Wall of Death
One of the most common enquiries we get asked is how to effectively insulate a single skin masonry wall or how to rectify one that has moisture or sinister odours emerging from behind the plasterboard lining. Since NCC 2016 Amendment 1 clarified the requirement for all elements of type A and type B wall construction to be non-combustible, including the insulation, we are seeing more drawings of what we have dubbed the “WALL OF DEATH.”
The final nail in the coffin for the wall of death, hopefully is the more stringent requirements of the NCC 2019 Section J and the introduction of Part F6 Condensation Management. Using external continuous insulation to manage thermal bridging and condensation is no longer a luxury item for those designers who demand performance, or who have experienced the consequences of ignoring condensation risks. The requirements of the NCC 2019 are driving change for the better good.
The Wall of Death
If we don’t care what type of insulation we use or where it goes, the path of least resistance and lowest build cost might be to build a steel frame on the interior side of the masonry wall, and fill up the space with nice fluffy fibre insulation, whack on the plasterboard and walk away.