Internal wall insulation?

garyh3

Hi All

Standard house built in 2004 in an estate. Whats the deal on internal stud walls. I accidentally put a hole in one of the internal stud walls and found nothing between the wall.

So I drilled a few little holes in the hosue and found that no internal walls had anything between them.

IS this the standard ?
Are builders required to insullate internal walls???

any help appreciated

Garyh3

ardara1

garyh3 wrote: »

Hi All

Standard house built in 2004 in an estate. Whats the deal on internal stud walls. I accidentally put a hole in one of the internal stud walls and found nothing between the wall.

So I drilled a few little holes in the hosue and found that no internal walls had anything between them.

IS this the standard ?
Are builders required to insullate internal walls???

any help appreciated

Garyh3

Hi G

There are minimum standards set for ACCOUSTIC insulation - you do not need THERMAL insulation - temperature either side of internal walls should be similar so no need.
Do you find the house noisy? Is it all timber framed construction?

garyh3

Hi a

No its standard brick and block construction but I do find droughts under the skirting probably from the attic as the builder did not seal the cavity. Also if I take say the phone plug off the wall its blowing a gale in there ... (but there extrnal walls)

regards

Garyh3

Mellor

By the sounds of things you never noticed or worried about it until you noticed the wall was empty.


Anyway, what you describe is standard. completely,
internal thermal insulation will have no effect. And the requirement for acoustic insulation doesn't apply to rooms within the same dwelling.

garyh3

Thanks Mellor,

Ah but You are wrong I do worry about my house especially whan I have paid 1000,s euros to a builder who has made 1000's on that sale. And they use words like "built to the highest standard" etc .... And what I get is poor insullation and lack of detail to the House. IT should be standard to insullate between every wall...... If I dont use a room and I turn that rad down then I expect that room should remain a few degrees down on other rooms and not be heated by the rooms Im using.... I bet nearly every self build person put something between the walls.... why would they do this if they didnt feel the need... !

Garyh3

diydan

garyh3 wrote: »

Thanks Mellor,

Ah but You are wrong I do worry about my house especially whan I have paid 1000,s euros to a builder who has made 1000's on that sale. And they use words like "built to the highest standard" etc .... And what I get is poor insullation and lack of detail to the House. IT should be standard to insullate between every wall...... If I dont use a room and I turn that rad down then I expect that room should remain a few degrees down on other rooms and not be heated by the rooms Im using.... I bet nearly every self build person put something between the walls.... why would they do this if they didnt feel the need... !

Garyh3

It's unfortunate to say it but "Standards" aren't what they used be. 3 services I have used in the last few weeks all fell off the lower end of the standards scale. There was one service (Will remain nameless, all I'll say is it was for a printing service) and I got the best service I could ask for. I'm not in the pringing business by the way.

It might be an idea for a new thread. "What service did you avail of and how di you find it....any thoughts

muffler

diydan wrote: »

(Will remain nameless, all I'll say is it was for a printing service) and I got the best service I could ask for. I'm not in the pringing business by the way.

It might be an idea for a new thread. "What service did you avail of and how di you find it....any thoughts

All threads that are relevant to Planning & Construction are most welcome but I dont see where printing would come into this.

If its a problem with services (or lack of) it could be dealt with in the consumer issues forum.

diydan

muffler wrote: »

All threads that are relevant to Planning & Construction are most welcome but I dont see where printing would come into this.

If its a problem with services (or lack of) it could be dealt with in the consumer issues forum.

Fair point...I was only giving an example. I s'pose an example from the construction trade would have been more relevant alrite.

10-10-20

garyh3 wrote: »

Thanks Mellor,

Ah but You are wrong I do worry about my house especially whan I have paid 1000,s euros to a builder who has made 1000's on that sale. And they use words like "built to the highest standard" etc .... And what I get is poor insullation and lack of detail to the House. IT should be standard to insullate between every wall...... If I dont use a room and I turn that rad down then I expect that room should remain a few degrees down on other rooms and not be heated by the rooms Im using.... I bet nearly every self build person put something between the walls.... why would they do this if they didnt feel the need... !

Garyh3

It is not reasonable to expect and there is no justification for thermally insulating walls (stud walls) between living areas, acoustically maybe, but not thermal!
A standard partition wall when constructed correctly should not allow a 'gale' to blow through its structure, it should be capped at the top and sides to prevent this. Insulation is not required.
If you have a room which you are maintaining cooler (not colder) than others, it is beneficial to have some heat transfer across from other rooms to help maintain the minimum temperature to prevent dampness.
A house should be encased in an 'envelope' of insulation, not comprised of thermally exclusive partitions!

Try and locate the source of the air flow as this could be a big loss of heat. Where cracks or gaps around windows exist, seal them with a suitable weatherproofing and also examine the attic of the residence to ensure that insulation isn't being used as a filler at the top of the stud-walls. They should be air-tight. Dark patches in rock-wool shows that air is passing through the insulation as dirt gathers where it moves.

Mellor

garyh3 wrote: »

Thanks Mellor,

Ah but You are wrong I do worry about my house especially whan I have paid 1000,s euros to a builder who has made 1000's on that sale. And they use words like "built to the highest standard" etc .... And what I get is poor insullation and lack of detail to the House. IT should be standard to insullate between every wall...... If I dont use a room and I turn that rad down then I expect that room should remain a few degrees down on other rooms and not be heated by the rooms Im using.... I bet nearly every self build person put something between the walls.... why would they do this if they didnt feel the need... !

Garyh3

I was refering to sound, as in you never noticed a problem with sound until you seen into the wall.


Insulation in internal walls has little effect, the delta temp is very minor. Heated air travels around bypassing the wall anyway. I can see your point that it would help some heat transfer to (temp) unheated rooms. But you have over looked the disadvantages, but there are downfalls, higher material cost, higher labour cost, loss of area (potential). The advantage is so minor that it would take a while to offset this. The extra money spend on doing this work would take a while to pay back on the heating. A long while.

And most self builders don't infact do this. The only way it would be of a decent advantage would be with a decent zoned heating system. Where each zone is its own insulated envelope.

garyh3

The wind is coming from the attic going down the Cavity and through the skirting.

The builder used FELT (not a membrane over the cavity) which I think would have stopped most of the cold air flow. I can put my hand down the cavity from the attic gable ends

I suppose the only other option is to get the cavity filled but thats a can of worms.


Garyh3

Builderfromhell

I always use 100mm Rockwool in internal partitions and between floors to improve accoustic barrier. I would say it's essential. There is no heat insulation advantage.

muffler

Builderfromhell wrote: »

I always use 100mm Rockwool.............................There is no heat insulation advantage.

Heh ???? :rolleyes:

hiscan

Builderfromhell wrote: »

I always use 100mm Rockwool in internal partitions and between floors to improve accoustic barrier. I would say it's essential. There is no heat insulation advantage.

me too you only get one chance to put it in

bbam

Hi..
When you say you fit between the floors... Do you fit from underneath between the joists?? Will it stay in place for slabbing ??

I wasnt sure about insulation in the internal slabbed walls... I only have two there bedrooms back onto each other... I'll do these anyway and maybe all if the costs stay in control..

Cheers
bam

hiscan

bbam wrote: »

Hi..
When you say you fit between the floors... Do you fit from underneath between the joists?? Will it stay in place for slabbing ??

I wasnt sure about insulation in the internal slabbed walls... I only have two there bedrooms back onto each other... I'll do these anyway and maybe all if the costs stay in control..

Cheers
bam

underneath the floor between the joists ya
it should do its made to measure