Thermal bridging is heat loss, typically caused by metal, poor insulation or a cold void.
Heat loss can result in condensation and mould growth, especially when accompanied by excess humidity and poor ventilation.
Top tips for identifying thermal bridges
- Use a thermal imaging camera when it is cold, or a laser thermometer, to identify thermal bridges.
- Look for mould and signs of condensation.
- Consider where there are:
- eaves,
- a chimney void,
- Rolled Steel Joist (RSJ), wrought iron attachment, cold water pipe or other connected to the outside,
- poorly applied or laid out insulation,
- an extension or attachment,
- removed chimney breast (look at similarly built properties for clues to the original structure),
- change in pattern of bricks, render or external paintwork,
- under floor void, such a garage,
- coldness to the whole or section of neighbours, such as an unheated entrance, off-set to a terrace, of heat loss at the base of a wall for terraces built on a hill,
- poor or flanking masonry paint, damaged or cracked render or spalled bricks (frost damaged),
- rainwater causing heat loss, but not necessarily penetrating damp.