Retrofit dry blown wall insulation - Anyone here with experience?

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timmmay

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#1833025 28-Jul-2017 17:16

Holes in bricks, I wouldn't be keen. I really didn't find much benefit to wall insulation, and I found significant downsides with my weatherboard house like even after filling, painting, etc, you could still see all the holes they drilled.

Before you go ahead I'd really want to talk to a few people who'd done it to see if they found it valuable. Wall insulation was the least effective of all the insulations i did on my old house. Ceiling was great, putting even more insulation in the ceiling was great, double glazing was great. Underfloor helped a lot with dampness and moisture smell. Wall, really no big difference.

mattwnz

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#1833031 28-Jul-2017 17:20

timmmay:

Holes in bricks, I wouldn't be keen. I really didn't find much benefit to wall insulation, and I found significant downsides with my weatherboard house like even after filling, painting, etc, you could still see all the holes they drilled.

Before you go ahead I'd really want to talk to a few people who'd done it to see if they found it valuable. Wall insulation was the least effective of all the insulations i did on my old house. Ceiling was great, putting even more insulation in the ceiling was great, double glazing was great. Underfloor helped a lot with dampness and moisture smell. Wall, really no big difference.

As most heat loss is through the ceiling, there is far bigger payoff putting a lot of insulation in the ceilings. I have seem this new type of system in the Home ideas centre, and I think it looks an interesting retrofit solution.

evilengineer

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#1834833 1-Aug-2017 11:29

Wheelbarrow01:

I know these are not NZ standards or testing authorities, but it is enough for me to be satisfied that there is no threat to the building envelope. As I have said in previous posts, I had a sample of the product in a glass of water on my bench for a week. It did not absorb water even when I tried to forcibly immerse it, and it floated on top of the water for an entire week. When I took it out and squeezed it, there was no water in it.

Fred99:

Note that UK approval is for masonry cavity walls - not the cavity in timber-frame brick veneer construction.

The UK certification really isn't relevant to the proposed use in NZ - it would be better if the seller of the system didn't use it in sales literature, in my somewhat pedantic opinion.

Knauf have a NZ CodeMark certificate on their website for the Superfil Cavity insulation material.

And Insulmax have a separate NZ CodeMark certificate on their website that covers the pre-install suitability assessment and the use in various situations, including brick veneer/timber framing and timber framing without building paper.

Looks to me that there's plenty there to demonstrate compliance with the building code. And with a building consent from the council which will come with a code compliance certificate at the end of the job you'd have all the right paperwork if there were any issues down the track.

Wheelbarrow01

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#1860656 8-Sep-2017 08:16

Update:

So my wall insulation was pumped into my walls by Insulmax on Tuesday. The installer and I walked around the house with a thermal imaging camera before, during and after the installation, and this clearly showed a difference in wall temperature as the work progressed. Before the installation, we could see that the timber studs were the warmest part of the wall structure. After installation they were the coldest part. The thermal camera is also a sure fire way of identifying any spots that were missed, ensuring full coverage throughout the house.

The installation holes made in the mortar joints of my brick cladding were filled with mortar the same day, and the installer returned on Wednesday to paint over them. He's done a very good job - I can only tell the work has been done as I know where the holes were drilled. Anyone who did not see the installation taking place would not have any idea it has been done.

Yesterday when I got home from work, the temperature in the house was 19 degrees even though the day was overcast. Previously it was around 13-14 degrees when I got home on similar days.

Last night when I had the fire running, I noticed how much better the heat flowed to the far end of the house. Up until the walls were insulated, the lounge was super toasty with the fire running, but this heat dissipated rapidly and never really reached the far end of the house at all. Now it definitely does, and it's being retained a lot longer after the fire is put out. In fact last night I let the fire burn out at around 8pm and the house remained warm - usually I keep it running till I go to bed as the house would cool very very quickly.

This morning the house was noticeably warmer than it used to be - I normally shiver when I get out of bed, turn the heatpump on full blast and then gap it straight for the shower, but this morning I took a leisurely stroll around the house and marvelled at the difference. Sure it's not 10 degrees different, but it is the difference between turning the heatpump up full blast in the morning and not really needing to turn it on at all.

This was very much a gamble for me - I had a read a lot from people who stated that wall insulation would make no or very little noticeable difference, but then conversely I read a lot of positive testimonials from people who had gone though with the installation (although I took these with a grain of salt!). But in my case I feel it has been an absolute success. The temperature in my house is not only warmer, but it is way more balanced than it was.

timmmay

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#1860661 8-Sep-2017 08:27

That seems great! Maybe it depends on the construction type.

Fattzombee

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#1862528 11-Sep-2017 20:17

Wheelbarrow01:
Update:

So my wall insulation was pumped into my walls by Insulmax on Tuesday. The installer and I walked around the house with a thermal imaging camera before, during and after the installation, and this clearly showed a difference in wall temperature as the work progressed. Before the installation, we could see that the timber studs were the warmest part of the wall structure. After installation they were the coldest part. The thermal camera is also a sure fire way of identifying any spots that were missed, ensuring full coverage throughout the house.

The installation holes made in the mortar joints of my brick cladding were filled with mortar the same day, and the installer returned on Wednesday to paint over them. He's done a very good job - I can only tell the work has been done as I know where the holes were drilled. Anyone who did not see the installation taking place would not have any idea it has been done.

Yesterday when I got home from work, the temperature in the house was 19 degrees even though the day was overcast. Previously it was around 13-14 degrees when I got home on similar days.

Last night when I had the fire running, I noticed how much better the heat flowed to the far end of the house. Up until the walls were insulated, the lounge was super toasty with the fire running, but this heat dissipated rapidly and never really reached the far end of the house at all. Now it definitely does, and it's being retained a lot longer after the fire is put out. In fact last night I let the fire burn out at around 8pm and the house remained warm - usually I keep it running till I go to bed as the house would cool very very quickly.

This morning the house was noticeably warmer than it used to be - I normally shiver when I get out of bed, turn the heatpump on full blast and then gap it straight for the shower, but this morning I took a leisurely stroll around the house and marvelled at the difference. Sure it's not 10 degrees different, but it is the difference between turning the heatpump up full blast in the morning and not really needing to turn it on at all.

This was very much a gamble for me - I had a read a lot from people who stated that wall insulation would make no or very little noticeable difference, but then conversely I read a lot of positive testimonials from people who had gone though with the installation (although I took these with a grain of salt!). But in my case I feel it has been an absolute success. The temperature in my house is not only warmer, but it is way more balanced than it was.

A big congratulations to you!

I am also interested in getting the same Insulmax retrofitted for my 50m2 1970s brick and block house in Auckland and an installer will be visiting me to do a quote this Sat. Could I ask wherebouts your above mentioned property is located?

I have always been a bit skeptical about retrofitting the wall insulatio for all the above mentioned concerns especially to do with the passive drain / vent function of the wall cavity but surprisigly found that their FAQ webpage had answers to all my tech queries.

Wheelbarrow01

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#1862617 12-Sep-2017 08:10

Fattzombee:

A big congratulations to you!

I am also interested in getting the same Insulmax retrofitted for my 50m2 1970s brick and block house in Auckland and an installer will be visiting me to do a quote this Sat. Could I ask wherebouts your above mentioned property is located?

I have always been a bit skeptical about retrofitting the wall insulatio for all the above mentioned concerns especially to do with the passive drain / vent function of the wall cavity but surprisigly found that their FAQ webpage had answers to all my tech queries.

I am in Christchurch.

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Morgenmuffel

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#1862954 12-Sep-2017 16:51

and roughly what was the cost?

Wheelbarrow01:

Fattzombee:

A big congratulations to you!

I am also interested in getting the same Insulmax retrofitted for my 50m2 1970s brick and block house in Auckland and an installer will be visiting me to do a quote this Sat. Could I ask wherebouts your above mentioned property is located?

I have always been a bit skeptical about retrofitting the wall insulatio for all the above mentioned concerns especially to do with the passive drain / vent function of the wall cavity but surprisigly found that their FAQ webpage had answers to all my tech queries.

I am in Christchurch.

'We love to buy books because we believe we’re buying the time to read them.' WARREN ZEVON

premiumtouring

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#1862960 12-Sep-2017 17:06

Morgenmuffel:

and roughly what was the cost?

Wheelbarrow01:

Fattzombee:

A big congratulations to you!

I am also interested in getting the same Insulmax retrofitted for my 50m2 1970s brick and block house in Auckland and an installer will be visiting me to do a quote this Sat. Could I ask wherebouts your above mentioned property is located?

I have always been a bit skeptical about retrofitting the wall insulatio for all the above mentioned concerns especially to do with the passive drain / vent function of the wall cavity but surprisigly found that their FAQ webpage had answers to all my tech queries.

I am in Christchurch.

Asking the real questions! Keen to also know approximate costs..

Wheelbarrow01

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#1863118 13-Sep-2017 00:15

premiumtouring:

Morgenmuffel:

and roughly what was the cost?

Wheelbarrow01:

Fattzombee:

A big congratulations to you!

I am also interested in getting the same Insulmax retrofitted for my 50m2 1970s brick and block house in Auckland and an installer will be visiting me to do a quote this Sat. Could I ask wherebouts your above mentioned property is located?

I have always been a bit skeptical about retrofitting the wall insulatio for all the above mentioned concerns especially to do with the passive drain / vent function of the wall cavity but surprisigly found that their FAQ webpage had answers to all my tech queries.

I am in Christchurch.

Asking the real questions! Keen to also know approximate costs..

I am waiting for the final invoice to come in. Cost is very hard to gauge as everyone's house is different, and floor area means nothing - wall area (minus windows) is more important. For the record, my floor area is around 105 m2 and my house is a traditional 1960s rectangle - no jutty outy walls anywhere. I also have a reasonable amount of large windows (some floor to ceiling) and a large ranch slider which obviously affect the price as the window and door areas are subtracted from the wall area calculations.

The quote for my house was a little over $5700 inc GST. However the installer was unable to complete the install in a couple of places. The first area was where I had already installed pink batts when I had the GIB off the wall 12 months ago as part of some renovation work - total wall area there is about 10 m2. The second area was above my ranch slider as it appears there was no cavity. We could find no cold spots using the thermal camera, and exploratory holes in this area (which was timber panelled cladding) revealed a very large timber lintel, with no space for any insulation to be inserted. Another couple of m2 off the quote for this.

I'd expect these two area where no insulation could be installed to knock the price down by a few hundred dollars, so I will let you know when I get the final total.

But as I say, floor area cannot be used as a measure. If you have one of these flash architectural homes which has stepped walls and jut-out rooms, the cost will increase exponentially very quickly. I am just lucky that I live in a shoe-box shaped house. The only way of determining the cost for your own house is to get a quote from them.

As I have alluded to in previous posts, Insulmax uses a thermal imaging camera before, during and after the installation to confirm the work has been done effectively. My installer told me that some other companies do not do this - I'd personally be very wary of such companies as the potential for spots to be missed is huge. Because I could see the difference myself in real time, it really put me at ease.

Insulmax also use some pretty flash pumping gear to do the work, the inner workings of which are apparently top secret. My installer tells me if he touches the tamper evident screws holding the equipment together, he is in breach of contract and dismissed on the spot. But I gather from what he was saying that their system employs some sort of proprietary pressure control system which fills the wall cavities to maximum capacity then automatically shuts off. This stops them from accidentally blowing the GIB board right off the interior wall by accident. Apparently this has happened when other companies have used too much pressure and/or overfilled the wall cavity.

Morgenmuffel

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#1866530 14-Sep-2017 21:19

D they have any cost estimation tools, on the site, as we have a fairly rectangular single level house with a perimeter of between 60-70m

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Wheelbarrow01

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#1866682 15-Sep-2017 09:26

Morgenmuffel:

D they have any cost estimation tools, on the site, as we have a fairly rectangular single level house with a perimeter of between 60-70m

No they don't. I assume that would be partly because the void between the studwork and cladding is infinitely variable - the difference between 20mm and 40mm would double the amount of product required.

You could try calling them and giving them some measurements and they may be able to give you an estimate? But the best way to know is just get them to do a measure and quote.

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