Insulation query

kildarebuild

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Currently looking into insulating my dormer, opted to check out the best on the market which is supposed to be sheep's wool. It was too expensive! So im just wondering which one would be better for me. 120mm Kingspan insulation or fibreglass of 100mm. I want to put this in between the rafters of the pitched roof. And lay down 200mm of insulation on the top of the attic. Does anybody have any personal experiences?

Any help appreciated. Im just lost with all the various types of insulation.
 
'Kingspan' polyisocyanurate has a thermal conductivity factor of about 0.022 whereas mineral wool fibre is approx 0.035 - 0.04... obviously, the lower the TC value the better.... 120 mm of kingspan would give the same insulation value as appro 300mm of quilted insulation...

however....

theres a few points to remember about the kingspan board though....
its a gaseous based foam, so when you cut it you release some of these gases (you can smell it when its cut).... this arguably reduces its performance....
its also usually foilbacked, but under the foil is brown paper.... the long term performance of this has also to be proven (its prone to rot if wet)...
also the cutting of the board has to be fairy accutrate, you will have to fill gaps with the expandable aerosol foam...

personally i would go for a breathable type insulation like sheeps wool (ok, its too expensive) or a hemp based product, or softboard (which is wood fibre based)...... im not entirely sure if rockwool is breathable, but it (supposibly) doesnt sag if wet, whereas mineral glass fibre does.... so rockwool is an option

http://www.uvalue.ie/index.php?categoryid=15
this product is also becoming popular, although AFAIK it hasnt been agrement certed yet..... im not offering any opinion on it....

remember, if you are installing insulation between rafters along a pitch, you need to leave about 50mm of an air gap to the underside of the felt.
 
remember, if you are installing insulation between rafters along a pitch, you need to leave about 50mm of an air gap to the underside of the felt.

I guess it would be a good idea to insulate below the rafters rather than just between them, otherwise all the rafters would be 'cold bridges' to the inside.
 
I guess it would be a good idea to insulate below the rafters rather than just between them, otherwise all the rafters would be 'cold bridges' to the inside.
Sorry I meant to say 'a good idea to ALSO insulate below the rafters'
 
Hi Sydthebeat,
When you say that the release of gas when cutting arguably reduces it's performance, does this mean that if I have to cut some to fit, that bit won't be as good as a full sheet? Are the edges of the full sheets sealed?
 
no they are not... anyway theres generally very few partial boards installed that dont have some kind of cut in them...

my point is that this type of board is not proven over a long term.... theres questions regarding the dispersal of the gas (which would be replaced by air, which is what polystyrene basically is anyway, so it still will have good insulation properties, just [maybe] not at its highest performance....
theres questions about how the aluminium foil will interact with other metals over long term... remember that from secondary chemistry....how metals can cause other metals to degrade over time....
plus the brown paper question......

lets not underestimate the force of kingspan on the market ....
 
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