Thermal insulation of the ceiling with ecowool

Ecowool is a new century material that has unique insulating properties. It is fire resistant, capable of completely filling an empty cavity. This insulation was brought into The international register, where environmentally friendly materials for insulation of floors and walls are marked.

Ecowool ceiling insulation is an ideal solution for any attic. However, this material has both advantages and disadvantages that should be taken into account.

Let's start with the benefits of ecowool.

• The installation of this insulation is done without seams, hence the high thermal insulation characteristics. The complete absence of the so-called "cold bridges". There is no dew point during installation, so there is no condensation.

• The composition of ecowool does not contain carcinogens harmful to humans, therefore it is completely safe. After installation, the insulation does not cause allergies, which is important for homes with children.

• Ecowool allows your home to breathe.

• This insulation has one very important quality - it can be used several times.

• Ecowool is characterized by excellent adhesion, it easily sticks to the applied surface.

• The described insulation does not cause metal corrosion.

• Ecowool prevents insects from breeding and the spread of mold.

Ecowool, as a heat-insulating material, also has some significant disadvantages. Among them:

• shrinkage;

• installation complexity;

• need a frame.

The ecowool material itself has a fibrous structure. It shrinks over time, the volume is lost, respectively, and the thermal insulation qualities change in a negative direction. When insulating the ceiling, this problem is easy to solve, since the surface is horizontal, and you only need to make the insulation layer a little thicker.

As for the installation, it will not work to produce high-quality ecowool installation without special equipment and competent specialists. If you lay on the ceiling manually, then a drill with a special nozzle is used to loosen the material. During this process, a lot of dust rises into the air, which in most cases causes allergies.

Ecowool has a small percentage of stiffness, like insulation, so it is sprayed or poured onto the surface. In this particular case, a frame is necessarily used, and then a protective lining.

When laying ecowool on the ceiling, you need to know how much you need per 1 m2. The method by which the insulation layer will be formed will depend on the coverage area. Always calculate the required amount of material before starting work.

If this is a multi-storey building, then a layer of 100 to 150 mm is required. When working with the overlap of the first floor, when an attic is planned at the top, the layer of ecowool is increased to 400 mm. This is because heat will accumulate under the roof, therefore, the maximum heat loss can be observed. You can improve the situation with this modern material.

Ecowool is laid in two ways:

• manual;

• mechanized.

The second method allows you to complete the job faster. For it, special equipment is used, where the insulation is automatically fed into the prepared cavities. In this case, you can use not only dry material, but also mixed with water. This technology is available for use only by specially trained people; a simple user often uses the manual method.

The manual method is not very efficient, but it is the cheapest. It can only be used to insulate the floor, ceiling, but not walls. This technology involves the creation of an imperfectly even layer that will fill all cavities.

Such difficulties can be circumvented by using a special blow molding machine during operation. When ecowool is supplied under pressure, it easily fills in hard-to-reach places. The method works well for frame houses.

It is possible to lay ecowool using this method only with the help of special equipment. The ceiling is covered with a liquid suspension, the fibers stick together, adhere to the laid material.

Ecowool insulation is more often used in a house with a cold roof. In this case, it is possible to keep the heat inside, and, accordingly, save on heating. Manual laying is done by hand, the main thing is to study the technology well.

It should be noted that the manual method for ecowool is available only for a small amount of work. The process is as follows.

• First, you will need to lay a vapor barrier on the base. Its fixation is carried out with a special stapler used in construction. You will need to lay the material with an overlap of 150 cm.

• Ecowool is in the package, it will need to be poured into a large container so that there is free space. Only 1/3 of the total volume of the container is filled.

• The material is loosened with a drill with a whisk. As a result, the volume of poured raw materials should double.

• A frame with cells is created on the floor, where the prepared material is poured, trying to fill each one as much as possible. You can tamp with plywood.

• If the ceiling is processed to the attic, then the layer thickness is at least 200 mm, if this is an overlap between floors, you can limit yourself to 150 mm.

• Fill the corners especially carefully. Ecowool after a short period of time will sag, so it is better to fill it with a reserve in the cells.

• To slightly dampen the insulation, water and a spray bottle are usually used. This material contains lignin, which needs to be softened, it is he who then sticks together and a dense layer is obtained that provides high-quality floor insulation.

• The next step is to wait until the layer dries. Only then can a vapor-permeable special film be laid. It also overlaps.

• You can cover everything with wooden flooring if you plan to use the attic in the future.

There are many user reviews on the Internet, there are neutral, positive and negative ones. Some users are unhappy with the fact that the ecowool gave a strong shrinkage and required additional costs for laying a new layer.

Others were pleased that this material helped to save on heating in winter and allowed significant savings on material.

Such a universal solution is becoming more and more popular, it is possible to carry out insulation of the ceiling on your own, the main thing is to comply with the technology.