Strange house construction....
Discussion
My sister called me round her house to help with something and she also asked me to look at a strange cavity above her exterior built in dustbin cupboard.
It appears her 1960's style terraced house has front and back walls built with a plasterboard interior, and a uPvc exterior cladding, but basically nothing in between by way of insulation. There is just an empty void. Windows have been replaced with upvc at some stage in the past and it would appear everything up to roof level is supported by a wood structure.
I can look up inside this cupboard thing and see right up to the plumbing of her new bathroom, some 2 x 3 framing, plasterboard and black tar paper under the skimpy thin uPvc external cladding. No insulation of any sort. The end walls and the last couple of feet of the front and back are brick, but the rest seems as cheap as....
She would like to replace the uPvc stuff and also add a good few inches of proper insulation in there. Is this the sort of thing you can DIY successfully, or would it be for easier and more effective to 'bring in an expert'?
I have no idea what type of insulation to use, and whether there are any house regulations, insurance liabilities, fire risks regulations involved etc.
It appears her 1960's style terraced house has front and back walls built with a plasterboard interior, and a uPvc exterior cladding, but basically nothing in between by way of insulation. There is just an empty void. Windows have been replaced with upvc at some stage in the past and it would appear everything up to roof level is supported by a wood structure.
I can look up inside this cupboard thing and see right up to the plumbing of her new bathroom, some 2 x 3 framing, plasterboard and black tar paper under the skimpy thin uPvc external cladding. No insulation of any sort. The end walls and the last couple of feet of the front and back are brick, but the rest seems as cheap as....
She would like to replace the uPvc stuff and also add a good few inches of proper insulation in there. Is this the sort of thing you can DIY successfully, or would it be for easier and more effective to 'bring in an expert'?
I have no idea what type of insulation to use, and whether there are any house regulations, insurance liabilities, fire risks regulations involved etc.
As a fan of Holmes on Homes, a Canadian DIY programme, though he's a professional bodge repairer, on many of his programmes he gest all the inside walls and roofs sprayed with polyurethane foam, gets in everywhere and if it can perform well in Canadian winters, it ought to be good for UK.
Google "spray foam insulation" and there's loads of companies doing it. Not a DIY job though.
here's one I found earlier
http://www.sprayfoamexperts.co.uk/homeowners-spray...
Google "spray foam insulation" and there's loads of companies doing it. Not a DIY job though.
here's one I found earlier
http://www.sprayfoamexperts.co.uk/homeowners-spray...
It sounds as though it may be what is called 'cross wall construction': brick end gables and party walls?
By all means Google 'spray foam insulation', but don't touch it with the longest, s
ttiest stick you can find. It would be a defect waiting to happen 
If it is cross wall construction, then you effectively need to treat the front ant rear 'panels' as timber frame construction, with vapour barrier, insulation, breather membrane and drained, ventilated gap behind the cladding. You also need to be careful with the detailing of the abutment between the TF panels and the brick cross walls, to avoid water penetration and thermal bridging issues.
Get someone in who knows what they're talking about.
By all means Google 'spray foam insulation', but don't touch it with the longest, s
ttiest stick you can find. It would be a defect waiting to happen If it is cross wall construction, then you effectively need to treat the front ant rear 'panels' as timber frame construction, with vapour barrier, insulation, breather membrane and drained, ventilated gap behind the cladding. You also need to be careful with the detailing of the abutment between the TF panels and the brick cross walls, to avoid water penetration and thermal bridging issues.
Get someone in who knows what they're talking about.
Edited by Equus on Sunday 5th March 13:25
Dogwatch said:
Odd. If this was 'normal' for the '60s I would have expected it to be more widely known about.
It is widely known about. Every Architect and Architectural Technologist in the country is taught about it (or certainly was in my day). It was a very popular technique in the 60's and early 70's.Equus said:
It is widely known about. Every Architect and Architectural Technologist in the country is taught about it (or certainly was in my day). It was a very popular technique in the 60's and early 70's.
Thanks for all the info, I was starting to think there might be a whole lot more to it than meets the eye, I'll tell her she needs to get the professionals in. Equus said:
It sounds as though it may be what is called 'cross wall construction': brick end gables and party walls?
By all means Google 'spray foam insulation', but don't touch it with the longest, sttiest stick you can find. It would be a defect waiting to happen
If it is cross wall construction, then you effectively need to treat the front ant rear 'panels' as timber frame construction, with vapour barrier, insulation, breather membrane and drained, ventilated gap behind the cladding. You also need to be careful with the detailing of the abutment between the TF panels and the brick cross walls, to avoid water penetration and thermal bridging issues.
Get someone in who knows what they're talking about.
Spot on. By all means Google 'spray foam insulation', but don't touch it with the longest, s
ttiest stick you can find. It would be a defect waiting to happen If it is cross wall construction, then you effectively need to treat the front ant rear 'panels' as timber frame construction, with vapour barrier, insulation, breather membrane and drained, ventilated gap behind the cladding. You also need to be careful with the detailing of the abutment between the TF panels and the brick cross walls, to avoid water penetration and thermal bridging issues.
Get someone in who knows what they're talking about.
Edited by Equus on Sunday 5th March 13:25
Cross wall construction. Not the best of construction IMO, but typical of 1960's and 70's houses. Surprisingly common
Equus said:
Dogwatch said:
Odd. If this was 'normal' for the '60s I would have expected it to be more widely known about.
It is widely known about. Every Architect and Architectural Technologist in the country is taught about it (or certainly was in my day). It was a very popular technique in the 60's and early 70's.Lots of them have almost full width glazing, and a lack of any brick in the fron and rear walls,so either tile or cladding.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff