Mark Group - Anyone used them for cavity wall insulation?

[smokeysmoo]

Got an offer of 'free' cavity wall and loft insulation from the Mark Group.

Just wondered if any CC'ers have used them/had this done by them.

If so any advice, hints and /or pitfalls to watch out for?

 

[Archie_tect]

Never heard of them but that's not unusual!

Ask them how they propose to maintain a minimum air gap ventilation space of 50mm over the existing cross ventilation in your roofspace with the new insulation installed into the eaves... and what U values they predict for the insulation they are proposing. Anything less than 0.20 W/msq.degK for the roof isn't adequate or 0.25 W/msq.degK to the walls is above Building Regs standard though your cavity might not be wide enough to achieve the minimum so it may be best fit in the circumstances.

Also how they propose to maintain the insulation between the cavity insulation at the wall head where it meets the roof insulation to prevent a cold bridge.

Will they be doing a thermal imaging check on the elevations of your house when the insulation is completed to check for hot spots where insulation maybe missing and needs topping up.
Any good installer will be pleased to explain what they are doing openly, which in itself will give you reassurance that they are professional.

 

[MrGrumpy]

I used them for a my loft insulation offer. Had to pay though but it was cheaper than doing it myself, only got the loft done as my house is timber framed. Was all done and dusted within an hour or so, one guy did all the work. As for measuring values of insulation and doing thermal imaging no they didnae do that!

 

[biggs682]

@Archie_tect thats an awful lot of technical talk for this time of the morning

 

[Tanis8472]

We did, they did our extension a few years ago and have noticed a large improvement in warmth.
Cavity wall had no insulation whatsoever. so I guess we would notice.
They drilled holes through the mortar, filled the walls and filled the holes. Cant tell its been done.

Just my experience and not a recommendation
We paid about £100 iirc

 

[MrGrumpy]

Btw a family member had cavity will insulation done and the company made a right erse of it. Managed to bung up the extraction fan and refused to fix it! Was not this company though but beware.

 

[Maz]

Got an offer of 'free' cavity wall and loft insulation from the Mark Group.

Just wondered if any CC'ers have used them/had this done by them.

If so any advice, hints and /or pitfalls to watch out for?

Mark Group is a big outfit here in Leicestershire (I don't know where you are, though). I dare say they'd do a decent enough job.
I got my loft insulation done (free) by British Gas and I'm not a customer. They also offered cavity wall insulation but I declined - I'd read something about cavities need to be filled with air or else you might get condensation build-up (house needs to 'breathe'). No idea if this was rubbish-talk or not. I might get it done eventually.

 

[Globalti]

I'd be very wary of cavity wall insulation, it seems to be falling out of fashion now as more and more people begin to experience damp problems caused by lack of air circulation.

 

[br5968]

Mark Group did our cavity walls and loft for about £90 when we moved into our current house about 2 1/2 years ago. No problems with the job they did overall. If you're going to get it done, I'd choose this time of year. We had moved in in the November and wanted to get it done before we got the house straight - in retrospect this was a mistake as the house was bloody freezing on the day they did it ( front and back doors open all day - I was working from home). Only things I'd say to watch out for are if you have any rendered walls (they obviously drill holes in them, but the filler they use afterwards wasn't an exact match for the colour of our walls - really irritating) and also make sure they tidy up after themselves - obviously it's a messy job, but you wouldn't believe the amount of fluffy crap that was left in the garden and parts of the house.

 

[helston90]

I also had my loft done with them on a £99 council initiative scheme (previous owner had had the walls done already), and they were great, very tidy, very polite, did a good job, can't complain!

 

[gbb]

I'd got them booked in to do my loft...they failed to turn up. I rang them find out why...they'd cancelled the appointment, but couldnt explain why. Remade another appointment...they failed to turn up.

I wouldnt mind, I hadnt thought about insulation...they collared me at a DIY store.