# General cost of getting cavity walls filled



## corkgal

Its a 4 bed house, detached in Cork. Not a massive house.
I want to get the house warmer for this winter as we nearly froze last winter.

Anyone get this done?


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## PaddyBloggit

Grants available for it.

Have a look here:

[broken link removed]


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## corkgal

PaddyBloggit said:


> Grants available for it.
> 
> Have a look here:
> 
> [broken link removed]




Thanks
Hope to get the grant. We got one for getting our heating controls updated a few years ago. Its great to have this available.
I still would like to know the general ball park of how much it costs.


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## PaddyBloggit

Two storey, 4 bed  detached here.

I was quoted €2230.00 for 300mm attic insulation, lagging of pipes and tank, cavity wall insulation and 2 vents for fireplaces.

With grant it should cost me €1700.00


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## corkgal

thanks Paddy,
I'll start getting quotes and see.

What do the fireplace vents do?


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## PaddyBloggit

They're a requirement .... if there's a fireplace in the room, the room has to be vented to the outside.


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## horusd

PaddyBloggit said:


> Two storey, 4 bed detached here.
> 
> I was quoted €2230.00 for 300mm attic insulation, lagging of pipes and tank, cavity wall insulation and 2 vents for fireplaces.
> 
> With grant it should cost me €1700.00


 

Paddy, I'm curious about this quote. My neighbour got her walls injected with insulation. It's a small tec'd house, 3 beds, and she paid over 4K for that!  Your quote seems terrific in comparison. Any ideas as to why there would be such a vast difference?


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## Black Sheep

My friend who lives on the outskirts of Cork city had hers done last year for under 2000.00 by a superb local guy. As she is away for a few days I cannot give you exact details of the guy's name or price.

They got 3 quotes ranging from 1800.00 to 2500.00 approx for 2 storey 4 bed detached with single story extension (kitchen) on the back and front porch both of which were insulated also


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## PaddyBloggit

I reckon she was done horusd.

As Black Sheep says ..the average is around €2k.


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## niftthelean

I have a semi-d with garage converted in Limerick area - thinking of getting this done.
House can be cold in Winter...
Anybody had it done recently and know cost?


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## RMCF

I too was thinking of getting mine done before the winter sets in.

I have a 2100 sq ft storey and a half detached house.


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## Jazz01

hi guys... lots of details on the grants from http://www.seai.ie/Grants/ LOTs of companies doing it at the moment, but make sure that they are registered.. ideally get a recommendation from someone who got it done last year... there are different types of insulation beads for pumping into the cavity wall & you should have 300mm of attic insulation. Remember that all the pipes / tanks in the attic should be done as part of the quote aswell...
Get a few quotes - compare & contrast these as closely as possible... Average is around 2K - but all depends on the size of external walls & size of the attic(s)... as far as my understanding is, not all houses are suitable for the bead fill - if you have an old house, there have been reports that the glue reacts with uncovered wires running between the gaps...say old houses, as it's a requirement to have protection / tubing (whatever the technical term is) if there are wires laid like that...

Remember if yo u are applying for the grant, then they must be registered with seai. (list on the web) - This "registry" is only that, as far as I understand, there isn't much vetting involved ... so before you decide .. do your homework...


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## RMCF

Good info Jazz, but just wondering is there not a ball park calculation out there for getting this done. I know it will vary from supplier to supplier, house to house, but there must be a rough guide like €x per sq ft of house.


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## IrishRain

I had the cavity walls and attic done under the SEI grant last winter and it cost €2000 gross.  House is a 4bed detached 1800 sq ft in Limerick.   I got 3 quotes and all were within €100 of each other.  Used Southern Insulation as thery were recommended to me.   No connection though.

I think it depends on the size of the space you have to fill so if there is some existing aeroboard in the cavity it will cost less than if there is nothing.


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## RMCF

Tying in with the other thread here about payback on solar tubes, I am beginning to wonder if a fairly well built house could do without cavity wall insulation in respect of the fact that the savings on your heat loss may be minimal and take a long long time to pay back the €2k or so figure for installion?

Anyone agree?


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## angela59

Hi,

I have a 2800 sq foot detached house - had quotes for up to E2500.  I had bord gais out to give me a quote found the contractor they use very professional but he told me straight off before any quote I would not get a grant as I have a dormer style house and it is not covered under the grant scheme - the quote from bord gais for insulation to walls and attic was E3700.  If I was able to get grant I would have got 10% discount from bord gais also but because I wouldn't be able to get grant I could not get this discount.   Bord Gais are way off the mark with their prices. 

Angela59


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## Jazz01

Hi Angela59 - I find it strange that the contractor said that would not qualify for a grant as you have a "dormer style house"... type of house (as far as I remember) has nothing to do with it... I have a dormer bungalow, & no issues with getting the grant (_back in 2009..._)


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## angela59

Jazz01 said:


> Hi Angela59 - I find it strange that the contractor said that would not qualify for a grant as you have a "dormer style house"... type of house (as far as I remember) has nothing to do with it... I have a dormer bungalow, & no issues with getting the grant (_back in 2009..._)


 

Hi Jazz01,

Neither of the other contractors had mentioned this but the contractor from Bord Gais pointed it out before he even started to look at house - he pointed out if there is a vaulted ceiling or there is dormer style roof that it would not pass when the seai came out to check - maybe they have tightened up since 2009 but to be honest whatever about getting walls done in my own opinion you would do the attic space yourself far cheaper than most contractors I had out.

Angela59


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## OHara

My house is a 5 bedroom 2,400sq ft house and it only cost 1100 with vat and then cheaper with the grant, all the quotes here seem quite high.  Well worth doing, our house keeps the heat in now and is no longer an igloo


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## ctlsleh

Ohara, thats a gret price, can you PM me the vendor name and which county?


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## Billo

ctlsleh said:


> Ohara, thats a gret price, can you PM me the vendor name and which county?



Let us all know. I may be interested as well.


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## RMCF

OHara said:


> My house is a 5 bedroom 2,400sq ft house and it only cost 1100 with vat and then cheaper with the grant, all the quotes here seem quite high.  Well worth doing, our house keeps the heat in now and is no longer an igloo



I like this sort of price. Thought some of the others were very high too.

Coudl you PM me your location?


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## OHara

I'm in Castleknock,Dublin.  i can't remember the name of the company nor can find any paperwork but they had an office here and in the north as far as i remember and i got them from the sustainable energy website on their list of approved people.  They came with a huge truck filled with the beads and were in and out in a few hours.  Sorry from memory i think they were two initials like JP insulation but could be wrong


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## nigey

Mine is a dormer and we got it done about a month ago and there wasnt a problem. Cant remember the cost though!


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## PaddyBloggit

My cost above included attic insulation.

It seems that OHara's price was for cavity insulation only.


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## PaddyBloggit

nigey said:


> Mine is a dormer and we got it done about a month ago and there wasnt a problem. Cant remember the cost though!




After a month? .... I'd be getting worried about such lapses in memory!


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## fred123456

*re:*

Hi all,

The prices i got where as follows 1750 euro for attic insulation and the walls pumped, house size is 2200 square feet, 3 storey.  House does be freezing during the winter so i hope their is a big difference.

I tried 3 recommended installers in laois and i am currently in the process of getting it done, will let you know if their are improvements.

Excess of 2000 seems quit a lot.

Kind Regards
Fergal.


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## ctlsleh

Fred,any news on the success or otherwise of the experience?
Would be interested in your feedback
Eoin


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## angela59

I had a quote today from a company who supply platinum bead to pump the walls and do the attic.  I was pleasantly surprised to find to quote E1800 for wall and attic - hopefully we will notice a difference this winter.  All of the other quotes were E2500 up to E2700 for the normal bead, size of house is 2800 square foot - it does pay to shop around.

Angela59


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## RMCF

Keep us up to date with how you find the work, and then the effects/improvements come the cold weather.


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## angela59

RMCF said:


> Keep us up to date with how you find the work, and then the effects/improvements come the cold weather.


 

Will do - have booked him for 24th October - so will report back - hopefully it is worth it.  He is doing the attic for E514 - other quotes for attic were double this - we already have pipes lagged and there is 100 mill of insulation there already - he is putting 200 mill on top and sorting out the water tank.

Angela59


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## RMCF

I see Bord Gais are doing a deal for people to get loft insulation and cavity walls pumped for €1480. They handle the grant etc for you.

A good deal?


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## fred123456

getting the house done tomorrow so i will give full feedback straight away, i will try to post results over the coming months also.


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## roebourne9

*shop around*



RMCF said:


> I see Bord Gais are doing a deal for people to get loft insulation and cavity walls pumped for €1480. They handle the grant etc for you.
> 
> A good deal?



Not sure what size or type house that is for but they quoted my mother 2300 before Grant for 1600 sq ft 3 bed semi, I got 5 quotes for 2000 sq ft former and ranged from 2000 to 1500, and they told me that we wouldn't qualify for Grant as It's former, 1 crowd said we would get grant for walls but not attic as it doesn't have the required spec of insulation on sloped roof that goes from side attics to top attic, but since found out you have to draw down at least 400 to get grant and walls are only 320, you can't include the 80 for ber in that 400. Cheapest quote came from guy 25 yrs in insulation and he gave us that info. Definitely shop around because they all sound like they know the business


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## Firefly

angela59 said:


> Will do - have booked him for 24th October - so will report back - hopefully it is worth it.  He is doing the attic for E514 - other quotes for attic were double this - *we already have pipes lagged and there is 100 mill of insulation there already - he is putting 200 mill on top and sorting out the water tank.*
> 
> Angela59



Hi Angela,

Having done this myself last year, putting down the 100mm insulation is the hard part. The 200mm stuff comes in rolls that are wrapped in a tin-foil material. You just roll them out perpendicular to the existing insulation. A simple job that you should be able to do for half the cost.


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## angela59

Hi Firefly,

The installer is charging E500 for the attic to lay the insulation and do walk way to water tank and insulate under that area - the attic is almost 1000 sq feet - to me that sounds cheap and would hardly do it for as cheap ourselves - perhaps I am wrong.

Angela59


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## about2build

Really good discussion here. All seem to be retro-fit and maybe an inclusion of cavity width to be pumped and amount of existing attic insulation would help in cost comparisons but In my case i'm looking to pump a 200mm full cavity with grey beads....So in this case its very hard to compare prices from job to job. Anyone who has done same as me for two storey 2600 sq ft house please advise on price


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## onq

angela59 said:


> Hi Firefly,
> 
> The installer is charging E500 for the attic to lay the insulation and do walk way to water tank and insulate under that area.



Make sure he doesn't insulate_ under_ the water tank.


ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon                      as a defence or support - in and of itself - should       legal        action    be      taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in                      Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports  on     the         matters    at      hand.


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## lowCO2design

angela59 said:


> Hi Firefly,
> 
> The installer is charging E500 for the attic to lay the insulation and do walk way to water tank and insulate under that area - the attic is almost 1000 sq feet - to me that sounds cheap and would hardly do it for as cheap ourselves - perhaps I am wrong.
> 
> Angela59


that's seem like a really good price.. angela, may i ask are you giving him a cheque? as in, is he paying tax?


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## onq

Seeing LCO2D's comments raised a few flags.
Make sure a guy who's operating for that price knows what he's doing.

Attic venting should comply with Diagram 11 P. 28 of Technical Guidance Document F.
In a normal open attic, Eaves 10mm vent should be kept clear, not blocked by additional height of quilted insulation.
In an attic which is wholly or partly houses rooms, additional eaves vent and high level vents are needed.

With additional quilted insulation at the ceiling level, the rest of the attic above this gets colder.
All services and water storage above the level of the insulation need to be reviewed.

The tank needs an insulated cover.
Insulation should be wrapped around the sides.
This should run continuously down and into the floor insulation (no gaps).
There should be no insulation under it.

Special arrangements are required for water heating tanks sitting above the main tank.
All piped water surfaces should also be insulated including overflows.


ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon                       as a defence or support - in and of itself -  should       legal        action    be      taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in                       Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports   on     the         matters    at      hand.


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## angela59

Hi onq,

Yes he did all of what you said, leaving eaves clear, wrapping water tank, putting insulated lid on and am very pleased, he used the supernova silver cavity wall insulation system and for the attic the knauf earthwool loft roll 200m.  We can already notice the heat retention particularly upstairs that it is not escaping into the attic.  

LowC02design,

Yes he is paying tax - has the Irish Agrement Board certs - it just pays to shop around - we have got quotes over the last 2 years, he was the last to quote.  We got a quote off a local insulation company, they were E700 dearer and from what I hear the materials being used would not match up to what we had installed.


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## onq

It might be useful to spread his name around AAM.

I'll ask the question in Recommend Tradesmen and Suppliers and you might follow up.


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## angela59

Hi onq,


Funnily enough, I thought I  had posted up on Recommend Tradesmen, but it seems to have disappeared, maybe I didn't press the submit button.

Angela59


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