Are cavity walls only on the exterior walls of houses? Or the interior as well, for example a brick wall separating two bedrooms? How thick are interior walls? And if you have a terraced house, where your neighbours wall meets is there a cavity there?

@wayneleone

3 жыл бұрын

an internal brick wall is usually only one skin wide.

Thanks

@Ramstam

4 жыл бұрын

You are most welcome

Honest question... any benefit for building walls with no cavity but twice as thick. Would the shear mass of the structure make it last longer than thinner modern walls with cavities...

@Hdawgg02

2 жыл бұрын

I think moisture would get in so no I might be wrong though

@Ramstam

Жыл бұрын

Sorry for the late reply. Before cavity walls became common that was the way that most stone or brick walls were made. I myself live in a house made of a solid granite wall. The thickness of the wall does protect the interior, so long as the wall is well made and maintained. Most older solid walls use lime mortar and this is (IMHO) key to managing water as it is essentially a breathable mortar that allows any trapped water to leave the building after it has entered. I have a lecture in this series on traditional walls.

We have just had an extension built, it has a concrete floor so do we need air vents in the wall or not?....

@Ramstam

3 жыл бұрын

It very much depends, if it's a solid floor then it wouldn't need vents through the wall to supply air... But you may still need vents for cavity walls or indeed to provide air for a suspended floor beyond the new extension. If you have an architect it would be worth asking them for clarification. Cheers

@mmouse4132

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for your reply

Would it be normal to hear a lot of rain fall in the cavity wall between two neighbouring houses

@Ramstam

3 жыл бұрын

The wall between two houses, the party wall, should not normally be open to rain at the top so I would say that it would be something you would want checked out. If it is rain then there is probably a problem at roof level, or it could be a leak of another kind. Worth getting a specialist out to look at.

Is it economical?

@Ramstam

3 жыл бұрын

Hi I'm not sure what exactly you are asking but if you are asking whether cavity walls are economical then the answer probably depends on where they are being built. Its not a technology that is used a lot in Scotland (where I am) but it is used extensively in England and some other places. The cost, and therefore the economical factors of the wall might depend a lot on available materials and skills. The other view of a wall being economical is whether it can reduce running costs over the lifetime of the building. In this case it is possible to make cavity walls which are very high performance. The downside is that there is always a balance between making a cost efficient wall which performs well in terms of heat loss, and making a wall which restricts the passage of water. Cavity walls with fully filled cavities are not suitable for all locations. Not sure if this answers you question but I hope it helps.