Insulated Cavity Closers
Insulated Cavity Closers Basic Info
Although very important, insulation is often not enough itself for ensuring your home’s stabile thermal performance, since it can be affected by some factors that are not always easy to identify and deal with in due time. Namely, as unbelievable as it may sound, even insulation requires upgrading and protection in order of providing all the benefits it is designed to, including heat loss or gain, moisture and condensation issues, fire protection, improved stability and soundness, money savings and much more. All the above said especially goes for thermal bridges which are a very common nuisance that can jeopardize everything you have invested into insulting your home. This is why we raise the question whether insulated cavity closers can improve your cavity wall insulation.
The Problem – Thermal Bridging
In order of finding a solution, you firstly need to understand and define the problem. Here, the problem is thermal bridging which, as upper mentioned, is very common problem that can greatly influence the overall thermal performance of your home. Thermal bridges basically cause a vast amount of heat to be lost through the discontinuities in the building envelope, including insulation. There are many types of thermal bridges, such as geometrical thermal bridges (appearing as two-dimensional or three-dimensional), repeating ones (which usually follow a regular path) and finally, the most frequent ones – linear thermal bridges. This type of thermal bridges appear usually around openings such as windows and door openings, around loft hatches, internal walls and floors junctions.
In order of dealing with the problem, you need something that will close the discontinuities in the building envelope and prevent heat loss (cavity closers, for example). Namely, even if you have insulation installed, you will notice that it will not be enough for fighting heat loss caused by thermal bridges, unless you have secured a continuous and uninterrupted line of insulation, which is not always possible, bearing in mind all the obstacles, especially around openings and at junctions. If this is not the case, you will need a construction material that will provide this continuity and thus minimize thermal bridges. In order of fully understanding just how problematic thermal bridges can be, you need to be aware that apart from causing your home to lose heat and thus enlarging your heating bills, they can also cause mould growth and condensation problems, which are also very hard and expensive to deal with. This is why we believe, you are in need of a proper insulated cavity closer.
The Solution - Insulated Cavity Closer
Now that you have identified the problem, it is time to think of a solution. Namely, there are many alternative ways people are trying to deal with the problem with thermal bridges, such as special reveal blocks or cut bricks. However, these methods often require additional planning and time during construction, why more and more people opt for insulated cavity closers. These beauties can save you much time in the construction process since they can either be built within frames or be used to form an opening for the frame which will be built in later on.
Apart from the fact that cavity closes can prevent thermal bridges, they also have some other pretty valuable characteristics. Firstly, they usually come with an integral damp proof membrane which will help you fight moisture and condensation problems, which may not be the case with alternatives. Another valuable fact is that they can also provide a level of fire protection in a caity wall insulation system, which can come in handy if they are installed in commercial and industrial buildings where each construction material needs to possess all necessary impact, moisture and fire resistance characteristics. Finally, another important aspect you need to consider is the applicable regulation which set some required values, even in the words of thermal bridging (National Building Specification under the Approved document L of the Building Regulations). Quality cavity closers can help you comply and even exceed the prescribed values, without compromising the stability and integrity of the structure which can be jeopardized with inadequate and built-in materials which will not work as a barrier from mould growth, damp and condensation and will not be as efficient.
Insulation Shop offers high quality cavity closers available for a fast delivery and compatible with all cavity wall insulation boards from our offer. Send your quote enquiry to info@insulationshop.co.