Hi all,

The sale of my late Mother’s house is close to completion but the buyer has expressed concern about the cavity insulation & wants it tested (at our cost!)

Firstly,I’ve never heard of this before-is this a ‘thing’?

Secondly-the insulation was done in the 90’s or 00’s under a Government scheme so surely there’s a database showing where’s been done,by whom & using what (to prevent fraud if nothing else) but I can’t get anywhere with Google.

Any suggestions?

Tia

The only very, very slight issue is if the insulation used urea formaldehyde foam (which was used a few decades ago) then there is a slight risk from it degrading, dropping down the cavity and releasing toxic gases.

 

Best bet would be to try and find the paperwork to ascertain what sort of insulation was used, or failing that, pay for a survey, which will involved drilling some small holes and using a borescope to check what's inside.  Shouldn't be too much hassle.

Is it a solid insulation or a bead ? Wasn't formaldehyde foam sprayed into the cavity to provide insulation ? If you have bead insulation then it will be polystyrene and given the dates it may well be. I don't know of any health issues associated with this insulation method.

What do they want the insulation testing for? Type of insulation? Correct installation? If done in late 1990s/early 2000s I doubt it will be urea formaldehyde based and I don’t think there are any health issues associated with it - mostly likely to be blown glass wool. Try contacting Cavity Insulation Guarantee Scheme ( google CIGA) they issue most guarantees for these systems and copies can be obtained. Other guarantee providers also possible so you may have to search around.

If they have had a survey done ask to see it as there might be something in it that has got them concerned. The main worry seems to be damp bridging the cavity due to unsuitable insulation in houses with bad pointing or similar.

In the early 00s we had mineral wool fibres blown in to our bungalow walls under a grant scheme. They are pretty inert.