter the cavity. This will cause the insulation material to get wet and damp to develop in the property. See our free guide for more information on how to maintain your property and protect your cavity wall insulation.
4. There is an obstruction in the cavity, which is very common. If the obstruction is above the damp proof course or is creating a bridge across the cavity, it can cause isolated patches of damp. Over the years we have found tiles, cement bags and left over cement, broken wall ties, newspapers, cereal boxes, empty cans and vermin blocking cavities and compromising the insulation
5. This is why we have our Check Before You Buy service, so you can be sure any property you’re thinking of buying is free of problem insulation.

The cost of removing cavity wall insulation depends on what insulation materials were used. Some products give a loose fill while others are more compact. Access to the walls and any obstructions in the cavity will also have an effect the overall cost. Before we give you a quote we carry out a full survey.

However, as a general rule of thumb, the cost to remove cavity wall insulation from a three bedroom semi-detached property is between £1,600 and £2,000 ^{(February 2016)}.

When asking a company for a quote please check if:

• They use a BBA assessed system (as we do)
• You’ll receive a full handover pack with a chartered surveyor’s inspection and sign off (as you will with us)

How long it takes depends on the size of property and the insulation material used. Once we’ve done a full survey we can let you know how long we expect the work to take.

Once we’ve removed the insulation from your walls we inspect them using a 360^o video boroscope. This allows us to see 2m into the cavity in every direction. When the works are complete our chartered surveyor will sign a report to confirm that all materials and obstructions have been removed.

One of our technical inspectors monitors and signs off all our extractions. We are one of only a very few companies who do this. You can read more about why and how we’re committed to best practice here and here.

Before you can cure the damp in your property you must find out what’s causing it. We can survey your property to find the root cause of the damp and then recommend the best ways to treat it.

Yes. If the insulation has been installed incorrectly or in an unsuitable property it can cause condensation and penetrating damp. You can find out more about how cavity wall insulation can cause damp here.

Yes. Flooding can saturate the insulation. When this happens the insulation must be removed and the cavities allowed to dry out before any replacement insulation is installed.

No. As they don’t involve an internal inspection of the property’s cavities, neither an EPC or a home valuation report will identify any problems with pre-existing cavity wall insulation.

However, our Check Before You Buy service does do this, which means you can be sure any property you’re thinking of buying is free of problem insulation.

If the property has cavity wall insulation and is cold the insulation is likely to have been wrongly or poorly installed. We can survey the property to see if there are problems with the insulation and recommend how it can be put right. We have found that even new build properties can have very poor standards of insulation.

Yes, it is possible that home improvement works could damage your cavity wall insulation. If they do it will void your CIGA guarantee. Have a look at our page on home improvements for more information.

Not long. For example, it takes between two and three hours to install cavity wall insulation in a three bedroom semi-detached house.

No. The insulation is injected from the outside, so the installers will not be working in your property. And our installers always make sure they leave the outside of your property in a clean and tidy condition.

The only cavity wall insulation we install is EPS (expanded polystyrene) beads. This is fully accredited by the British Board of Agrément and guaranteed by the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency. You can read more about why we only install EPS beads here

No. We have specialist safety and access equipment that was designed for use on hard to access properties.

Installing EPS beads requires smaller and fewer drill holes than installing other insulation materials. Typically we only need to drill 4 holes per elevation where other materials require 16 drill holes per elevation.

And, as we install the beads from the side of the property, there is no need to drill into the face of the wall.

Yes, in most cases cavity wall insulation will make your home warmer and prevent condensation and damp. However, it does depend on what’s causing the condensation. Our surveyor will be able to tell you what this is and give you advice on how to stop it.

Before installing cavity wall insulation in your property we advise you have a survey of your home carried out. The survey will tell you if your property is suitable for cavity wall insulation and, if it isn’t, will recommend steps you can take to make it suitable.

Our surveyors never recommend cavity wall insulation for a property they consider to be unsuitable.

If your property has any kind of obstruction in its cavities you should not have cavity wall insulation installed until it is removed and the cavities are completely clear.

If you don’t remove it, the obstruction can cause a void or bridge in the insulation that leads to penetrating damp.

Yes. The Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA) guarantee our cavity wall insulation work for 25 years.

Visit the Energy Saving Trust website for more information about cavity wall and loft insulation.