Warming with a crumb of mineral wool: pros and cons

Our site of advice decided to devote this article to the peculiarities of house insulation with a crumb of mineral wool, aspiration. Let’s figure out what kind of insulation it is, what properties it has, what is the difference between the process of its installation. Let’s pay special attention to the pros and cons of mineral wool crumbs.

Aspiration of mineral wool is simply a crumb, a waste product of this popular insulation. They also call it basalt chips or loose wool. In any plant, in the production of sandwich panels or stone wool slabs, waste and trimming remain in any case. They are crushed and sold in bags with a volume of 0.02-0.3 m³ or in big bags with a capacity of up to 1000 liters. The density of the bulk insulation crumbs is 35–55 kg / m³.

Important! The coefficient of thermal conductivity of aspiration is the same as that of ordinary mineral wool in rolls or slabs – 0.041–0.042 W / (m · ° C) at a density above 40 kg / m³ and normal humidity. Other properties are also similar. The crumb does not burn, it also needs to be protected from moisture and condensation.

The advantages of using crumbs of mineral wool are obvious:

• Very inexpensive. One cubic meter of crumb will cost about 600 rubles, while the price of the same volume of stone wool in the form of slabs will be at least 1,500 rubles. The savings are evident. In addition, if you find an enterprise that is not engaged in the packaging and sale of waste from its production of heaters, then you can generally get aspiration for free – by self-pickup.
• They weigh very little bags with crumbs, easy to carry and transport.
• The installation process itself is simple.
• There are no cold bridges, the crumb can be filled up, blown out, tamped in all hard-to-reach places.
• Thermal insulating properties are high, no worse than stone wool in slabs.

But there are also many drawbacks to house insulation with a crumb of mineral wool:

• In the process of laying bulk insulation there will be a lot of dust, you need to work exclusively in a respirator and goggles.
• We need hydro, steam and wind protection films, and special requirements are imposed on the tightness of their seams, the protection should be as reliable as possible. The crumb absorbs moisture faster than the mineral board.
• There is a risk to buy material of poor quality, substandard, which the manufacturer hastened to get rid of.
• There is a risk of not filling all voids in hard-to-reach places, for example, in walls or under roof slopes. As a result, bridges of cold will remain.
• It is difficult to say what will happen to the insulation in 10 and 20 years, while there are no reviews about such a long service life of mineral wool aspiration.

In general, the process of using crumbs of stone wool is similar to laying ecowool, which the portal wrote about in detail. It is advisable to use dry blowing, when aspiration is applied to the surface under pressure, immediately pressed. In addition, this method of insulation is suitable for walls and partitions, when a crumb of mineral wool needs to be tamped inside.

Important! In the process of laying basalt chips, you can overdo it with tamping. If the layer turns out to be very dense, up to 100 kg / m³, then the thermal insulation properties of the material will decrease. Optimum compaction is up to 65 kg / m³.

According to user reviews, a crumb of stone wool is well suited for insulating horizontal surfaces: floors, attic, floors between floors. It is more difficult with the walls, although blowing using a special apparatus allows you to solve the problem with crumb crumb ramming between the walls.

The insulation layer should be at least 15–20 centimeters. If you decide to do everything yourself, then first of all you will need work gloves and other protection. Having poured out a layer of crumbs, it needs to be tamped with something; often homeowners just use sticks and other improvised means. They are rammed so that the insulation layer is springy, not too dense. Cover with windscreen on top.

In general, we repeat, the technology is similar to the use of other bulk insulation. The process is quite time consuming if you work manually, but it does not present any particular difficulties.

We state: the use of crumbs of mineral wool as insulation really allows you to significantly save. It is inexpensive, you can do everything yourself, the thermal insulation performance is good. However, you need to choose high-quality material, observe the laying technology, prevent the formation of voids, be sure to use vapor barrier membranes.