Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 16, 2009 1:43 pm Hi I am owner-building a full double brick home here in the ACT and need some advice regarding insulation, particularly in-wall insulation for the external wall cavities. Does anyone have any advice on what the best option would be? Preferably, I'd like something that can be done at the end, to keep it as simple as possible for the brickies and also as I want to run a fair bit of cable through the cavities as well. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated as I don't really have much of an idea on this topic. Thanks in advance, Adam Re: Best insulation for double brick home in the ACT?? 2May 16, 2009 3:53 pm Try http://www.air-cell.com.au/pages/app-re ... l-wall.htm. Must be done as the wall is being built. Like you, I want to be able to put cable in the cavity later and I don't think it will be a problem as the stuff is only 6.5 or 8 mm thick. So, even if you put it in the middle of the cavity (as recommended) you still get 20 mm plus to play with. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Best insulation for double brick home in the ACT?? 3May 16, 2009 6:08 pm Casa2 Try http://www.air-cell.com.au/pages/app-re ... l-wall.htm. Must be done as the wall is being built. Like you, I want to be able to put cable in the cavity later and I don't think it will be a problem as the stuff is only 6.5 or 8 mm thick. So, even if you put it in the middle of the cavity (as recommended) you still get 20 mm plus to play with. Thanks Casa Do you know anything about "Rockwool" or other types of foam insulation which is pumped into the cavity after the brickwork is finished? If possible, I'd like to avoid doing anything which will disrupt the the brickies! Re: Best insulation for double brick home in the ACT?? 4May 16, 2009 8:02 pm I've heard of insulation that can be pumped into the cavity. I don't like the idea. From what I can gather, it's only recommended for existing houses. Also, it would make it harder to get cables in the cavity later on. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Best insulation for double brick home in the ACT?? 5May 17, 2009 9:01 am Casa2 I've heard of insulation that can be pumped into the cavity. I don't like the idea. From what I can gather, it's only recommended for existing houses. Also, it would make it harder to get cables in the cavity later on. Hmmm...think I might need to do some more research! Im still a bit reluctant to go with something that has to be done at the same time as the bricklaying.... Re: Best insulation for double brick home in the ACT?? 6May 18, 2009 12:57 pm Give the Home Energy Advisory Team (HEAT) a call ... it is a free ACT government service, I found they had very useful advice on insulation etc., especially with regards to price v performance. http://www.heat.net.au/ Just curious why double brick? The energy people will probably tell you that you'll get better summer performance with reverse brick veneer instead, and still have the thermal mass where you need it - inside. Cheers Ben Re: Best insulation for double brick home in the ACT?? 7May 18, 2009 1:01 pm BuildingACT Casa2 I've heard of insulation that can be pumped into the cavity. I don't like the idea. From what I can gather, it's only recommended for existing houses. Also, it would make it harder to get cables in the cavity later on. Hmmm...think I might need to do some more research! Im still a bit reluctant to go with something that has to be done at the same time as the bricklaying.... Bricklayers are quite used to putting insulation in cavity brick houses, thanks to Basix. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Best insulation for double brick home in the ACT?? 8May 18, 2009 1:03 pm cancurry Give the Home Energy Advisory Team (HEAT) a call ... it is a free ACT government service, I found they had very useful advice on insulation etc., especially with regards to price v performance. http://www.heat.net.au/ Just curious why double brick? The energy people will probably tell you that you'll get better summer performance with reverse brick veneer instead, and still have the thermal mass where you need it - inside. Cheers Ben Who wants a non-brick outside wall. With external face brick you get a nice looking wall that never requires maintence and is robust. You may pay a bit more, but you get the best option. Find me a better outside wall product. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Best insulation for double brick home in the ACT?? 9May 18, 2009 10:04 pm cancurry Give the Home Energy Advisory Team (HEAT) a call ... it is a free ACT government service, I found they had very useful advice on insulation etc., especially with regards to price v performance. http://www.heat.net.au/ Just curious why double brick? The energy people will probably tell you that you'll get better summer performance with reverse brick veneer instead, and still have the thermal mass where you need it - inside. Cheers Ben Basically what Casa said really! haha I just like the 'feel' of a solid brick home, inside and out...! It's not really anything to do with thermal performance for me - it's purely based on what feels right for us! Not planning on ever selling the house (and yes, i know that things change etc) but I'd like the house to still be there in 100 years! Re: Best insulation for double brick home in the ACT?? 11May 18, 2009 10:57 pm Casa2 I like your thinking BuildingACT. Thanks Casa! The whole idea is for the house to be nice n solid, natural, rustic - and high tech and modern at the same time!! So far, we've built all our retaining walls (bout 160m2) out of the bluestone which we excavated on the block, cut all the timber up for my parents to use in their fireplace and haven't actually had to 'throw away' a single thing from the block! Still a long way to go, but things are going ok so far! Re: Best insulation for double brick home in the ACT?? 12May 22, 2009 11:22 am Sorry if it seemed I was criticising your choice ... I agree brick does look good. I'm going down the building path soon, and can only afford brick veneer, but will try and swing at least one internal brick wall for thermal mass. I'd be curious to see what insulation you do decide on, because I used to own a double brick house in Canberra that had no cavity wall insulation. In summer the house was cool until sunset, then stinking hot most of the night! All the best. Ben Re: Best insulation for double brick home in the ACT?? 13May 24, 2009 10:33 pm cancurry Sorry if it seemed I was criticising your choice ... I agree brick does look good. I'm going down the building path soon, and can only afford brick veneer, but will try and swing at least one internal brick wall for thermal mass. All the best. Ben haha no, not at all! I didn't take it in a bad way at all - and there are certainly many differing views on what the "best" way to go is! As far as I'm concerned, energy efficiency considerations aside, i think it comes down to personal choice and a matter of priorities and budget! At the end of the day, I think people should go with whatever works for them - and hopefully they are happy with the decision they make! On a slightly different note..I've just realised that we *have* to achieve a minimum R2 rating for the walls and the plans actually specify "foil-faced polystyrene" as insulation...so I may have to rethink my options... Does anyone have any idea what options I have to achieve a minimum R2 rating with 270mm double brick cavity walls??? 5 10459 Hi Kristy Around $1.7-1.8m or around $4,600/sqm. if you PM me your email I will send you a break up in a spreadsheet so you can get an understanding of the costs for… 1 9925 Can I be Rude Crude n Brute abt double brick houses... 1.Its my money ..my house..I wanna built the way I want it 2. Council compliance is Power ..their mates on Gravy… 0 650 |