The Compleat Cavity Wall Insulation

In 1653, Izaak Walton published ‘The Compleat Angler’, which was an instructional guide to the spirit and the art of fishing. The fifth edition in 1676 contained everything the novice needed to know to become a successful angler, in twenty-one chapters of prose and verse. In a similar vein, Alreflex Platinum is the ‘Compleat Cavity Wall Insulation’ solution, which covers all the requirements of wall insulation, from eliminating the risk of condensation on the walls to reducing heat loss through the walls just by using Alreflex Platinum cavity wall insulation and its ancillary products. Our ITB wall-ties as detailed in BBA Certificate 93/2861 are designed to take the guesswork and measurement out of installation; the wall-tie includes a downstand which should be pressed against the inner-leaf block to ensure that the wall-tie is correctly positioned and the right way up. The rotational direction of the wall-ties is important because of the two drips incorporated into the design, which prevents rainwater ingress between the joints and courses. The Alreflex Platinum boards are easily held using the AB Retaining Discs, which are specific to the diameter of the ITB wall-ties. Best practice recommends that the line of insulation should be continuous, even around corners. This would normally be a problem for foil-faced boards, but when using our Alreflex Platinum cavity wall insulation solution, the corners are taped with our low-emissivity Alu Tape; which has a high-quality adhesive that will still stick in wet weather conditions. This removes the cost of expensive remedial work when inferior tapes fall loose in adverse weather. By using Alu Tape to ensure continuity of the insulation, the low-emissivity surface maintains the increased thermal resistance of the residual cavity and reduces the effect of non-repeating linear thermal bridges around these corners; this is becoming a more important focus in the SAP assessment for the Energy Performance Certificate, as standards are raised in Approved Document L1A 2013 which superseded the previous document, yesterday. Read our guide to the key changes to Part L of the Building Regulations: here. At Thermal Economics, we also consider the practical difficulties of installing rigid insulation boards; which is why we have developed our retaining clip to hold the cavity wall boards secure against the blockwork inner-leaf whilst working; they can easily be removed and re-used as necessary. The retaining clip makes it easy to maintain the build quality of the wall, by preventing mortar snots from falling down the back of the insulation boards (which would prevent the boards being held properly by the retaining disc). It is the ancillary products that make Alreflex Platinum cavity wall insulation, the ‘Compleat Cavity Wall Insulation’ solution, but it is the unique weather-laps that make Alreflex Platinum cavity wall insulation the only BBA-certified cavity rain barrier in the United Kingdom. It can be supplied at a range of thicknesses to make it suitable for all cavity walls, and the Technical Department at Thermal Economics Ltd will provide U-Value calculations and Condensation Risk Assessments on request for Building Control requirements. To find out more about the suitability of Alreflex Platinum cavity wall insulation for your project, please contact our Technical Department on 01582 544255.