Advice (and a warning) from a builder on cavity wall insulation

Following a water leak in a Neath resident's house, an establised local builder said he would never have cavity wall filling done to any brick built property that he owned.   It is a fact that a brick can absorb more than its own weight in water.
The builder added that rendered propertities had some protection against rain and weather conditions but bricks and the joints between them were vIrtually a magnet for natures downpours.  

A representative from an insulation company had another view and said that cavity wall insulation simply showned up building faults and bad workmanship - that was why the old school of builders did not like it.
He said that the majority of faults showed up near the ground floor skirting boards because the damp course inside the cavity had been bridged by cement droppings during the building process.

The builder stated that the cavity wall is there for a purpose and with the fact that the outside wall gets wet.  To fill it is contarary to a long established building practice.

The Insulation representative said that the British governement were advocating cavity wall installations and that  there was a government testing facility in Scotland where firms were checked out before being given an installation certificate.   It was stated, however, that the european standard was higher than the British one.

Any reader who has had a problem with their cavity wall insulation is invited to tell us all about it.   Names and personal details will not be revealed.