Cavity wall construction (Photo credit: HEA Engineering Subject Centre)
Over the years I have noticed just how much my life has changed. I have more time to myself than I ever had before but also my working life has changed much too. By this I mean my working patterns. On Thursday for instance I had the morning free as the small electrical job I had been scheduled for 11.30. Normally I try to start my working day at 9 o’clock but these days, because I don’t get the volume of work I once did or now desire sometimes I have to accept jobs at other times which means my day becomes sliced into sections whereby I cannot commit myself to anything that is needed to be done at home if the tasks are large. It wasn’t worth starting work at home before that appointment and I had no idea how long away from home I would be to suggest in my mind what I might do afterwards. As things turned out I arrived back home at 2.15 and after a belated lunch I set about filling a hole in the internal brickwork beneath the bathroom floor where we had replaced the drain pipe a couple of days ago. We were both reminded of the hole’s existence because the temporary curtain we have over the doorway began to move due to the windy weather we have been experiencing over the last couple of days. The wind gets into the cavity wall if there are holes in the internal wall allowing it to flow through. A sealed-up cavity prevents that happening but of course the outside wall needs ventilation bricks in it to prevent the cavity from becoming damp. The cavity wall insulation of course is loose enough to allow the cavity to ‘breathe’ but dense enough to effectively insulate the wall. It all sounds very technical but obviously it works. So I was able to seal up the hole and stop the air coming into the house. The main problem I faced in doing that small job was the fact that there was a joist running parallel to the wall and only 100mm (4 inches) from it which made access very difficult but I managed! At the time of writing this on Thursday afternoon I still haven’t found the time to start laying that plywood which was delivered on Tuesday and E won’t be at home throughout Friday to assist me. It looks therefore that we won’t get that work done until Saturday. I have to fit things in as time allows but at least we are moving forward.
Shirley Anne
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Filed under: Time Tagged: Building insulation, Cavity wall, Cavity wall insulation, Time
