Benefits of Rockwool Insulation: Why It's a Smart Choice for Your Home

Insulation is a key component of any building project, as it can improve the energy efficiency, comfort, and safety of the occupants. However, not all insulation materials are created equal. Some may have drawbacks such as low fire resistance, poor sound absorption, or environmental concerns.

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That’s why rockwool insulation is a great choice for many applications, as it offers several advantages over other types of insulation.

In this article, we will explore what rockwool insulation is, how it is made, and what benefits it can provide for your home or business.

What is Rockwool Insulation?

Rockwool insulation, also known as mineral wool insulation, is a type of insulation made from natural rock materials, such as basalt and diabase, and recycled slag.

These materials are melted and spun into fibres, which are then compressed to create a dense, heat-resistant, and sound-absorbing material.

Rockwool insulation comes in different forms, such as batts, rolls, boards, or loose fill, and can be used for various applications, such as roofs, walls, floors, ceilings, pipes, ducts, or industrial equipment.

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How is Rockwool Insulation Made?

Rockwool insulation is made using a process that mimics the natural formation of volcanic rocks. The raw materials are heated to temperatures above °C in a furnace and then fed into a spinning chamber.

There, they are spun into thin fibres by centrifugal force and sprayed with a binder. The fibres are then collected and formed into different shapes and sizes according to the desired product. dimensions.

The whole process is energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, as it uses renewable resources and recycled materials.

What are the Benefits of Rockwool Insulation?

Rockwool insulation has many benefits that make it an ideal choice for various applications. Here are some of the main ones:

• Thermal performance: Rockwool insulation has excellent thermal properties that can help reduce heat loss or gain in buildings. It can keep the indoor temperature stable and comfortable throughout the year, regardless of the outdoor climate. This can result in lower energy bills and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Rockwool insulation also has a high R-value (the measure of thermal resistance), which means it can provide more insulation with less thickness compared to other materials.
• Fire safety: Rockwool insulation is non-combustible and can withstand temperatures up to °C without melting or releasing toxic smoke. This can enhance the fire safety of buildings and protect the occupants and the structure from fire damage. Rockwool insulation can also act as a fire barrier and prevent the spread of flames between rooms or floors.
• Acoustic comfort: Rockwool insulation has excellent sound absorption capabilities that can reduce noise transmission between spaces. It can also dampen vibrations and echoes within rooms. This can improve the acoustic comfort and privacy of the occupants and create a more peaceful and productive environment. Rockwool insulation can also help meet the acoustic requirements of building codes and standards.
• Durability: Rockwool insulation is resistant to moisture, mould, insects, rodents, chemicals, and corrosion. It does not shrink, sag, or settle over time. It can maintain its shape and performance for decades without requiring maintenance or replacement. This can save money and resources in the long run.
• Sustainability: Rockwool insulation is made from natural and recycled materials that are abundant and renewable. It does not contain any harmful substances or ozone-depleting gases. It can also be recycled at the end of its life cycle without losing its quality or performance. Rockwool insulation can contribute to the sustainability of buildings and the environment by reducing energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, waste generation, and resource depletion.

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What are the disadvantages of rockwool insulation?

Rockwool insulation is a type of insulation made from natural rock materials and recycled slag. It has many benefits, such as thermal performance, fire safety, acoustic comfort, durability, and sustainability.

However, it also has some disadvantages that you should be aware of before choosing it for your project. Some of the disadvantages of rockwool insulation are:

• Health risks: Rockwool insulation can cause skin, eye, and respiratory irritation if you come in contact with its fibres or dust. It is not as harmful as asbestos, but it is still advisable to use protective gear when working with it and to cover it with drywall or other material to prevent exposure. Some older forms of rockwool may contain asbestos, and some more bio-persistent materials may be possibly carcinogenic.
• Cost: Rockwool insulation can be slightly more expensive than similar insulating materials like fibreglass and cellulose. The cost may vary depending on the availability, quality, and thickness of the product. You may also need to spend more on installation and transportation costs due to the extra weight of rockwool.
• Extra weight: Rockwool insulation is heavier than other types of insulation, which may pose some challenges for installation and structural support. You may need to reinforce your roof or walls to accommodate the additional load of rockwool. You may also need to use more fasteners or adhesives to secure it in place.
• Lackluster thermal performance: Rockwool insulation has a high R-value, which means it can provide more insulation with less thickness. However, it also has a high thermal conductivity, which means it can transfer heat more easily than other materials. This can reduce its effectiveness in preventing heat loss or gain in buildings. Rockwool insulation also has a low vapour permeability, which means it can trap moisture and create condensation problems.

How to protect yourself from rockwool insulation?

Rockwool insulation is a type of insulation made from natural rock materials and recycled slag. It has many benefits, such as thermal performance, fire safety, acoustic comfort, durability, and sustainability.

However, As mentioned in the previous section, it also has some disadvantages that you should be aware of before choosing it for your project.

As mentioned above one of the disadvantages of rockwool insulation is that it can cause health risks if you come in contact with its fibers or dust. Therefore, it is important to protect yourself from rockwool insulation when working with it.

Some tips on how to protect yourself from rockwool insulation:

• Wear protective gear such as gloves, a face shield or eye protection, a long-sleeved shirt, pants, and a respirator. This can prevent skin irritation and inhalation of dust or fibres.
• Cover the rockwool insulation with drywall or other material to prevent exposure after installation. This can also improve the appearance and performance of the insulation.
• Use a serrated drywall or bread knife to cut the rockwool insulation. This can reduce the amount of dust and fibres released into the air.
• Work in a well-ventilated area and avoid breathing in the dust or fibres. You can also use a vacuum cleaner or a damp cloth to clean up the work area after installation.

By following these tips, you can protect yourself from rockwool insulation and enjoy its benefits for your home or business.

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How to install rockwool insulation?

To install rockwool insulation, you need to follow some steps depending on the type and form of the insulation and the application area. Here are some general guidelines for installing rockwool insulation:

• First, you need to measure the areas to insulate and cut the insulation accordingly. You can use a tape measure, a utility knife or a serrated drywall knife, and a straightedge or a 2 x 4 to cut the insulation. You should wear protective gear such as gloves, safety glasses, a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and a respirator to avoid skin, eye, and respiratory irritation.
• Next, you need to seal the gaps and cracks in the walls, floors, ceilings, or other surfaces with caulk, tape, foam, or other sealants. This will help prevent air leakage and improve the thermal performance of the insulation.
• Then, you need to install the insulation in the desired area. You can use different methods depending on the type of insulation and the application. For example, you can use batts or rolls for walls, floors, or ceilings; boards for roofs or exterior walls; loose fill for attics or hard-to-reach areas; or pipe sections for pipes or ducts. You should follow the manufacturer’s instructions and the building codes for proper installation. You may need to use fasteners, staples, strapping, adhesives, or other accessories to secure the insulation in place.
• Finally, you need to cover the insulation with drywall or other material to prevent exposure and improve the appearance and performance of the insulation. You should also clean up the work area with a vacuum cleaner or a damp cloth to remove any dust or fibres.

What is the difference between rockwool and fiberglass insulation?

Rockwool and fibreglass are both types of insulation made from mineral fibres, but they have some differences in their properties and performance. Here are some of the main differences between rockwool and fibreglass insulation:

• Rockwool has a higher R-value than fibreglass, which means it can provide more insulation with less thickness. Rockwool has an R-value of 15 for a 3.5-inch thickness, while fibreglass has an R-value of 13 for the same thickness.
• Rockwool is more heat-resistant and fire-resistant than fibreglass. Rockwool can withstand temperatures up to °C without melting or releasing toxic smoke, while fibreglass can melt at around 500°C. Rockwool can also act as a fire barrier and prevent the spread of flames between rooms or floors.
• Rockwool is denser and heavier than fibreglass, which makes it more sound-absorbing and vibration-damping than fibreglass. Rockwool can reduce noise transmission between spaces and create a more peaceful and comfortable environment.
• Rockwool is more resistant to moisture, mould, insects, rodents, chemicals, and corrosion than fibreglass. Rockwool does not absorb water or support biological growth, while fibreglass can trap moisture and create condensation problems. Rockwool can also maintain its shape and performance for decades without requiring maintenance or replacement.
• Fiberglass is cheaper, lighter, and easier to install than rockwool. Fibreglass insulation costs between 25 and 50 percent less than rockwool insulation. Fiberglass is also more flexible and available in various forms, such as batts, rolls, loose fill, or spray foam. Fibreglass can fit into irregular shapes and spaces where rockwool cannot.
• Fiberglass is more eco-friendly than rockwool in terms of biodegradability. Fibreglass is made from glass fibers that can decompose over time, while rockwool is made from stone and slag that are non-biodegradable. However, rockwool uses more recycled materials than fibreglass in its production process.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is rockwool insulation?

A: Rockwool insulation, also known as mineral wool or stone wool insulation, is a type of thermal insulation made from natural materials such as basalt rock and recycled glass. It is designed to provide improved energy efficiency and thermal comfort in homes and buildings.

Q: Why is rockwool insulation a smart choice for my home?

A: Rockwool insulation offers a range of benefits that make it a smart choice for your home. It is fire-resistant, providing added safety by reducing the spread of fire. It is also a natural and sustainable product, making it an eco-friendly option. Additionally, rockwool insulation is easy to install and offers excellent soundproofing and moisture resistance properties.

Q: What is the difference between rockwool and glass wool insulation?

A: Rockwool and glass wool insulation are both types of mineral wool insulation, but they are made from different materials. Rockwool insulation is made from basalt rock, while glass wool insulation is made from recycled glass. Both types of insulation offer similar thermal and sound insulation properties, but rockwool insulation is generally considered to have better fire-resistant qualities.

Q: Can rockwool insulation absorb sound?

A: Yes, rockwool insulation has excellent soundproofing properties. Its dense and fibrous structure helps to absorb sound waves, reducing noise transmission between rooms and from outside sources.

Q: Is rockwool insulation resistant to rot and mildew?

A: Yes, rockwool insulation is resistant to rot and mildew. Its moisture resistance properties prevent the growth of fungi and bacteria, ensuring a healthier indoor environment.

Q: How does rockwool insulation contribute to fire safety?

A: Rockwool insulation is inherently fire-resistant. It is made from stone wool, which has a high melting point and does not contribute to the spread of fire. In the event of a fire, rockwool insulation can help to contain the fire and provide valuable time for evacuation and firefighting.

Q: Can rockwool insulation be used for both wall and roof insulation?

A: Yes, rockwool insulation can be used for both wall and roof insulation. It is a versatile insulation material that can be easily installed in various parts of the home to improve energy efficiency and thermal comfort.

Q: How does rockwool insulation help with energy efficiency?

A: Rockwool insulation has excellent thermal insulation properties. It helps to minimize heat transfer through walls, floors, and roofs, reducing the need for artificial heating and cooling. This can lead to significant energy savings and improved energy efficiency in your home.

Q: Are there different types of rockwool insulation products available?

A: Yes, there are different types of rockwool insulation products available to suit various applications. Some common types include insulation for flat roofs, wall insulation, and cavity insulation. Each type is designed to provide specific levels of thermal insulation and can be selected based on your specific requirements.

Q: What are the advantages that make rockwool insulation a popular choice?

A: Rockwool insulation offers several advantages that make it a popular choice among homeowners and builders. It provides excellent thermal and sound insulation, improves energy efficiency, is fire-resistant, moisture-resistant, and made from recycled materials. Additionally, it is easy to install and contributes to a comfortable and healthier indoor environment.

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Conclusion

Rockwool insulation is a versatile and high-performance material that can provide many benefits for your home or business.

It can improve the thermal efficiency, fire safety, acoustic comfort, durability, and sustainability of your building project. It can also help you save money and protect the environment in the long run.

If you are looking for a reliable and effective insulation solution for your next project, consider rockwool insulation as an option. You won’t regret it!

Samuel Hitch

Managing Director
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Having investigated this topic to death with Building Control & the insulation manufacturers tech teams recently, Rockwool is half the insulation property for the same thickness, requires support (not netting), compression & capping to ensure no gap between floor & insulation with no 'wind wash'.
BC believe that the vast majority of existing 'wool type' installations have negligible improvement due to air gaps between the floor and the insulation, where the warm air simply leaks though the open conduit path at the ends. A bit like a surgical mask where there air comes in & out the gaps at the sides instead of through the restrictive filter.
There's other 'eco' forum threads that discusses this and the criticality of guaranteeing that the insulation touches the underside of the floor boards, like it would fall into place in a loft, whilst insulation falls away from the underside of a floor making it close to useless.

PIR is more expensive and more difficult to fit, but provides superior insulation performance if done properly as Buster says. I'd go PIR unless you want a job done on the cheap.

But is PIR more expensive & difficult when you consider everything. Much also depends on if you are doing it from underneath or have the boards up.
My logic;
1) you need double thickness of wool for same insulation or PIR
2) you need to draught/moisture barrier under boards with if using wool, otherwise you'll get draughts
3) you need to compress wool slightly to ensure under floor insulation remains in contact with the floor forever
4) you need to rigidly support the underside / seal the ends of wool to stop sagging, plus cap with something windproof otherwise you'll get wind wash
PIR does all the above for you, plus it has the silver reflective side (however good that is)!

With PIR you can knock long clout nails in the sides of the joist and drop the PIR in to rest on them so the board is raised just 1mm above the joists, foam spray any gaps (try doing that with wool), then screw the boards down and the PIR compresses/self levels on to the long springy clout nails, keeping the PIR pressed onto the underside of the floor boards. BC suggested nails, but I recently used some old curved/springy bed ply support laths screwed on the underside of joists to ensure that the PIR always pushes up with the spring of the bed lath and touches the floor boards forever.

100mm of PIR is practical but 200mm of wool in 100mm joists can be awkward! Well thanks for all the replys.
Here is the job.
As you walk in the frontroom there is an access trap for the heating pipes.
So this morning i decided to remove the access boards so i can see what the job may entail..

The joists are 80mm x 120mm didnt expect that and they are 330mm apart joist to joist..

This changes things dramatically....
The front room is only 5m by 3.5m.
It requires cutting the width of each slab of rockwool for a start unless i can find the 400mm and maybe push those into the joist gaps.....

Finding a supply of 400mm that i could collect is another problem.........

I could use PIR but at 120mm is wayyyyy expensive....

Well thanks for all the replys.
Here is the job.
As you walk in the frontroom there is an access trap for the heating pipes.
So this morning i decided to remove the access boards so i can see what the job may entail..

The joists are 80mm x 120mm didnt expect that and they are 330mm apart joist to joist..

This changes things dramatically....
The front room is only 5m by 3.5m.
It requires cutting the width of each slab of rockwool for a start unless i can find the 400mm and maybe push those into the joist gaps.....

Finding a supply of 400mm that i could collect is another problem.........

I could use PIR but at 120mm is wayyyyy expensive....

Can please help me understand the figures and supplier of materials that demonstrates PIR is more expensive for the SAME level of insulation?
You need to compare 100mm PIR with 200mm of Rockwool, just touching the joists (no gaps or squashed Rockwool). The Rockwool will require a reflective membrane above the Rockwool, and rigid membrane below it to ensure no sagging, draughts & 'wind washing' to be comparable. Also, please explain your solution to rigidly support the 200mm of Rockwool when you only have 120mm joists?
Many thanks!

Can please help me understand the figures and supplier of materials that demonstrates PIR is more expensive for the SAME level of insulation?
You need to compare 100mm PIR with 200mm of Rockwool, just touching the joists (no gaps or squashed Rockwool). The Rockwool will require a reflective membrane above the Rockwool, and rigid membrane below it to ensure no sagging, draughts & 'wind washing' to be comparable. Also, please explain your solution to rigidly support the 200mm of Rockwool when you only have 120mm joists?
Many thanks!

Rockwool
200mm 2pk @£26 per pk =£364
Breathe membrane for jolding the rockwool £47
Vapour Barier membrane for on top of rockwool £30.
Plus screws and staples.

PIR
Celeotex XR @£57ea x14 £798
Breathable membrane ,£47
Vapour barrier £30
Screws and staples.....

Rockwool
200mm 2pk @£26 per pk =£364
Breathe membrane for jolding the rockwool £47
Vapour Barier membrane for on top of rockwool £30.
Plus screws and staples.

PIR
Celeotex XR @£57ea x14 £798
Breathable membrane ,£47
Vapour barrier £30
Screws and staples.....

Thanks. So you only require 100mm of PIR at £50 each to be comparable to 200mm of Rockwool (depends on product), and you don't need the breathable membrane or vapour barrier with PIR.

I'm confused about your quantity. Your room is 5 x 3.5 = 17.5. Subtracting 20% for your wide and close together joists = 14m2. 14 PIR boards are 14 x 2.4 x 1.2 = 40.32m2. That's 2.88 times the amount you need or am I missing something?

Please share the link to the 200mm Rockwool and explain how you would rigidly hold it up with no sagging.

These are pics of what I did 10+ years ago. It was 150mm encapsulated Space Blanket within 125mm joists, crushed and clamped up at the wall ends, supported by corriboard. Note that the joist ends had the corriboard stapled up to the clamped up ends of the insulation to allow air around joists ends and open flow through air bricks, also avoiding wind washing the insulation. The orange bag is to show what it was like before the corriboard was placed. I also placed some freebie battens under the corriboard (scrap packing pieces) that look like tantalised tiling lath that are used to separate wood delivered on pallets.

200mm of well supported & wind protected Rockwool or 100mm of PIR would be better than mine. I have another room to do and keen to do a better job, thinking that I'd go for PIR but I'm keen to see you Rockwool at that price.

Hi.....my mistake its 4 pir boards not 14 ‍ @£258.

I would run a batten across the joist underside to hold the pir up.......

As for the vapour barrier i read that it was required berween the boards and the pir....

The link is as follows.
https://www.insulationshop.co/200mm_rockwool_dual_density_external_wall_insulation_slab.html

So why have you chosen that Rockwool product? It's a very heavy duty solid external wall insulation that takes direct render.
Anyway, you now think that you'd require 4 x 120mm @ 2.88m2 each - Celeotex XR @£57ea = £228 (not £258)
The product you have chosen is only 0.72m2, so you'll need 16 x £26.02 = £416.32 + membranes and all the complexity of fitting something that under hangs the joist.

So why would you use that Rockwool product and how is PIR way more expensive?

So why have you chosen that Rockwool product? It's a very heavy duty solid external wall insulation that takes direct render.
Anyway, you now think that you'd require 4 x 120mm @ 2.88m2 each - Celeotex XR @£57ea = £228 (not £258)
The product you have chosen is only 0.72m2, so you'll need 16 x £26.02 = £416.32 + membranes and all the complexity of fitting something that under hangs the joist.

So why would you use that Rockwool product and how is PIR way more expensive?

I changed my mind about using pir over rockwool.
Yesterday after searching i found originally pir at £89 a board plus vat which was an eye opener.

After another search yesterday evening i found it cheaper n locally.
So i will be ordering 5 boards as i will also do the floor as you walk into the house from the front door.........