Selfsufficientish.com

Possibly this is just going to turn into an advert but here goes.

We decided, since we hadn't ventured upwards since we moved here, to have a look in our loft the other day. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that it's completely uninsulated (not a word about it in the survey ), although that did explain why it was so cold upstairs when the new boiler was installed, and possibly why it had been so unbearably hot up there with the old boiler.

Anyway, in our hunt for cheap insulation and mindful of the fact that B&Q had an offer on until yesterday, we went there. What we found was a product called Eco-Wool. It's 85% recycled plastic bottles and 15% new polyester, is completely irritant free, has a U Value of 1.2 (R Value of 4.76) and is currently on sale for £7.49 per 4m roll (rather than £16.98) for the 200mm (8") thickness. We figured that would do us and bought enough to do the loft once and worry about the top layer later. But there's not 4m of 200mm thickness in each roll. There are 2 4m rolls of 100mm (4") thickness. So we had enough to do a proper job on the loft and enough left over to make a new duvet! And we now have a warm, snuggly house!

Hooray!

Lynne

We cought that stuff too, its great!! Makes the loft look all white and showy like christmas!
And we too have a roll left over!

Very Interesting

I've been saving up for the wool based green version which is intrinsically flame resistant (which I like) as I need to get in the loft to 'do' and I'm allergic to the glass fibre stuff which was there when we moved in but needs a top up.
How does the plastic bottle version measure up on the flame retarding stakes?

The packaging doesn't say anything about flame retardance. However, imagining it would just melt (being plastic), we just set fire to a small piece. It does burn but slowly. Mostly, it just melts.

Lynne

It would have to pass British Standards otherwise it could not be sold.

lsm1066 wrote:The packaging doesn't say anything about flame retardance. However, imagining it would just melt (being plastic), we just set fire to a small piece. It does burn but slowly. Mostly, it just melts.

Lynne

Ahh similar to what the woolly fleece does then - thank you the wool fibre batts are a great idea - but rather pricey, looks like I could use them for the between the rafters bits (next year's project) and the eco one for between the joists (need it now project...brrrrr)

lsm1066 wrote:Possibly this is just going to turn into an advert but here goes.

We decided, since we hadn't ventured upwards since we moved here, to have a look in our loft the other day. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that it's completely uninsulated (not a word about it in the survey ), although that did explain why it was so cold upstairs when the new boiler was installed, and possibly why it had been so unbearably hot up there with the old boiler.

Anyway, in our hunt for cheap insulation and mindful of the fact that B&Q had an offer on until yesterday, we went there. What we found was a product called Eco-Wool. It's 85% recycled plastic bottles and 15% new polyester, is completely irritant free, has a U Value of 1.2 (R Value of 4.76) and is currently on sale for £7.49 per 4m roll (rather than £16.98) for the 200mm (8") thickness. We figured that would do us and bought enough to do the loft once and worry about the top layer later. But there's not 4m of 200mm thickness in each roll. There are 2 4m rolls of 100mm (4") thickness. So we had enough to do a proper job on the loft and enough left over to make a new duvet! And we now have a warm, snuggly house!

Hooray!

Lynne

Ive heard that sheep wool alone is the best, apecially for older houses, as you can go and ofer the farmer several quid more than what they get, as they tend to only have the option of selling it cheap as there is no call for it for some reason, they get i think about six quid a bag, and it is a bag bigger than a mini, i should no, as ive had to help my uncle many times backbreakin, but the wool seams to keep the house perfectly warm.

jenko wrote:
Ive heard that sheep wool alone is the best, apecially for older houses, as you can go and ofer the farmer several quid more than what they get, as they tend to only have the option of selling it cheap as there is no call for it for some reason, they get i think about six quid a bag, and it is a bag bigger than a mini, i should no, as ive had to help my uncle many times backbreakin, but the wool seams to keep the house perfectly warm.

I'd be very cautious about using unwashed, untreated sheep's wool -- there's the smell and the fact that it makes a great home for insects to consider...

jenko wrote:Ive heard that sheep wool alone is the best, apecially for older houses, as you can go and ofer the farmer several quid more than what they get, as they tend to only have the option of selling it cheap as there is no call for it for some reason, they get i think about six quid a bag, and it is a bag bigger than a mini, i should no, as ive had to help my uncle many times backbreakin, but the wool seams to keep the house perfectly warm.

nod nod - I hope this is changing as more people are interested in using sheep fleece for insulation
I had three fleeces from a shepherd in Kent for very little money but apparently more than the wool marketing board would have paid - unfortunately I can't carry more than two fleeces on the bike, so would have to use loads of fuel to collect sufficient for insulation, and due to the wildlife in those fleeces I guess I'd have to clean it all first too
I should try to find who owns the more local sheep

mybarnconversion wrote:

jenko wrote:
Ive heard that sheep wool alone is the best, apecially for older houses, as you can go and ofer the farmer several quid more than what they get, as they tend to only have the option of selling it cheap as there is no call for it for some reason, they get i think about six quid a bag, and it is a bag bigger than a mini, i should no, as ive had to help my uncle many times backbreakin, but the wool seams to keep the house perfectly warm.

I'd be very cautious about using unwashed, untreated sheep's wool -- there's the smell and the fact that it makes a great home for insects to consider...

I think that you can buy something to wash it with, and its very similarb to sheep dip??? but i think that you can buy it, and its very similar to bleach, or you can get it in a sprayable version??

jenko wrote:I think that you can buy something to wash it with, and its very similarb to sheep dip??? but i think that you can buy it, and its very similar to bleach, or you can get it in a sprayable version??

You can buy sheep dip type spray but I think it's more for protecting the sheep against fly-strike than cleaning a sheared fleece.
I'd think it best not to use chlorine bleach, it attacks the fibres and the fleece will disintegrate

I scour/clean fleece (for spinning and felt making) with washing up liquid and very hot water, this kills lice, fly eggs etc etc and removes lanolin - but you do need a lot of hot water so it's rather energy intensive. (damm just remembered I still have one in a box awaiting cleaning )
A friend filled her loft with angora goat fleece untreated, I guess the bugs die off eventually with no source of food so long as you seal the loft off from the rest of the house

mybarnconversion wrote:I'd be very cautious about using unwashed, untreated sheep's wool -- there's the smell and the fact that it makes a great home for insects to consider...

ooh but I love the smell of a fresh cut fleece

makes nice cosy homes for rodents too unfortunately

i asked a friend the other day, and if you die it, almost like hair die, i prevents paracites and mold growing in/on it. you can get it from aggricultural merchants i think.

snapdragon wrote: I scour/clean fleece (for spinning and felt making) with washing up liquid and very hot water, this kills lice, fly eggs etc etc and removes lanolin - but you do need a lot of hot water so it's rather energy intensive. (damm just remembered I still have one in a box awaiting cleaning )
A friend filled her loft with angora goat fleece untreated, I guess the bugs die off eventually with no source of food so long as you seal the loft off from the rest of the house

I washed raw mohair with wool wash and hot water and it made the whole house smell like a wet goat (not sure what I was expecting really ). You can dye it with regular hair dye but it needs to be left for a lot longer than normal although if its just for bug deterant I would sprinkle it with teatree or lavender oil.

Does it pass all relevant fire safety regs? especially in lofts, where there is cabling, and lighting fixtures.... be very careful