Reply To: Is insulating half a laundry worthwhile?

[Phil Squire]

In a downstairs room at home I’ve used the strapping method for wall insulation where the internal framing was backing onto a concrete retaining wall. I used Novafloor to insulate, which is semi-rigid and friction-fitted so it held firmly in place (with about a 5cm gap to the concrete),  didn’t sag back between the strapping, and wasn’t going to be pushed back towards the concrete when the gib was replaced.  When I stripped the old gib (which was showing signs of moisture ingress – bubbling paint and musty room), I found the wall had previously been insulated with Pink Batts, and the Batts was hard against the wall and quite quite damp – moist even.

So the final solution provided an air cavity (plus I created a ventilation channel with openings at both ends of the wall) which meant dry insulation. And the end results are a dry room. It’s our bedroom now and I feel a warm glow of pride at theory meeting practice and the two agreeing wholeheartedly with each other.

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