Attic insulsation

brendan0576

I want to put more attic insulation in
I went to the builders provider this evening and they recommend a new product "Ecose Insulation" made from recycled material
Has anybody used it
I was going to put in rockwool 6"

Your recommendations please

http://www.ecose-technology.com/

skywalker_208

I was just about to post a similar query!
Its very difficult to compare like for like with all the different types of insulation out there!

I was going to start a thread asking how this sheepswool compares to the Rockwool Rollbat...

http://www.sheepwoolinsulation.ie/categories.asp?cat=8

Basically you can get 9" of sheepswool to cover a 200m square area for around €2700 whereas you can get 10" of the Rockwool mentioned about for €1900.

I am sure they have different U Values or w/mK but its hard to compare like for like!

That ECOSE® Technology stuff looks interesting also - but I dont see any stats on their site so again - difficult to compare

Lets hope someone can help us out

brendan0576

i was all set to buy a few rolls of 6" Rockwool
but they recommended the ecose stuff
im looking for some values on heat retention but cant seem to find any

A roll of ecose is nearly twice the size of the rockwool for around the same price

RKQ

Check the U-value of each product.

Rockwool has a proven reputation. Fibre Glass is fine, cheap and some DIY Stores currently have "buy one get one free" - so save some cash!!!

skywalker_208

RKQ wrote: »

Check the U-value of each product.

Rockwool has a proven reputation. Fibre Glass is fine, cheap and some DIY Stores currently have "buy one get one free" - so save some cash!!!

Rockwool is €18 a roll and each roll covers 6.158 square meter (thats a price for a 6" roll)

Rockwool: 0.044 W/m.k (taken directly from the packaging off a roll)

This is taken from sheepwool website:

Sheep Wool Insulation (Certified Europewide CE Value) 0.039 W/mK
Glass Wool 0.044 W/mK
Mineral (Rock) Wool 0.042 W/mK
Cork 0.04 W/mK

And this is taken from Rockwool Rollbat site:

ROLL THERMAL PERFORMANCE
First layer Additional layer Roll width
between joints, over joists, to suit joist U Value
(thickness mm) (thickness mm) centres (mm) (W/m2 K)
100 (+) 100 400 0.22
100 (+) 100 600 0.21
100 (+) 150 400 0.17
100 (+) 150 600 0.17
100 (+) 170 400 0.16
100 (+) 170 600 0.16

So as you can see the Rockwool seems to be measured in 100ths of W/m2 K where as the Fibre glass is measured in 1000ths W/m2 K even though Rockwool is supposed to be better than Fibreglass....

Still dont see any figures for the ecose stuff...

My point is it is hard to get indepenant advice/information.
Dont mind paying more for Rockwool/Sheepwool/other expensive product if it is alot better than fibreglass.
As far as I can see so far Rockwool is twice as expensive as Fibreglass and Sheepwool is three times the price of Fibreglass (approx) - but if there is only a little difference in real performance between the different products there is no point shelling out big money....

RKQ

It can be confusing alright. Fibre glass is the cheapest and just as good if not better than the alternatives.

IMO Rockwool has better properties if used vertically, as its less likely to sag. It is also easier to handle - it is less irratating to your skin.
Rockwool has better fire resistance than fibre glass - used close to flues etc - but this is not an issue insulating an attic of a standard semi-D.

Sheepwool is more expensive but is a natural fibre. If you are considering the recycled plastic Eco stuff then just compare its U-value and price with Fibre glass then make up your own mind. IMO insulation saves money.

hsebldMO

Was also going to post here to see if anyone had used the Ecose stuff, saw it today in hardware shop; selling for about E4 cheaper per 150mm roll than the Rockwool 150mm roll. One roll covers 6.99 sqm (from pack label)


Values quoted on pack label:
Thermal Resistance (R Value) = 3.40 m2K/W (Higher the better)
Thermal Conductivity (K Value) = 0.044 W/mK (Lower the better)


Far as I can see this Ecose tag is just the new production method of glass wool. Guess you have to work out cost per sqm vs. insulation values vs. ease of installation vs. environmental properties (in that order for me anyway!)


As I understand the thermal performance (U values) quoted by some insulation companies take into account all factors such as joist size/spacing & insulation lapping methods, k values of other ceiling materials, heat transfer methods etc so comparing products by using these values only could be misleading. The R Value is the best way to compare like with like.

Relationship between K Value & R Value is R = d / K where d is the width of material in metres. (3.40 = 0.150 / 0.044 for above example)

U Value is then U = 1 / R (So for above material only, U Value would be 0.294 W/m2K)

Confusing, eh?!


Skywalker, the coverage figure of 6.158 sqm; was that off the pack label? On the datasheet on http://guide.rockwool.ie/media/73556/roll-sec.pdf it gives the roll length as 3.2m (giving coverage of 3.84sqm) - is this different stuff? Also E18 per roll is a great price, where was that?

skywalker_208

hsebldMO wrote: »

Skywalker, the coverage figure of 6.158 sqm; was that off the pack label? On the datasheet on http://guide.rockwool.ie/media/73556/roll-sec.pdf it gives the roll length as 3.2m (giving coverage of 3.84sqm) - is this different stuff? Also E18 per roll is a great price, where was that?

Yea thats off the datasheet on the roll - but I was talking about a roll of Fibreglass there. €18 a roll for Fibreglass. 0.044 W/mK also marked on it.

skywalker_208

Just to add - I have done alot of pricing around and €18 seems to be the standard price for the Fibreglass.
I have found prices of the 4" roll of Rockwool (5.7m square) varying from €22 - €27

I have decided to go for 2 x 4" rolls of rockwool for in between joists giving me 8" of insulation for the following reasons:

* good bit cheaper than the sheepswool and I cannot find any independent advice to warrant spending an extra €1000 - €1500
* 8" because I believe pressing down on the insulation can take away from its thermal properties ( so don't want to get 10" for example) and also this is a ceiling so I will at a later stage be insulating the rafters/shape of the roof when i get started on the upstairs. For now we are just living downstairs and need to keep the heat down there!

irelandhouse

knauf produce fibre glass and they have replaced with with the new ecose rolls. they have the same thermal values

4" covers 10.6 sqm
6" covers 7sqm
8" covers 6sqm

the rolls are 1.2m they are perforated for 400 and 600 centres.

it is not like fibre glass to touch and makes installing it alot easier.

270mm is the min build regs.

it would be recommended to put 250 between joist and 150 running across - this reduces thermal bridging.

rockwool - equal thermal values, better acoustic than f/glass, ecose rolls