In today’s world, oil is used on a daily basis. From heating our homes to running our vehicles and cooking our food—various types of oils are required to get the job done. In order to supply oil to the world, holding tanks are used for bulk storage.
Common Mineral Wool Insulation Board Problems and a Better Alternative
Understanding the R-Value of Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Insulation and a Great Alternative
What PSI is Required for Under Slab Insulation?
Continuous Insulation for Basement Walls 101: Achieving the Best Results with the Best Insulation
The Best Cold Storage Insulation Option
Understanding the R-Value Per Inch of Mineral Wool Insulation
A Look at Rockwool Comfortboard and a Fantastic Alternative
Rockwool Comfortboard 80 is a modular rigid stone wool insulation board made from rocks. If you’re going for a big-bad-wolf-proof building, Rockwool should be on your list to consider for insulating your exterior walls. Rockwool isn’t perfect for every application though, it can be expensive, heavy, and challenging to install.
Here, we cover the major benefits of Rockwool, its shortcomings, and what other options are available to insulate your walls in your home or commercial project.
Benefits of Rockwool Board
Rockwool has a number of things going for it. Here are some of the benefits of choosing Rockwool Comfortboard 80 to insulate your project:
Made from natural and recycled raw materials
Excellent fire resistance with no smoke production or flame spread
Termite and insect resistant
High compressive strength
Provides acoustic sound absorption
Where to Use Rockwool Comfortboard 80
Rockwool Comfortboard 80 is designed for use on the exterior side of the wall for continuous insulation. It’s installed with 3-inch washers and nails, and is attached to sheathing over a vapor barrier or house wrap. Other applications can include foundation walls and under concrete slabs.
Disadvantages of Rockwool Insulation
Rockwool is a great option for some projects, however this type of insulation isn’t always the best for every application. Some of the shortcomings of Rockwool Comfortboard include:
Weight
It’s heavy, at over 50 lbs. per 4’ x 8’ board at 2” thickness, which makes installation laborious.
R-Value
At R4.2 per inch, Rockwool Comfortboard 80 is a middle-of-the-road option when it comes to thermal R-value performance.
Cost and Availability
Rockwool Comfortboard 80 can be difficult for homeowners to obtain because it is not typically stocked in big box stores, so it can be a challenge to obtain, and pricier to purchase.
An Alternative to Rockwool
Luckily, there is an alternative to Rockwool Comfortboard 80. Polyiso is a comparable option to Rockwool when it comes to installing insulation on walls. Taking it a step further, polyiso outperforms Rockwool when it comes to installability, thermal performance, and price point. If you’re looking for a less expensive, lightweight alternative to Rockwool—without sacrificing on performance, consider polyiso.
Easier Installation
Polyiso can be installed in the same locations and applications as Rockwool as a continuous insulation, but with significantly less weight bearing on your installers and your walls. Since polyiso is made out of foam, it’s inherently lightweight and can be carried and maneuvered easily by a single installer without suffering from the fatigue of lifting heavy Rockwool boards, which may require two installers per board, or smaller board sizes.
R-Value Thermal Performance
It’s hard to beat the thermal performance of polyiso. At R6 per inch, it’s one of the best thermal insulation options for walls. With polyiso products like Rmax Durasheath® building envelope insulation, you can achieve an R21.8 with just 3-½” thickness, whereas achieving this same R-value with Rockwool Comfortboard 80 requires over 5” thickness.
Affordability
Polyiso insulation is affordably priced at just over a dollar per square foot for a two inch thickness. Rockwool, on the other hand, can be quite pricey at nearly two dollars per square foot at the same thickness. Since you’re getting less thermal insulating power for the same thickness, that’s a double whammy.
Availability
Polyiso is more readily available for purchase by ordinary homeowners, because it is available at building supply stores. Rockwool Comfortboard 80, on the other hand, can be a specialty item that is not stocked in stores and often requires a special order and larger quantities.
Tailored Performance
Polyiso has a unique advantage over most other wall insulation types, including Rockwool Comfortboard 80—it can be tailored to meet your project’s needs by applying an appropriate facer. Because polyiso not only accepts, but requires a facer during production, it gives you the choice between different performance properties that you want to incorporate.
For example, if you’re looking for an air and vapor barrier, you can find an all-in-one solution with Rmax’s ECOMAXci® FR Air Barrier. Rockwool, on the other hand, is vapor permeable and requires a second product to add vapor protection.
Here are more polyiso insulation products that are available as an alternative to Rockwool Comfortbatt 80:
ECOMAXci® FR Ply: Fire-Resistant Plywood Faced Polyiso for Cladding Attachment
R-Matte® Plus-3: Aluminum faced polyiso available at your local big box retailer
Thermasheath®: Reinforced aluminum faced polyiso boards
Thermasheath®-SI: Structural composite insulation with aluminum facers
Find the Perfect Insulation for Your Next Project with Rmax
Rmax has been in the insulation business for decades and has honed and perfected its evolving product line to meet building codes and customer needs. We have a full lineup of insulation solutions to help you meet your project’s requirements and get your next job started off on the right foot.
Talk with one of our experts today today to get help choosing the right insulation for your project!
Maximizing Thermal Efficiency: Unlocking the Potential of Under Slab Insulation
Mineral Wool Insulation: Advantages, Disadvantages, and a Superior Alternative
Exploring alternatives to traditional building materials is a critical part of the construction process. Should you continue to use what you know has worked in the past, or is there something better out there? If you’re considering mineral wool insulation for your next project, it’s time to evaluate the pros and cons and know your options.
What is Mineral Wool Insulation?
Mineral wool insulation is a building material used in construction to thermally insulate the building envelope as an alternative to fiberglass insulation. Builders realize the benefits of mineral wool insulation over fiberglass in several areas, including:
Higher R-Value
Better Acoustic Blocking
Superior Fire-Resistance
Like fiberglass, mineral wool typically comes in batts, but carries a little more stiffness and dimensional stability than fluffy fiberglass batts or rolls.
What is Mineral Wool Made From?
The minerals in mineral wool can come from volcanic rock as a raw material source. Another common raw material used to make mineral wool is called slag, a byproduct of molten metal production. Slag is a mixture of impurities and flux that escape the molten mixture during the melting process.
The raw materials in mineral wool are spun into fibers, glued, pressed, and formed together—to create cotton candy-like wool batts that can be installed in areas of the building envelope, like the cavities between studs in a stud wall.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Mineral Wool Insulation
When selecting the right type of insulation for your project, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of each material. Let’s cover the advantages and disadvantages of mineral wool insulation.
Installation
Mineral wool is stiffer than fiberglass, which makes it easier to cut with precision and install to fit a space perfectly. On the other hand, since the material is much more dense than fiberglass, it is also much heavier. This can make the installation process a little more challenging due to the added weight of the material.
Thermal R Value
In terms of insulating value, mineral wool carries an R-value of just above R4 per inch, meaning that it requires 3.5” to achieve R15. It is an improvement over fiberglass, which carries an R-value of under R3 per inch, for an R13 at the same thickness of 3.5”.
When space matters, mineral wool carries a slight edge on thermal performance over fiberglass with the added benefit of enhanced sound blocking. However, there are other insulation options on the market today that provide significantly higher thermal insulating values than mineral wool.
Price and Availability
Mineral wool is more expensive than fiberglass and it can be more difficult to procure with fewer options available at local contractor supply warehouses. However, mineral wool can be tailored during the manufacturing process to meet specific needs and is available in various options, including:
Soundproofing
Fire-resistant
Fire and Sound
Increased Thermal Performance
Other types of insulation can introduce additional properties, but it’s generally the facer that is changed rather than the insulating material itself. Mineral wool is unfaced.
An Alternative to Overcome the Disadvantages of Mineral Wool Insulation: Polyiso
The disadvantages of mineral wool include price, availability, lackluster thermal performance, and limited installation applications. If you’re looking for an alternative to mineral wool, polyiso is a valid consideration. Unlike mineral wool, polyiso is a rigid foam insulation—so it is both lightweight, and easy to work with.
Polyiso comes in boards that can be cut to fit by hand. The modular sizing makes installation fast and easy, to decrease your cost of labor. Polyiso is also widely available from manufacturers in various thicknesses ranging from ½” up to 6” and it can be doubled up in multiple layers to meet thermal R-values with ease.
Polyiso outperforms mineral wool in thermal performance with a steady R6 per inch for polyiso. That means it only requires 2.5” of polyiso insulation like Rmax Durasheath® to meet R15, while it takes 3.5” of mineral wool.
When it comes to installing wall insulation, why limit yourself to the wall cavity or to using expensive furring to hold mineral wool in place? With polyiso, you can achieve continuous insulation on the outside of the stud cavity simply by fastening the insulation directly to your walls underneath your cladding.
You can also turn your continuous insulation into an air and vapor barrier with inventive polyiso products like the ECOMAXci® FR Air Barrier, which has glass fiber reinforced aluminum facers to limit moisture and vapor permeance, as well as air flow.
Rmax Can Help You Decide Which Insulation Solution is Best For Your Project
While there are some clear benefits of mineral wool insulation, there are an equal number of drawbacks. Get help choosing the right products for your next build by reaching out to the experts in insulation. We can help you pick a solution that meets your design criteria and fits within your budget.
The Best Option for Exterior Foundation Insulation Panels
Insulation isn’t just for thermal comfort. When it comes to insulating your building envelope, it goes beyond the roof and walls above grade. Your foundation needs insulation, too. What exactly is required from below-grade foundation insulation panels? In this article, we’ll explore why you need to insulate a building’s foundation and what your options include.
Why Insulate Your Foundation?
Your project’s foundation needs to be protected in the same way as the rest of the building that you see above ground. Things that you need to protect your building envelope from include:
Moisture
Extreme temperatures
Water intrusion
Common problems that building owners face that can be solved by proper insulation at the foundation level include mold, mildew, water intrusion, and shifting of structural elements. When you use foundation insulation panels, you can minimize or eliminate these issues.
Eliminate Condensation
Exterior foundation insulation panels can reduce or eliminate condensation problems. Condensation happens when warm air drops in temperature quickly and the moisture condenses on a cold surface. If your walls are cold and your home is warm, you’ll have an increased risk of condensation problems. Installing exterior foundation insulation panels keeps your walls warm to match your interior space’s temperature.
Protect Your Structure
The freeze-thaw cycle can wreak havoc on buildings. Over the course of a year, most structures will experience extreme temperature variations, leading to the expansion and contraction of each of the building components. Extreme temperature fluctuations can lead to shifting, settling, and other problems in your structure. Protect your structure by shielding it from direct contact with these extreme changes in temperature with exterior foundation insulation panels.
Keep Water Out
Water flows through the path of least resistance. Since a building’s foundation creates a large hole in the earth that displaces soil and water, water will always try to get back in. That’s why waterproofing your foundation is so important. Applying waterproofing materials alone to your basement walls will not be sufficient. Because your waterproofing gets backfilled with soil, you’ll need to protect it. Foundation insulation panels an inch or so thick can do the trick, by ensuring that your waterproofing remains untouched andis able to do its job by keeping the water out of your building’s below-grade floors.
What Type of Insulation to Use on Exterior Foundation Walls?
Exterior insulation comes into contact with the elements directly, so you’ll want to make sure you’re using a compatible building material that will not be destroyed or hindered in the unpredictable below-grade environment. Using board insulation, such as XPS, EPS, or Polyiso—that was manufactured in a controlled environment is essential to making sure you’re applying a consistently high-quality layer of foundation insulation. Plus, it’s quick and easy to install with its modular form.
When comparing good, better, and best options for exterior foundation insulation panels, it ranks like this:
Good: Expanded Polystyrene Insulation (EPS)
Better: Extruded Polystyrene Insulation (XPS)
Best: Polyisocyanurate (Polyiso)
The rationale behind this comes from looking at the moisture absorption properties of each insulating material. EPS performs the worst with a water absorption of 2% or more, XPS is better with a moisture absorption of .3%, and polyiso takes the cake with a water absorption of less than .2% when choosing a foil-faced version.
Superior Foundation Insulation Panels
When shopping for exterior foundation wall insulation, you’ll want a product that will last. Polyiso has many more advantages when it comes to insulating foundation walls. It’s versatile, durable, affordable, and readily available.
Rmax Thermasheath® is a premium foil-faced polyiso insulation used in new construction and renovation projects for exterior foundation insulation panels. It can be placed in conjunction with foundation waterproofing on below-grade exterior walls and with concrete foundations. With an impressive R-Value of R6 per inch, you can achieve high energy efficiency with minimal thickness while still providing protection to your foundation and waterproofing.
Rmax Thermasheath can be used as a Water-Resistive Barrier (WRB) when used together with construction tape at the joints. Polyiso is versatile because it is compatible with multiple attachment methods, including adhesives or mechanical fasteners.
Tapes that are compatible with Rmax Thermasheath® include R-SEAL 3000 and R-SEAL Construction Tape. R-Seal 3000 is an aluminum foil-coated tape with pressure-sensitive adhesive that makes it extremely resistant to humidity, moisture, and mold. R-SEAL Construction tape is a durable mold, moisture, and UV-resistant BOPP film with pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive.
Rmax Can Help with Your Next Construction Project
Neglecting to insulate a building’s foundation can lead to structural problems, heat loss, moisture issues, and more. Before you break ground on your next construction project or remodel, give your local Rmax representative a call to make sure you’re utilizing the right types of insulation throughout your entire building envelope. From below grade—up to the roof—and everywhere in between, we can provide the best solutions.
Contact us today for advice from the insulation experts!
Mineral Wool Insulation vs. Fiberglass and a Better Alternative
In a world where there are endless choices in every market, construction is no different. It can make picking the right building materials for your next project feel like a spiral of endless decisions. One choice that you’ll need to make when designing your building envelope is which insulation to use.
If you’re asking, “What is the difference between mineral wool and fiberglass insulation?,” we’ve got the answer.
What is the Difference Between Mineral Wool and Fiberglass Insulation?
Before comparing mineral wool insulation to fiberglass, let’s define the basic properties of each insulating material by itself.
Fiberglass Insulation
Made from tiny glass threads that are spun into fibers resembling cotton candy, fiberglass insulation is a popular insulating material used in home construction projects.
You’ll see it loosely stuffed into stud wall cavities to fill the gaps and give a little thermal insulating value. It is flexible and can fit around irregular shapes, but it loses some thermal value if it’s compressed. It needs to stay fluffy in order to work, and it’s not self-supporting.
When packaged, fiberglass insulation typically comes in rolls or batts, with widths based on common stud spacing increments. Fiberglass insulation is a staple in home improvement stores and it is easy to find locally.
Mineral Wool Insulation
Mineral wool insulation is made in a similar way to fiberglass, but with different raw materials. Rather than glass, mineral wool uses molten rock or other minerals that are spun into a cotton candy-like blanket with additives. Like fiberglass, the fibers are then compressed and heated.
Mineral wool is a less common insulating material in homes, but is used more often in commercial applications, including wall cavities. Mineral wool insulation is heavier and more dense than fiberglass insulation, which makes it a little more difficult to work with. It can be purchased in large batts or boards.
Comparing Fiberglass vs. Mineral Wool Insulation
Fiberglass insulation and mineral wool insulation have a similar manufacturing process and both come out looking a lot like cotton candy. Let’s compare some performance specs:
Thermal R-Value
When comparing mineral wool to fiberglass insulation in thermal performance, mineral wool takes the cake. With an R-value of up to R15 for 3.5” mineral wool, it beats fiberglass by a couple of points at this depth. Fiberglass insulation has an R-value of about R13 at 3.5” thick.
Installation
Fiberglass and mineral wool insulation are both installed by loose-laying batts into stud wall cavities, and can be cut by hand with ease. Mineral wool requires an insulation knife and fiberglass insulation requires a utility knife with a straight edge.
Moisture Resistance
When comparing the moisture resistance of fiberglass insulation to mineral wool, there is a clear winner. Mineral wool is naturally moisture-resistant since it’s made of rock or slag fibers. Fiberglass insulation is more prone to water absorption—and if it gets wet, it creates an environment where mold growth is uninhibited.
Fire Resistance
In a fire, it’s critical that your insulation works to extinguish the flame rather than fuel the fire. When comparing mineral wool batt insulation to fiberglass, fiberglass is less fire resistant than mineral wool. Mineral wool has zero flame spread and no smoke when exposed to fire. Fiberglass, especially when using a kraft paper facer can both create smoke and spread the flame.
Cost and Availability
When it comes down to purchasing your building materials, cost and availability are important considerations. When looking at mineral wool insulation vs. fiberglass cost, fiberglass is less expensive and more readily available.
A quick search from a local big box store gave the following results:
Availability and Cost of Mineral Wool vs. Fiberglass Insulation
A Superior Alternative to Fiberglass and Mineral Wool
Fiberglass and mineral wool insulations are both good building materials, but there are superior options on the market today that outperform both of these choices.
Polyisocyanurate (aka polyiso) is a rigid foam board insulation that can be used as an alternative to fiberglass or mineral wool.
Here’s how polyiso stacks up against mineral wool vs. fiberglass insulation:
R-Value
At 3.5”, Rmax Thermasheath Polyiso® carries a thermal value of R23.9, that blows both fiberglass and mineral wool out of the water. It takes just 2” of polyiso to match the thermal properties of 3.5” thick mineral wool or fiberglass.
Installation
Polyiso is as simple to install as fiberglass and mineral wool, but has with the added versatility of being able to use it as a continuous insulation under cladding on exterior walls.
Moisture and Fire Resistance
Foil faced polyiso acts as an air and water vapor barrier when installed continuously—an option that is unavailable for batt insulations.
Cost and Availability
Polyiso is priced at around $1.00 per square foot for R13.1 (2” thick) from local home improvement stores and can be found more readily available from contractor suppliers.
Choose Rmax Polyiso For Your Next Project
Rmax has been in the insulation business for decades. We know our insulation and we can share our knowledge with you on your next project.
Let our experts help you find the right wall insulation for your next project. Reach out to your local Rmax representative today!