High Rise Cavity Wall Insulation
Introduction
Just as many houses in the borough are of cavity wall construction, so are many of the Council owned tower blocks. Prior to the introduction of the Energy Company Obligation in January 2013 it had not been possible to insulate many of these blocks because there was no funding for access equipment. The only blocks which had been insulated were those that had been scaffolded for other purposes, such as window or gas main replacement.
The Energy Company Obligation was introduced in January 2013 and in December 2013 the Department of Energy and Climate Change announced that changes were proposed to the programme. The proposed changes would mean, among other things, that that there would be less funding available for high rise cavity wall insulation from April 2014 and hence it might not have been possible to have the remaining blocks insulated.
Fortunately we had already done some preparatory work since the start of the Energy Company Obligation. Working with Kershaw Contracting Services we had identified the remaining uninsulated high rise blocks and verified where necessary with the insulation manufacturer (Rockwool) that these blocks were suitable for insulation. Once the proposed changes to the Energy Company Obligation were announced in December 2013 we were able to very quickly agree with Kershaw Contracting Services a project plan to ensure that we got all the remaining blocks insulated well in advance of the April 2014 deadline.
Project Preparation
Just before Christmas 2013 we worked with Homes for Haringey to write to tenants and leaseholders in all the following blocks informing them of the proposed cavity wall insulation programme: We also ensured that block managers, concierges, caretakers and Homes for Haringey staff were aware of the proposed works.
Blocks
Block Address | Number of Flats |
|---|---|
| 1-26 Joyce Butler House, Commerce Road, N22 8EA | 26 |
| 1-26 Basil Spence House, Commerce Road, N22 8EB | 26 |
| 1-18 Wordsworth House, Sydney Road, N8 0EU | 18 |
| 1-48 Cordell House, Newton Road, N15 4PR | 48 |
| 1-12 Sheridan, Sydney Road, N8 0EY | 12 |
| 1-129 Kenneth Robbins House, Northumberland Park, N17 0QA | 129 |
| 130-160 High Cross Road, N17 9PB | 15 |
| 165-195 High Cross Road, N17 9NU | 15 |
| 2-24 Markfield House, Stamford Road, N17 4PY | 12 |
| 26-48 Markfield House, Stamford Road, N17 4PY | 12 |
| 1-106 Stellar House, High Road, N17 0DZ | 106 |
| 1-52 Lowry House, Pembury Road, N17 8LZ | 52 |
| 1-28 Henrietta House, St Ann's Road, N15 6NP | 28 |
| Total | 499 |
Installation
In order to minimise costs of access the work was carried out by Rope Access Technicians abseiling down the walls of the buildings. Work started on 06th January 2014 and was completed by the middle of February 2014. In total 499 flats received cavity wall insulation which should make them warmer, more comfortable and less expensive to heat.
The photographs below show how the work was carried out.
Photos
The Rope Access technicians descend the building on ropes:
Holes (26mm) are drilled in the external brickwork:
Holes being drilled at Stellar House:
Holes are drilled to a specific pattern all the way down the building. On the ground you can see the lorries which carry the insulation material and the machines which blow it through the tubing and into the wall cavity:
The insulation is then blown, through tubes stretching from the machines on the ground, into the wall cavity. Loops are made in the pipes to prevent the insulation falling all the way back to the ground and blocking the pipes when the machines are turned off.
The insulation is blown, under pressure, into the wall cavity before the holes are repointed to prevent water ingress:
