FAQ

There are specific indicators you can look out for to know if your cavity wall insulation may be ineffective and damaged. For example, if your energy bills are unusually high, higher than expected, or there are cold spots and damp areas around the wall. These can all be indicators.

If your insulation and walls become damp, your thermal resistance will significantly weaken. Your insulation will become ineffective, and you will start to see your energy bills increase and your rooms colder throughout winter.

Walls lose the most heat out of all property or home areas. Therefore, they need to be very well-insulated for you to start saving money on heating bills and reduce your co2 emissions. A well-insulated cavity wall means you can reduce heat loss by up to 35%, so ensuring your insulation is still effective is essential.

If your cavity wall was installed with the incorrect or low-quality insulation material, it could slump and weaken the structure. Your thermal resistance will be ineffective, the wall will be cold, and condensation and mould may form. Decorative surfaces can start to peel, stain and flake off. Your property also may begin to smell as the dampness spreads, creating a perfect breeding ground for black mould, eventually deteriorating your structure and weakening the building.

You can benefit from cavity wall insulation if your exterior walls have a cavity more significant than 50mm, creating a perfect area to be insulated. Depending on the property’s location, specific insulation may need to be issued to best combat the climate and surrounding conditions.

SOLAR Q&A

Most homes built since the 1920s have cavity walls, i.e. an inner and an outer ‘skin’ with a gap between them. Filling this gap with insulation material improved heat retention inside the property.
Methods to insulate your cavity walls:
Whitewool cavity wall insulation is a mineral fibre
Expanded Polystyrene Beads (EPS) is a high-performance, injected, blown grey bead
Polystyrene beads are entirely waterproof, so even if they get wet, they will dry out without any lasting damage or adverse effect on your insulation.

If your property was built after the 1920s, you almost certainly have cavity walls. Older houses are more likely to have solid walls.
Your home will usually be suitable for cavity wall insulation if it meets these criteria:
Its external walls are unfilled cavity walls.
Your cavity is at least 50mm wide.
The masonry or brickwork of your property is in good condition.
It is more than ten years old (most newer houses will have insulation already).
The walls are not exposed to driving rain.

You’ll need a registered installer to fit cavity wall insulation – it’s not a job you can do yourself.
The insulation material is injected through small holes drilled in the exterior brickwork. Once the installation is complete, we make all brickwork, blending in the installation work to retain the look of your property.
Cavity walls are filled with an insulating material; commonly-used materials include mineral wool, polystyrene beads or foam. Insulating cavity walls will help trap heat and prevent warmth from escaping.
A typical installation usually takes less than half a day.

Whether you have just moved into your property or have been living there a while, it may be a good idea to assess the effectiveness of the insulation in your cavity walls. Depending on the age of your building, where it is located, what insulation was used and many other factors, you may be in need of extracting the insulation from your walls.

The average cost of cavity wall insulation can take time to determine.
We price each job individually, as the scope of the required work can vary, especially as we take on jobs of any size

Damp proofing is simply the generic term used to describe the various forms of damp treatment that can address problems caused by conditions like rising damp, penetrating damp or excessive condensation.
In common usage, though, damp proofing generally refers to installing a remedial course through the damp-proof injection method.

When people refer to damp-proofing, they generally talk about measures to keep groundwater out of the building. At the same time, waterproofing describes treatments that prevent any water from entering a property.
A helpful guideline when considering the differences between damp-proofing and waterproofing is to remember that damp proofing is typically used to prevent damp problems above the ground. In contrast, waterproofing is generally employed to solve dampness and flooding problems below ground.

Damp proof guarantee
When a Damp Proofing specialist finishes treatment, they should be confident enough to guarantee their work unless stated otherwise during the damp survey. Elite Homes cover all of our Damp Proofing treatments for 20 years.

Elite Homes expect our customers to experience total peace of mind, so our guarantee covers all aspects of our damp-proofing treatment. This makes our damp proofing guarantee an exception to the rule in an industry where warranties will often only cover certain chemicals or works.
Elite Homes also pride itself on our industry accreditations. We have to answer to the high standards of the industry bodies that endorse us, and our genuine and transparent guarantee plays a massive part in that.

We pride ourselves on a high level of customer satisfaction, but on the rare occasions when sometimes goes wrong, we want to fix it. If you believe your Elite Home Damp Proofing treatment has not worked, and our 20-year guarantee covers it, do not hesitate to contact us so we can re-inspect your property.

If our Damp Proofing treatment hasn’t worked and it is under guarantee, we’ll put it right – simple as that. All we need you to do is keep your property repair guarantee and survey report paperwork.

Although spray foam insulation has been a popular choice for properties for 30 years, it can significantly reduce the chance of remortgaging your home. The same applies to conventional mortgage applications. You may also have trouble with an equity release lifetime mortgage if your home has spray foam insulation in a roof, attic, or loft.

There are two types of spray foam insulation which are:
Open cell spray foam – the cells are not encapsulated. As such, the foam is softer and spongy. It is also more flexible
Closed cell spray foam – cells are closed, so air and moisture cannot enter the foam.
Closed-cell spray foam also sets rigidly and is a lot more stable.

We are the Uk’s top Spray Foam Removal company which provides spray foam removal services and surveys and reports on your property.

When people are exposed to spray foam chemicals and isocyanates, whether in vapours, dust, and aerosols, during installation, or afterwards, they are “at risk of developing sensitization, asthma, lung damage as well as other types of breathing and respiratory issues. Homeowners are also more at risk of developing eye and skin irritation.

When a roof space has been sealed using spray foam insulation, it restricts air circulation. This can negatively impact roof timbers and, therefore, the integrity of a roof. When condensation accumulates in a roof space, woods start to rot. Another issue is that closed-cell spray foam sets extremely hard, which can put extra stress on supporting roof, negatively impacting it’s integrity.

Having spray foam insulation can affect the value of your property. Not only will lenders turn down a buyer’s home loan application, but they could stipulate having a new roof installed before considering lending any money to an interested buyer.

The process of removing spray foam insulation from a property’s roof is never easy and when professionally carried out, the process is labour intensive.