Last week the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) released its “Retrofit Internal Wall Insulation: Guide to Best Practice”. This was designed to provide guidance for designers, surveyors, project managers and installers about retrofit internal wall insulation. A copy of the document can be found via the button below:

We have been vocal about the potential for poorly designed and installed retrofit measures to result in dampness, and internal wall insulation is no exception to this. As we strive for more energy efficient homes, encountering these measures will become more commonplace on surveys and having an understanding of retrofit is becoming increasingly important.

Qualified professionals can help you

However, this document will be of particular interest to those in the preservation (damp & timber) sector and could help surveyors understand what they are looking for. The document talks about the treatment of dampness in walls prior to retrofit, and where rising damp is suspected, it recommends getting the ‘specialist advice from a qualified professional’.

The CSRT/CSTDB qualification is the most widely recognised qualification specialising in dampness. This makes PCA members the go to experts for the diagnosis and treatment of damp prior to the installation of internal wall insulation.

Misguided and outdated information

Whilst this is encouraging, this document is not without fault. Some of the information regarding retrofit DPCs detailed in the appendices is somewhat a little outdated and prioritises methods that are rarely used in the modern day preservation industry.

However, perhaps the biggest concern is the guidance the document gives on the use of Positive Input Ventilation systems with internal wall insulation. This appears misguided and unfounded, suggesting the two are not compatible….