How to Get the Most Out of Your Cavity Wall
Until the development of the cavity wall in the UK in the 19th century, houses were prone to dampness and humidity resulting from water being absorbed through the masonry of the external walls.
Cavity walls are external building walls which incorporate an air gap. This can be within the wall structure itself as in hollow block walls, between two solid walls or between two partitions separated by a narrow air gap.
When water is absorbed, it never reaches the inner wall. The space or cavity works to drain it back out through weep holes at the bottom of the wall.
In rainy climates such as that in the UK, protection against moisture is vital to prevent the buildup of damp, mould and eventual disintegration of the masonry under the onslaught of moisture.
Moisture protection is something cavity walls do effectively but they offer a number of other advantages. The most important are heat and sound insulation. This means that cavity walls are more energy efficient as well as being quieter than conventional walls.
However, if you really want to get the most out of them, you can expand the effectiveness of your walls for greater insulation and protection from fire.
First, let’s look at how to boost the insulating properties of your cavity walls. Energy conservation is a major issue nowadays with everyone looking to minimize their energy bills. One way is to enhance the thermal insulation properties of your external walls.
You can do this by adding various types of insulation and barriers added to your cavities. The structure makes it easy to fit insulation between the cavity and the inner skin of the wall.
This kind of insulation can lower the heat lost from convection by up to 35% which can result in significant savings on … Read the rest