Insulating timber external wall

lasalle

i have 2 external walls in my duplex apt facing onto a balcony that are external timber wall construction.
The wall has an outer timber facia/cladding, steel stud frame, then that has the inner plaster board wall fixed to it.

The cavity between external timber wall and inner plaster board wall is 300mm. There is no insulation in between, just a hollow cavity.

I need information on how to insulate this correctly. The builders say that there was no requirement in planning to have this filled in 2006. They recommend drilling holes myself and using cans of expandable builders foam. Would this be adequate?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks

dathi

need more info is there insulation in the wall behind the plasterboard? then a 300 cavity and then the external wall which is timber cladding?

lasalle

No insulation at all. the wall consists of an Uninsulated plaster board inner wall, fixed to a steel stud frame inside a 300mm empty cavity with timber external wall.

When the wall sockets are removed I can see straight through to the external timber wall. (presumably the timber is about an inch thick) and I can see into the cavity to confirm that there is zero insulation.

sydthebeat

lasalle wrote: »

No insulation at all. the wall consists of an Uninsulated plaster board inner wall, fixed to a steel stud frame inside a 300mm empty cavity with timber external wall.

When the wall sockets are removed I can see straight through to the external timber wall. (presumably the timber is about an inch thick) and I can see into the cavity to confirm that there is zero insulation.

:eek::eek::eek:

are you in the apartment long? it must be FREEZING these days!!!

how you are describing it is a bit strange.... if the plasterboard is fitted to a steel frame, and the cladding is fitted to the steel frame, then that means the frame is 300mm wide?? is this correct?

firstly, there most certainly was requirement to insulate these areas, under the 2002 part L regs. A u value min of 0.27 w/m2k was required, which in this case would most likely have meant the inclusion of at least 150mm of a quilted material.

secondly what is the approximate size of area we are talking about here? length x width?
Any builder who suggests spraying canned foam into a cavity behind timber cladding simply hasnt a clue.

gman2k

lasalle wrote: »

The builders say that there was no requirement in planning to have this filled in 2006.

They have told you a lie.

maddragon

The mind boggles. The heat loss from lack of insulation is bad enough. The ventilation rate (air changes per hour) must also be enormous. Were these builders utilising a 4 legged form of transport by any chance?

The U-value of your wall is probably between 2 and 3 instead of 0.27 as Syd pointed out.

lasalle

I took a few photos to outline exactly what I'm explaining.

The red timber in the cavity photo is the external timber wall as seen on the other 2 photos. The plaster board is the bedroom wall.

There are 3 walls affected as seen in the front view photo.

The walls are very cold to touch when the temperature drops outside and we had been been putting it down to the harsh winters. Since we are finding it hard to retain the heat in these 2 front rooms for the last few weeks after only a few frosts, I decided to pull out the sockets and see what was actually behind the wall.

There is a significant draft through the cavity.

Surely since in 2006 there would have been a requirement to put something in this cavity. I doubt the builders (who are still on site) will accept/fix this problem so I am looking for advice on the correct way to sort it myself.

sydthebeat

if the builders are still on site, notify your local building control officers straight away.

muffler

sydthebeat wrote: »

if the builders are still on site, notify your local building control officers straight away.

+1. Good advice

dathi

a pictue tells a thousand words ok when you took the first pic was the camera pointing up or down? if it was pointing up i doubt if there is any insulation behind any of the plasterboard above the windows .remove the airvent in the room and you might be able to see behind the plasterboard. if not poke a hole in the plasterboard you should be able to see some fiber glass or rockwool . if not that will be another area that will need rectifying . as others have said get on to building control in your local council as quick as possible.

lasalle

The camera was pointing up from a removed plug socket. Above the window is in an enclosed attic space that dosen't have an access point (ie. ceiling hatch) The vents you see in the picture are from bathroom and en-suite fans piped to this outer wall. Room ventilation comes from a sliding slot in the window frame.

To get this remedied myself would foam/bonded bead be suitable for this cavity? Or would it likely require replacing/removing the plasterboard to install a different type of insulation?

I'm not in the construction/building industry and my knowledge of what could or should be there is limited.

sydthebeat

lasalle wrote: »

The camera was pointing up from a removed plug socket. Above the window is in an enclosed attic space that dosen't have an access point (ie. ceiling hatch) The vents you see in the picture are from bathroom and en-suite fans piped to this outer wall. Room ventilation comes from a sliding slot in the window frame.

To get this remedied myself would foam/bonded bead be suitable for this cavity? Or would it likely require replacing/removing the plasterboard to install a different type of insulation?

I'm not in the construction/building industry and my knowledge of what could or should be there is limited.

then you shouldnt be trying to offer a solution.

firstly, determine who owns this problem?? you or the builder? id suggest its the builders problem.....

secondly, professional input should be sought to remedy the problem.
the costs borne by whoever owns the problem.
Both of what you suggested above are unsuitable, taken in isolation, as a solution.

dathi

afraid i have to agree with syd you need to get a professional on site to examine exactly what you have. would insist that they open up your closed attic space as part of the survey as god alone knows what they hid up there when they knew there was going to be no access when it was finished.

MicktheMan

dathi wrote: »

afraid i have to agree with syd you need to get a professional on site to examine exactly what you have. would insist that they open up your closed attic space as part of the survey as god alone knows what they hid up there when they knew there was going to be no access when it was finished.

To avoid opening up a sealed ceiling initially, use a thermal imaging camera during the survey as well as a borescope through the ceiling light cable hole to verify what's there.