Mineral wool vs fiberglass insulation | everything you need to know
Stone wool and glass wool insulation are two of the most commonly used insulation types in residential construction. We’re going to cover their main differences as well as their pros and cons.
Check out my video on hemp vs sheep wool! • Hemp wool vs Sheep woo...
Chapters
0:00 Mineral wool vs fiberglass
0:40 Stone wool insulation manufacturing
2:27 Rockwool products
2:48 Fiberglass insulation manufacturing
4:00 Owens Corning products
4:30 Cost differences, weight, density
5:05 Thermal drift
5:56 Sound proofing
6:21 Waterproofing
7:02 Fireproofing
7:47 Ease of use
8:13 Health risks
8:58 Recycling
10:00 Options products
10:18 Vapor permeability
Stone wool. Its main ingredients are basalt rock, slag, coke and recycled stone wool waste. Basalt rock is a dark, igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of molten lava. It makes up 98% of the final product. Slag is a by-product of the smelting of metals like iron, copper, lead and nickel. Coke is made by heating coal or oil in the absence of air. The most popular stone wool manufacturer is Roxul or Rockwool. Comfort Batt is a semi-rigid product used inside homes on walls connected to the exterior. Comfort Board is a compressed, rigid product used outside homes for continuous insulation. Safe n Sound is used in interior partitions.
Fiberglass or glass wool insulation. Its main ingredients are sand or silicon dioxide, soda ash or sodium carbonate, limestone or calcium bicarbonate and crushed up recycled glass called cullet. The most popular fiberglass manufacturer is Owens Corning. Their EcoTouch Insulation is available in batts, rolls, and blown-in loosefill.
Cost differences. 6 pieces of 16inx48in R30 Rockwool insulation costs $61 at Lowe’s. This equivalent 16inx48in R30 Fiberglass insulation costs $64 at Home Depot but it contains 11 pieces. Stone wool is almost twice the price of fiberglass. Since stone wool 3 times denser it is also heavier. A single batt of R30 stone wool weighs 6.6 pounds while an equivalent batt of R30 fiberglass weighs 3 pounds.
Both of these insulation types operate on the insulating property of air trapped between the fibers. This loss of R value over time is called thermal drift. The high density of the stone wool equals more trapped air and better sound absorption properties than fiberglass. Stone wool insulation is naturally hydrophobic or waterproof because it is made of basalt rock. Fiberglass on the other hand isn’t waterproof. It can absorb water and moisture, become compacted and lose all insulating properties. Stone wool is naturally fire resistant up to 2000F because it has a high melting point. Fiberglass is not as fire-resistant, it will burn. The kraft paper or foil facing will make it burn even quicker. Stone wool is easier to install because the dense, firm batts friction-fit into place and don’t require any stapling both on the walls and ceiling. Fiberglass is floppy, so it needs to be secured with staples or wire.
You must wear gloves, long sleeved shirts and a respirator when handling both of these materials. If it touches your bare skin, tiny shards of rocks or glass will be embedded in it and causes rashes. The marketing for their “recycled content” is very tricky.
Vapor permeability is the ability to allow movement of water vapor molecules through the material. I’ll make another video that dives into permeability and perm rating but rock wool is vapor permeable. If it’s used as continuous exterior insulation it allows your facade to breathe and dry out. Fiberglass is also vapor permeable, but you have to be careful with the orientation of the foil or paper faced batts. They must face inward in cold climates and outward in warm climates.
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SOURCES:
• National Slag Associat...
• How It's Made, Fibergl...
• How It's Made - Stone ...
• Krakatau Steel Coke ov...
• How to Soundproof Ceil...
• How to finish your garage
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#mineralwool #rockwool #fiberglass #insulation #comparison #architecture #construction #design
Union carpenter here, 20+ years in home renovation. This is one of the best videos I've seen on any topic. Good work
You
Like.. UNION is supposed to mean something.. Other than over paid who really knows.. Nothing
@@jamesmusbach1182 I was going to say something similar. I don't care about their pay, but it definitely doesn't mean they are any better at their craft
@@jamesmusbach1182 Union means trained in knowledge and safety.Jobs get done on time with fewer hours and accidents. He also gets paid better and has retirement.
Imagine an anti masker doing blow in insulation 🤣🤣🤣
Rock, slag and coke... sounds like basically what my weekends used to be made of too
Used to? We still out here!!
@Giorgio Mumda damn I wish someone invented coke xr
Too funny.
LMFAO!
😆🤣😂
As an engineer trying to get through marketing rubbish and personal prejudices, you did a great job of explaining the fundamentals of it. Thank you.
Fiber-glass is better than no insulation.
This is the biggest issue with learning about material sciences for the built world. Building science bros of KZhead don't help, as they're all trying to out-do one another and determining where diminishing returns are established is tough.
I work in the fiberglass insulation industry for a direct competitor to the "pink stuff." My job is quality testing the insulation. A few years back, the entire industry stepped away from the formaldehyde and phenolic resin that used to be standard in the manufacturing process. Almost no one uses that in the fiberglass any more. I hope the rock wool manufacturers have also dropped the resin and formaldehyde as well. Our quality standards require that we make the fiberglass insulation conform more to the standard of the rock wool for rigidity and tensile strength than the "pink stuff" does, but that's just how we compete. Insulation installers like the "pink stuff" because it is soft, but that softness degrades its quality as insulation because it doesn't re-absorb the air as well when the package is opened. That 'recovery" is one of the challenges of making fiberglass insulation; once the package is opened, the glass needs to soak up air between the fibers like a squeezed sponge soaks up water in order for the insulation to perform as intended. Another thing that we, and other manufacturers do is add an environmentally safe water repelling chemical to the glass fibers to make them more resistant to moisture and roof leaks. Every manufacturer has their own process, and your demonstration makes me think that the "pink stuff" uses less of this than we do. Thank you for showing people how both of these types of insulation are made! Information that people need to know to make wise purchases according to their needs when building or remodeling their homes.
What is the best type of insulation for hot areas?
@@btphong32 prob the same as for cold. Either way the goal is layers of air for insulation
I can use 2-layer walls and do not need insulation materials
I started to itch watching the pink stuff....lol
The formaldehyde use caught my attention as well.
This is the best in-depth comparison I've seen yet for these products. Very well put together high quality video!
I KNOOOOOW! IT'S LIKE OMG!!!! I WAS WAITING FOR THIS!!!🙄
Just kidding dude! You it was funny!😉😁
plus shes hot
Totally agree!
Agreed. Great job
Utterly fascinating. I had no idea stone wool insulation was even a thing. I didn't even know I was potentially interested in the topic. You give a stellar presentation and deliciously structured comparatives. Thank you!!
Thats why one might delve into topic they are not familiar with to learn about things like this. Personally i will not use fiberglass insulation anymore in anywhere, simply due it being really hard to recycle and how easily it gets ruined. Even top of the rock wool i prefer for massive wood as it will naturally breath, there is plenty around where i live in cold north and mostly cause eventually every roof will leak some. What i have seen in construction industry around here, i would never put fiberglass into the house as just tiny amount of water that gets into insulation will not show it self, or get dried before whole frame needs to be demoslihed and potentially whole house needs to be tore down and rebuilt if owner wont notice the "early" signs of the water damage. After that comes rock wool. Not a fan but this is what i recommend on using where you need to put insulation on. Least with this material you only need to rip open exterior or interior wall, get that damn vapor barrier out, witch is locking all that moisture into insulation and try to dry the area after leak is fixed. On older style log construction: Ou there is a leak, well better fix the roof and thats about it. Logs will suck the water, but also let it dry naturally. I'm living in 101 years old log building that has not been maintained best and roof was and has been leaking from several spots. Biggest one let water straight top of outer wall. There is some rot damage on the top most logs and area was damp for two years.... got the roof fixed properly couple months ago and its been drying on its own. Would like to swap the log on top, but there is enough solid material so its not required and this is rental so i'm not going to go for such large repair my self out of pocket. If this was any other type of building it would be demolished back to the frame at very least. Sadly this construction material is available on near big forested areas and we dont have termites so go figure. Also massive wood does transfer heat witch can be positive or negative. On areas with lots of sunlight, i'm not sure it works that well, specially when there is not much forest anyway. Trick we tend to use is to open all windows at night to let cool air in and to cool the frame from both sides and then close the windows on morning that traps the cool air inside to be enjoyed during summer. Also we have big wood fireplaces that suck up lots of heat during summer from inside while heating in winter. For those who wonder, no you dont put the fireplace into end of the building! You place it in center so it actually warms the house from with in, not let majority of the heat outside, like i have seen in several US houses fire place being at the end of the house.
My old house is insulated with rock wool. I thought it was some obsolete, inferior product. Thanks for making this video with the valuable information. I even subscribed. Now I can see a list if your other vids.
You probably live in warm environment. I know the difference even without any construction practice.
I never Heard of Fiberglass insulation rockwool is Like the only Thing besides styrofoam
@@SchlaftaterNrzZz fiberglass is cheaper even today. It is widely used for industrial insulation of pipings.
My dad used to work in construction, around 40 years. Most of it in insulation and some in roofing (i hope those are the right therms, English is not my first language). He swears by rockwool for insulation in our cold region. He used to demonstrate the fire-resistant of it by placing a block of it in front a propane gas flame and a piece of paper behind the wool. Turn it on, and go for a coffee with the client. 20min later the flame is still going and the paper was still spot loss... Just a little anecdote. Thanks for this informative video.
So fire resistant that it is literally the stuff they put small fluffy pieces inside gas fireplaces to give ember-like glo spots.
I like the sound deadening qualities of rockwool over the practically non existent sound deadening of fiberglass. Installing it between rooms with off set studding provides a very effective sound deadening barrier. Although taking up some real estate, I’ve installed rockwool for occupants of duplexes to reduce sound transmission from the neighbors. This can be involved as insulating the wall does not provide the full effect. The space between floors must also have rockwool installed to continue the sound attenuating envelope. The sound deadening can continue up through the attic. In newer homes, by code there will be a cinder block firewall. Adding rockwool only enhances this barrier. On older homes, if installed correctly, I use metal studs which are going to perform better in the presence of fire than a wooden stud, rockwool, besides offering acoustic dampening can also provide a fire barrier to gain precious time to hold back a fire from the adjacent unit, where once the fire would spread quickly (grandfathered on older homes).
I think you would be well to install this where you have any air traffic over your house.
You notice the difference with larger doors. Family farm has double entrance doors and when they tried using fibreglass to save money, because farmers, they removed it within a month. House started sounding like a Fiat rather than an Audi..
As an audio engineer and speaker designer for more than 3 decades, I have measured the sound absorbing properties of fiberglass. They are SIGNIFICANT. Maybe not as good as Rockwool, but compared to the GARBAGE non hollow polyester fiber that replaced fiberglass en masse 40-50 years ago it is night and day with fiberglass a clear and measureable winner. Putting the material inside a speaker box shows significant advantages, and the trick is wrapping it in a small weave material to keep the fibers in place, something very very few manufacturers have ever gotten right.
I just clicked on this as whim, and I was blown away how interesting, complete, and well presented the information was. Very well done, Belinda! BTW, where I live in the Bay Area / CA, building inspectors allow / recommend the use of Rockwool to seal top plate penetrations (say for electrical cable) because of it's great fire resistance properties.
ditto.. youtube algorithm is getting more diverse
Me too I have never worked with Rock Wool . I used to work construction - I HATED working with fiberglass. Pain in the ASS. This video was well done.
excellent presentation
@@johnbrowne3518 once you work with rock wool you won’t care about the price.
@Wroger Wroger What can I say, you're just wrong. Building code and fire ratings are based on testing, not periodic tables. Check out Rockwool's website on this matter, it can withstand temperatures exceeding 1,800f www.rockwool.com/learning/fire-safety/
Im not sure how this channel wound up in my feed but im glad it did. Ive been a carpenter for 30 years last 20 in the union. Love the channel and your insight
Same
Just showed up here today too, but some great videos.
Same
Same
i love it; i had no ide what i was working with all my whole proffessional life until the nice lady instructed me on youtube; i must have been just dumb lucky; all those decades of construction work and i did not actually know what is difference between glass wool and satone wool; i wish you wear glass wool in your socks for a year, my lady; your face will turn green after a while; andy will not be smiling any more! i promise;!!!
I love the way you pack high-quality information into a dense format. When encountering a contentious topic, you summarize your opinion with facts quickly.
This lady is the G.O.A.T. ive been into alternative building methods for decades, but im also into science, hah, which, it can be tough for us amateur builders to find hard numbers on alternative building methods. I worked in the shipyards for years, and was well aware of the shortcomings, but it is so much easier to use her video on why shipping containers suck as building materials, when friends get hyped about building a shipping container house, its just so much easier, hah. Getting ready to start hyper insulating my 200 year old house, to make it heated with passive solar, and here i am, on this channel, making sure there isnt something important to know about insulation, that i dont know yet, hah. Thanks for taking the time for making these videos, the knowlede transfer per minute is off the chain, hah.
Belinda, I subscribe to what michael just said and I add : finally a youtuber that has NO background music so that I can understand clearly what you just said. When I hear music over voice I immediately switch channel
Belinda has production music behind her clips of trying to burn the insulation. But thankfully her narration and diction is great!
As someone who has dealt with installing insulation before, you've suddenly made me a fan of the rock wool, which I've never used before. Thank you.
Only problem is that it's super expensive from what I recall.
@@robertmedina3195 I guess it comes down to price vs efficiency. I can tell you, though, if water ever gets into it - like a pipe leaking inside the wall - soaked fiberglass is a cold mess by the time you finally locate it, especially in winter.
@@Cetok01 if you have a leaking pipe that's buried in any kind of insulation it's going to be a mess regardless of the type of insulation. To me finding a roof leak on an insulated roof is the real nightmare since water trails down the roofline making it hard to find. I used cellulose for my attic floors on top of either closed cell foam board or 2" rigid foam board. Doing it this way I can rip down my ceilings and insulation won't come pouring down on top of me 🙂
@@robertmedina3195 Good solution, decent outcome. I had to deal with what I described and would have preferred the rock wool, which probably could have been easily removed, shaken, dried and replaced. The glass was a mess, acted like a wick and led to more damage inside and to the wall.
@@robertmedina3195 You pay for insulation once instead of higher utility bills forever.
Love the factual content finished with just a slight bit of your personality. You've done a great job explaining and I learned some new things. I'm excited to share your channel with the rest of my team for their own development.
This has to be the most comprehensive video on Rockwool and Fiberglass. Thank you.
I have been in construction for many years. I highly recommend mineral wool / Rockwool. I used to special order it from Canada for all my builds. As of 2016 it is readily available in USA due to the opening of the Roxul/Rockwool plant in Mississippi
Belinda, This is one of the best explanations on the differences between Rockwool and Fiberglass insulation that I've ever seen. The explanation on the acoustic is as excellent as it is correct. The fact that the glass fiber batts absorb water and get soggy should be convincing enough not to use them. Roof leaks are the norm in old houses, not the exception. Incidentally, Natural Wool based insulation batts are even worse. In the 1990's the NSW Australian Government, allowed the free choice of wool, Polyester fiber and glass fiber batt for the Airport Insulation program for houses in the Western Sydney airplane noise corridor. After a few years , all of the wool batts had to be recalled and replaced due to bug infestations. Insects loved the moisture holding capacity and the natural state of the wool material. For long term health safety, I would strongly recommend bagging each of the batts in plastic bags (non bio degradable). That way any fiber break offs cannot get picked up by roof area breeze, and so won't go into air circulation into the home. A tell tale that there are micro fibers from shedding batts is that your nasal passages get inflamed and blocked after a day's exposure in a room lined with batts . The denser the material (the heavier) the greater the ability for the material to attenuate sounds travelling through it and reflecting back into a room from a back wall. If you have a choice of different rated batts for acoustics, choose the heavier batts. Forget choosing "acoustic batts" choose heavier Rock Wool batts. The difference between the acoustic rated batts and thermal batts is that the Acoustic batts are "woven" in a more regular pattern. Save your money - use the thermal rated batts. They are cheaper. This is coming from someone with 40+ years of acoustic experience. On top of the trapped air acting as an acoustic attenuator, the suspended mass in the form of fibers absorbs sound energy in the process of trying to vibrate these suspended-mass micro fibers. It takes energy to vibrate them and this dissipates the acoustic energy travelling through the batt. We have done live acoustic testing with gated pink noise bursts pointed at walls of these materials with the batts in various states of physical compression. As the batts get compressed down - at some point sound simply gets reflected off the batts rather than getting absorbed by them , that was an eye opening experience. I mention this - because there is a lot of folk lore about squashing down batts as much as is possible. Sorry - measurements show you get worse sound absorption in a room because the sound simply gets reflected back into the room. . You can do very simple tests to corroborate this with a mechanical clacker and an RT60 app ( try Android Audio Tool by jjbunn I've compared this app to very expensive professional grade RT60 meters and its every bit as good. It depends on relative measurements so its not limited by the frequency response of the phone's microphone) Well done with the video. So nicely laid out and great video clips of the manufacturing process. People can learn from you. Thank you.
I remember my first job was as a labourer on £40 a day, labouring to a dryliners squad, I'll never miss the itch of fibre glass on my skin 😂
Just as bad as a Asbestos in my books. I'm 60 and worked with both in the air-conditioning industry since 1979. Do not ever breathe these products.
I itch at the though I detest fiberglass insulation
@@sqike001ton LoL and i didnt flinch when i was in trade school installing fiberglass. Little itch sure, but nothing shower could not fix... Went on repairing fiberglass boat 5 years later... holy shit that was absolute hell of itching and peeling skin as fiber particles rubbed into my skin under the particle half mask. Ended up selling the boat and know now to use full mask and protective disposable full jumper.. essentially Asbestos removal gear when doing fiberglass anything that creates particles. Still dont mind glass insulation install, though knowing the material i would not use it in any valuable building like house, maybe in animal shelter at most.
Nothing worse when it’s down the back of your shirt and combining with sweat
@@johngriffiths118 nah the worst part was the money for me, I can firm itchiness and pain but at the end of the day no matter what you'll always question "is this a fair wage for all the graft and effort you put in, along with putting up with power hungry manchilds of site managers and contractors" even £120 a day wouldn't be worth it for me, my advice is never become a dryliners/joiners nor site labourer period 😂👏
I'm BLOWN away by you, Belinda! You are the epitome of "Girl Power"! So super proud of you, grateful for you and am all around awed by you. After just getting some completely off the wall (no pun intended!) estimates for a small crawlspace, we decided to buy the Rockwool (before seeing this video) mainly because the overinflated estimate included it. In the estimate, just the Rockwool product was estimated for $3300 for a 671 sq ft area. Yes, no typo, $3300. I researched and we bought it for under $1000!!! Now we will look for someone to install, with my husband's supervision. Thank you for this completely & comprehensive detail. Stay well, Belinda and God bless!
Can you explain everything in my life like that? That was great. Keep being awesome.
This went to a level of thoroughness I was not expecting... exceptionally well done and interesting, thank you for putting in the time and effort on this for everyone.
I don't know if you have expertise in this subject as a result of working in the industry, or you just researched it really well, but either way you did a fantastic job. Truly informative and ably presented, thank you.
This is a fantastic presentation with clear, concise and factual information. It’s such a refreshing change to listen and learn from an obviously well educated and credible presenter. Thank you for making my day.
Dear Belinda, you blew my mind with your review!! I'm so glad I found you! So many videos out there lacking this quality of information. You have done a great job. Thank you so much for explaining things so clearly. This is coming from a 40 year old man who is just learning to renovate his recently purchased old house and simply needed the straight facts to understand insulation materials!! Looking forward to the other videos! You put all the male youtubers to shame! Keep going!!
I have to compliment you on the outstanding and informative video you put together. I have been a home builder for 30 yrs and can honestly say your information is exact and concise. Well done!
Rockwool is THE way to go. It ‘mounts’ when trimmed carefully as opposed to fiberglas. I also feel it has better absorption in the lower frequencies. I’ve used both extensively and wouldn’t even think of glas again.
I only worked with them a bit (spent a few weeks "as an intern" ;D in construction between real jobs) and even with that short time I can wholeheartedly agree, rockwool is superior. only reason to use Glaswool is a stingy customer that doesn't listen to the benefits of rockwool
@@theultimatefreak666 is it because of the Lower price of glaswool some rather take it?
@@KeVIn-pm7pu yep, especially if you get one of these pre-designed houses built there's a good chance that company will tell you to get Glas wool because it's cheaper (although the video said a few things how rockwool is more durable and thus technically cheaper than getting new Glaswool once the old one stops doing what it's supposed to, anyways cheaper building cost always look better and how shitty it is for the person getting it build once he moves in doesn't matter to those companies) Btw: seriously, if you ever want your own house built don't get such a pre-designed those companies will fuck you over any way possible (including raising the price above what they promised based on fine print of "what we showed you'd get was extra, the mentioned price was basic")
The way to go is a low density aerated concrete.
Vacuum panels and aerogels are superior
Your enthusiasm and knowledge of this subject matter just oozes from you; I'm so glad I stumbled upon your channel; big thanks 👍
Super well-done, as always! You did a great job of setting out the differences between the two, and why you might want to use each one for different applications. Your videos are great, they have exactly the right amount of detail for us understand the subject,differences between products and methods, and the reasons behind why things are the way they are. You don’t talk down to your viewers at all, but at the same time don’t over-complicate things. I can’t say enough how much I enjoy and appreciate your content! 👍😁
Absolutely the best most comprehensive video on batt insulation and super timely since I'm doing my insulation now. Very glad I went with the rock wool!
I've been comparing these two products and this is very enlightening. Thank you for a great video
Your presentations are remarkably clear and unbiased. Consumers, as well as tradespeople should be thankful for your efforts...
Excellent video. Been working energy conservation for 30 years now and this was one of the best educational videos I've seen. Keep up the good work!
This is the first time I’ve watched one of your videos and I must say, I am extremely impressed. Keep up the great work!
One of the best youtube Channel I ever came across. Thank you for sharing knowledge Belinda
Increasing my knowledge on different products with your videos. Like how the video shows the production and in depth analysis of competing products as well as price / performance .
This was as good as watching that show "How its made"... but most of all you've educated me on something that the staff at the big box stores never cover when i buy insulation for a project. Great Job Ms. Carr!
Great video Belinda. You give easy to understand information that even a lay-person, outside of the construction industry, can understand. This comparison was well done, as others have commented here. I will be recommending that people seeking information, regarding construction products and processes, should subscribe to your videos. You do a much better in-depth analysis than I could ever present. Thanks Belinda.
Rock wool reminds me of Pele's hair which is made naturally at volcanoes (like Hawaii) where wind blows molten basalt into fine glass hair.
I love it when I watch industrial style videos like this and then get ads for flooring foam and house-sized industrial ovens.
Before watching this video today, I knew next to nothing about the properties and nature of Rockwool compared to glass fiber insulation. I now feel much enlightened - thank you Belinda !
Excellent presentation with qualitative and quantitative references! Thank you so much! Best demonstration I've seen on the subject and learned a bunch.
This is the most incredible explanation regarding the materials used in insulation and how they are composed. Absolutely excellent and a very pleasant surprise. I'm a new subscriber for sure. Thank you!
I have been working with both stonewool and glasswool. This is the best explanation ever made.
Thank you so much for the info. I feel a lot better about my choice of using Rockwool instead of the pink fiberglass insulation in my current construction project. What a relief 🙌🏼👍🏻
This is really well done. I recently did a lot of restoration work on my house where 3/4th of the house was down to the studs. I went with rockwool, and I'm glad I did.
Good job Belinda, I needed this comparison between the two and your review is awesome. Also you presented it very well.
Hello, Belinda. I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this beautifully presented explanation of the difference between rock wool and glass wool. I am a senior citizen who is faced with insulating my home on my own. I had no idea how to even begin this project. Now, I know so much more about the differences in the two materials and the relative merits of rock wool. I subscribed today. You impressed me so very much. Thanks for this wonderful resource for us ignorant home-repair newbies.
Wow, handyman here and I learned a ton. Thanks Belinda.
So, roxul or pink panther?
Elvis Presley I'm going for Roxul, just like the benefits better...I think the king would agree
@@risinbison1106 well thank you bison! Thank you very much!
Great video Belinda. We installed the mineral wool in the Open Book Build home on a busy street and the noise reduction is great. It's definitely easier to install than fiberglass with the friction fit and ability to cut with a hand saw or bread knife. And the batts really fill the wall cavity which really helps with the insulation properties. Throw in the fire and moisture resistance and I truly believe it's a much superior product to fiberglass. We were able to use the R23 batts with our 2x6 walls. Keep up the quality videos.
I watched your video on shopping malls. Now I'm watching about insulation. Architecture and building have always fascinated me. I have not worked in either area, unless you count Lincoln Logs. Your channel is unique and fascinating. I'm learning so much! Thank you
Thanks for the education. I used Rockwool in my #vanlife and love how quite it makes the van, particular when driving on noisy or bad roads. Bumps and rumble have disappeared. Thumbs up for Rockwool's acoustic deadening.
I had Rockwool installed on my exterior "weather facing" wall. It had been covered with asbestos containing shingles for decades. The Rockwool sheets were attached to the outside of the brick and mortar wall and then covered with a layer of larchwood. The result was very good and improved the overall comfort in our house substantially. I am thoroughly impressed with your detailed overview - and feel confirmed in my choice of insulation material. :-) Thanks
I can't believe I was just mesmerized by a video about insulation 🤔🤔🤔
Right??! Im trying to analyze the beginning of this video to figure out how she did it. It was such a subtle hook!
Well, let's not mention the lady is so fine!
I stumbled upon this and am so grateful for your due diligence in preparation of comparing the differences between stone and glass insulation. I have been searching for the best sound proofing for a new room addition and this is was very educational as well as enlightening in presentation.
rock wool from an insulation standpoint will be the way to go and if you don't have drywall up, look at using 5/8 instead 1/2 drywall
Your product evaluations are excellent. Full of information and so very helpful!
Well done! This is the kind of detailed video with science and clear explanations and comparisons that I have been looking for.
Great video. Thank you! Glad the KZhead algorithm finally sent something refreshingly interesting my way. Thanks again - looks like a lot of effort went down in researching this topic.
I'm not sure how detailed of an explanation I was expecting, but this covered everything. Great video.
absolutely great and informative video. I appreciate that you followed up on this as well. Please keep it up!
what a great review, here in Bonnie Scotland I am always trying to ensure that the products I use are good for insulation and this has really helped me
Another great video! I used the mineral wool batts for a sound isolation room and it works wonders for the price.
Wow, so thorough! And so concise! Giving me great, actionable information without wasting my time. Thank you Belinda!
1st time visitor, new subscriber. Miss Belinda! What a great channel! Thank you and Merry Christmas.
Fantastic video. One of the best comparison videos I have seen. It is also great to see a female expert talking about products in what is usually a male dominated field. As a UK based architect rockwool is the number one choice for mineral wool insulation. Fiberglass is typically used by homeowners for DIY as they are generally not aware of how good the rockwool alternative is. In the UK we are moving away from PIR boards due to their environmental impact and poor fire resistance. Rockwool have released a rigid board now that can be used in slabs etc so there is never an excuse to use PIR again!
Fantastic video. I love how succinct your analysis is as you walk around the whole subject
This women is an asset to youtube.
perfectly illustrated. thank you for the detailed look at these insulation products.
Thank you for that education, it was just what i needed to hear.
Yes this is both brilliant and informative. Easy to listen to and without the BS of so many other content creators. Many thanks
Exceptional video. Thank you for being so thorough and unbiased. Great information I needed to make a choice.
Thank you. Great presentation! I switched to rock wool a few years back. It's easier to work with and I can feel the difference especially on exterior walls. Also much better for sound dampening.
Good job Belinda, I've wondered about the two insulations for some time, I prefer rock wool insulation.
I just came upon your video and it is AWESOME! Great work presenting the two major types.
This video was amazing! Thank you! So much information, well presented and entertaining. You also answered many questions that I have been unable to find information on (I'm an audio engineer and need to use acoustic treatment).
Subscribed because you know how to organize and summarize information and communicate it well. Every time I thought "You didn't define x", that was your next comment. Thank you.
Thanks, Jennifer!
One of the best insulation knowledge base video on KZhead well done
Hi. This is my first video from your channel and I have to say I'm surprised how good it turned out, I learned a lot more than I expected. I'm starting to watch a few more and from what I can see you just got another subscriber. Best regards, Tristan.
This was highly informative. Thank you for making and sharing this video.
Excellent review. Very informative and thorough. One easily overlooked benefit of the mineral wools is that insects and rodents typically don't like to live in it.
Thank you for yet another great video! I hope to build something one day, and your videos are so informative!
What a glad surprise. This video was recommended to me out of nowhere and I've learned a lot with it. Great content and we'll presented. All the best for you and success with your channel.
I needed to see this, thanks for the information.
I am so glad I stumbled upon your channel. Thank you for the educational information in an interesting videos.
Thanks for watching and for the support!
Absolutely excellent video! Better than most commercially produced videos , keep up the excellent work.
Thank you for comparing the two in such great detail!
Go stone wool, you'll never have to question if your insulation is harboring mold
@John Grzeskowiak the stone wool is water resistant, making it hard for mold to grow. Which if you have a leak you would still have repairs to do, but at least you dont have to replace your insulation.
@John Grzeskowiak those are gutters, you should try insulating them.
@John Grzeskowiak have you tried insulating your brain?
Rockwool is amazing stuff, it’s less itchy than fibreglass and it repels water. I remember dropping a 2” batt into a water trough. It came out soaked and I thought fit for the bin. An hour later it was bone dry. The water just ran out.
idk what you mean “less itchy” that’s the only thing i refuse to touch without long sleeves, even when i do wear long sleeves i can feel it poking through
@@nevanuel1983 That’s what I’m saying I thought the rock wool was worse Lol
I have mixed experience with the itchyness. It is in some cases much easier to handle rockwool and in some cases fiberglass. Fiberglass weighs less and does not break from being bent. In other cases the bending becomes an issue.
@@nevanuel1983 They're both pretty itchy to be honest. For my purpose in the application of sound absorption, I prefer glasswool because it's generally odorless and performs the same as rockwool. But if I were using it for insulation buried deep in the walls stonewool is clearly better
Thanks for this great comparison - I’d never heard of rockwool before this. It’s now in all my rim joists as additional insulation on top of a foam board layer.
Very well done video! I was aware of the two types of insulation you talked about but didn't know the details of each. Thank you.
I learned a lot of new things today, thank you for the video, no idea that rock wool was made from actual rock.
WOW. I'm a contractor....this info was awesome. Thank you!
Very well done, Belinda! I am so glad I came across your channel.
ILOVE THIS CHANNEL! Belinda, you are an amazing researcher and teacher!
Hi Belinda, a couple of comments to your informative video: 1) For the heat flow meter test method ASTM C518, the temperature of 75F is actually the 'Mean' exposure temperature based on a hot plate set at 100F and the cold plate set at 50F, and not the actual testing temperature since there is a requirement to apply a thermal gradient to determine the heat flow properties. One can use other mean temperatures, but for many purposes, the mean value of 75F allows for sufficient validation or quality control. 2) You stated that the polyurethane foam requiring over 24 hours to reach steady-state for testing. When freshly applied, the PU foam will undergo exothermic heating as it reacts and cures. Also, some of the blowing gases or byproducts like CO2 will diffuse out of the foam and can change the insulating value, However, one normally does not test a freshly applied foam and most laboratories will follow a protocol of allowing the material test specimens to 'age' under controlled conditions of temperature and humidity prior to testing. Once placed into the testing instrument, the results can generally be obtained with high accuracy/repeatability in well under one hour. - Source: 20+ years of experience in testing PU foam materials (but admittedly not for the building industry). Thank you, and I'm enjoying your channel!
Am not a builder or engineer, but find your presentation easy to understand and informative. Could you do an analysis of common water filters used in home taps and similar consumer products for filtering water in containers?
This was the first video I saw of yours. Came back for the flooring recently . Subscribed this time. :) Thank you for doing what you do with the educational information. Super helpful.
Amazing video! Very informative, clear and to the point. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Awesome video, great in depth explanation! Also confirmed what I was suspecting about those two products. Mineral wool might be more expensive, but is so vastly superior to fiberglass, it is definitely worth the price! Also, just to add, mineral wool is also practically rodent repellent. Mice just hate the stuff, and leave it alone. I have seen fiberglass insulation completely destroyed and rendered useless by mice. Another thing to consider, especially in attics, basements and outbuildings.