Hemp wool vs Sheep wool insulation | Everything you need to know
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 มิ.ย. 2024
- Hemp wool and sheep wool are considered to be the “greenest” or most sustainable insulation materials. In this video, we’re going to look at how they are made, their main differences as well as their pros and cons.
Link to my Patreon page: / belinda_carr
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:17 Hempwool manufacturing
1:50 Sheep wool manufacturing
3:09 R value comparison
3:30 Cost
3:46 Dimensional stability
5:03 Van conversions
5:41 Installation
6:23 Workability
6:56 Noise Reduction Coefficient
7:17 Water repellency
8:39 Fire retardant test
9:50 Environmental impact
11:33 Conclusion
The outer layer of the hemp stalk is called bast fiber which has been used for centuries to make ropes, clothing, canvas and sails and now Hemp wool insulation batts. Let’s look at how sheep wool insulation is made. This pendulum swings back and forth to make multiple wool layers. The layers are bonded with a mechanically driven needle punch which stitches them together.
Hemp wool is sold by the pallet in various depths and widths. A 2” deep batt has an R value of 7 while a 7.5” deep batt is R28. The R value of sheep wool is exactly the same as hemp wool. A 2” deep batt is R7 and a 5.5” batt is R20. The 5.5” batts will fit in a standard 2x6 stud bay for an exterior wall. 5.5” thick Hemp wool costs $1.95 per sqft while the same sheep wool costs $2.25 per sqft.
Just like most insulating products, hemp and sheep wool operate on the insulating property of trapped air between the hemp and wool fibers. As you can tell, hemp is much stiffer, denser and heavier. It bounces back to its original shape after being compressed. Sheep wool on the other hand is very floppy, malleable, soft, lightweight. But the unique thing about wool is that you’re not only relying on trapped air for insulation, but the wool fibers themselves are good insulators. Each fiber is composed of protein molecules or keratin organized into five follicles.
Hemp wool friction fits into stud bays on walls and ceilings without any additional fasteners. Sheep wool has to be stapled to walls and fastened with a wire mesh or cables to the ceiling. Hemp is very tough and cannot be easily cut with an xacto knife. You have to use a table saw or a miter saw to get a clean cut. Sheep wool fibers are also surprisingly strong. You need to use a pair of sharp scissors or a proper insulation cutter.
Now, for the water repellency test. Hemp absorbed some water, allowed it to pass through to the other side and changed color when wet but it also dried up fairly quickly. It did not lose shape or disintegrate. Sheep wool is very similar to hemp in this aspect. When I poured water over the sample, it did absorb it but did not disintegrate. Sheep wool can also naturally absorb moisture while staying dry and retaining its high insulative properties.
Hemp wool is supposed to be a Class A fire retardant but it caught on fire very easily and released a lot of acrid smoke and fumes. On the other hand, sheep wool performed pretty well when lit. The flame didn’t spread even though it turned black and singed.
They are very environmentally friendly. The hemp plant requires very little water to grow and process, about a quarter of the water needed for cotton. Hemp wool contains no VOCs or volatile organic compounds. Sheep wool is also very eco-friendly. Wool insulation contains the least embodied energy of any insulation available, half that of cellulose and one-sixth that of mineral wool.
They are both excellent eco-friendly alternatives to traditional insulation but they need to be refined. For example, it would be great to use hemp wool as a fire-retardant continuous exterior insulation. Sheep wool either needs to have better dimensional stability or we just use it as loose fill insulation.
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SOURCES:
• Hemp Fibre India Rohit Sharma
• How we process hemp fi... Obelisk Farm
• Take a tour of a hemp ... techlifetoday
• We make natural, high ... Havelock Wool
• How to shear sheep - b... UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
• Reid Redden - Sheep & ... RanchTV and Texas A&M
• HempWool: Installing h... Hempitecture
• Installing Havelock Wo... Havelock
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#hemp #sheepwool #tinyhome #vanconversion #diy #diybuild #architecture #architect #designer #construction #science - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
This girl leaves no stone unturned! Seriously, some of the best, most informative and exhaustive reviews on youtube! Great job as always!
Thank you!
@@BelindaCarr and your funny too
@@BelindaCarr I would like to see the comparison in overall carbon footprint. The plant only absorbs while sheep produce, can you please add this to your analyse?
@@michaellogan7265 1-6 sheep uprising!! OMG
A big caution with wool. It’s incredibly easily infested by moths and impossible to remedy without full removal, which can be incredibly destructive to the building. Even with Borax powder addition in the manufacturing process. Makes it a no-no in the U.K.
Living in NZ, it's true we're not at all concerned about Covid, sheep uprisings on the other hand ...
Lol i am scared of Butt heads in NZ now.
Because you don't have to deal with Scomo, or Gladis
In England they are mixing Spider DNA with Sheep DNA for next level wool quality to keep Sheep competitive vs Sheeple consumer choice who prefer a downgrade in their DNA and immune systems for herd immunity. Sheeple feel comfort when the same bleats are heard by other herded bleaters in social media and love the Krispy Kream donuts, Maccas and other DNA destroying foods as a benefit for downgrading their dna as told to avoid hunger games.
Funny movie you should watch - Black Sheep (2006)
Thank me later 😆
@@altruismfirst6489 bloody ell, what nutter thought of that?
It's bad enough dealing with a spider in the bath, but a sheep? No thanks!
I love how she tells jokes in that serious pragmatic tone. I am almost concerned about possible sheep uprising.
that was a good one
My sheep used to try to uprise every time I sheered them lol
Attack of the killer sheep
New Zealand has sheep uprising, better send crack WKRP newsman Les Newsman to capture the moment!!! LOL "you wouldn't believe it Johnny, it was worse than the turkey uprising back in Cincinnati "!!!
Wonderful comment! I got a chuckle imagining that one!
"they better be treated well to prevent an uprising" hahahaha
This is what happened a week ago when sheeps took over the congress in the US
They have a similar problem in Iowa. "More pigs than people" is the unofficial state motto. But pigs offer NO insulating value whatsoever.
@@ricoludovici2825 stop calling people fighting for their rights pigs
@@andreycham4797 Porci resurgent.
The Australian Emu war should serve as a healthy warning. ;)
Oof, yeah that fire test is a huge deal-breaker. Love hemp but that's a hell-no for this application.
This is the fourth video I’ve watched from Belinda, and the only humor has been in the little inserted Memes and movie clips. So when you, in a very deadpan way, made the joke about the sheep uprising, I sprayed my coffee all over the dashboard.
How did I get here and why did I watch the whole video? Signs of a good creator and engaging content!
@12:12 - When you were talking about the shedding, I saw legitimate frustrated emotion there. It was kind of funny.
Hemp has a rich and vibrant history throughout the ages. It was once used as currency, the Constitution was written on hemp paper, and in 1916, the federal governments own study showed that an acre of hemp can produce 4 times the paper that an acre of trees can not to mention the shorter grow time of hemp vs trees.
Yep 👍
I agree, it was enjoyable to see here expression.
Certainly makes a person wonder who benefited from shutting hemp industry down decades ago.
It's one of the oldest domesticated plants to boot, with good evidence to suggest it's cultivation has been practiced for almost 10,000 years.
Thank Hearst for fucking hemp over
So to get the best wool insulation we need to feed sheep plenty of hemp plants.
noooo i dont agrreee, animbal abusse
I don't want humans to kill animals or torture animals.
We need animal rights one day but the likelihood in the next 2 hundred years is very slim.
I'll keep on being vegan even if nobody else is. remember be kind and don't get yourself in prison.
I don't agree in protesting on the streets, I think we need social change.
I'm okay with renewable resources but I'm not okay with locking up sheep.
@@concentriccircles1899 Shearing sheep doesn’t torture or kill them.
@@concentriccircles1899 I dont think you know what animals want
@@kevinhoward7194 have you ever heard of flystrike??? You're technically right but you also don't know what animals want and that's why you can't make choices for the animals.
We had our ceiling space topped up with blown wool over the existing Pink Batts. It made a huge difference and interestingly the contractors used recycled wool carpets that had been deconstructed back to the wool fibres. And it was around half the price of Pink Batts. This was in New Zealand so I don't know whether it is available everywhere but it certainly seems like a good way to recycle wool.
same
Great idea. I don't know if they are available in America, but worth inquiring
Hi there, I live in Auckland. Can you tell me who you used for installation or what company supplies this? I have to re roof and need to replace the old batts used. Any help appreciated. Cheers
Whenever I find myself feeling too smart for my own good, I watch one of your videos. ;-) Cheers.
Lol. Thanks, Gordon!
Hemp wool looks like it would cut relatively easily with a reciprocating electric bread knife.
Very excited to see hemp videos, as it's such a diverse and useful material. And extremely sustainable.
I think that the fire issue is one that we are acutely aware of in UK. The fire propagation within voids is of major concern and without any self extinguishing properties hemp insulation would certainly mean for me it would be discounted. It is all to easy for fire to propagate into even supposedly fire protected cores and ignite the contents due to poorly sealed or damaged shells that then expands to cause catastrophic failures.
@@clivewilliams3661 Which is one reason why she should’ve included rock wool in her comparison, And it’s available both in batts and boards
@@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath The whole premise of this video was to compare the 'green' insulations. Rockwool is not a green insulation because it takes a huge amount of energy to create it from molten rock. Rockwool is used for fire protection simply because it takes so much heat to degrade it as you would expect from a product formed from rock.
In terms of providing any fire properties to either hemp or wool all they can use is a retardant additive that generally will not make the material fire proof. A client of mine ran a material testing laboratory and we were discussing fire properties. The problem it seems that the legislators and manufacturers are fixated on the effect of a small fire source so that retardants appear to work. However, in a building fire the heat produced is extensive and intense and will overcome mere retardants so that the only non-fire propagation materials need to be totally and naturally non-combustible.
As someone who worked in and studied agriculture I can say with absolute certainty hemp is EXPONENTIALLY less resource-intensive than sheep's wool. Hemp is an extremely low-resource crop and grows extremely quickly as Belinda pointed out, whereas sheep can only be shorn once or twice a year and need to be fed and watered every day. There are also the ethics to consider.
As someone who worked on a sheep farm in Australia I can tell you that the way the sheep are treated and sheared would be extremely objectionable to the average consumer. The NZ "welfare laws" and standards cited apply only to the banning of one painful and inhumane procedure, flensing (cutting off leg skin with a hot knife), but does not protect against tail docking (amputating the tail with no anesthesia), ear tagging, or shearing which is often so brutal the sheep are left dazed, bloodied, and visibly traumatized (trembling/shaking, unable to stand, etc). Shearers are paid by the head and so work as quickly as possible to maximize revenue. Sometimes the shearer will nick a major artery, leaving the sheep in danger of bleeding out, so they will roughly stitch them up with a needle and thread, again of course without anesthesia or sanitation. The wounds inflicted by fast shearing can also lead to fatal infections, and lambs especially are in danger of being suffocated and squeezed to death in the herd due to overcrowding and overzealous mustering (herding). Again, these are not unique or "worst case" scenarios, they are all things I experienced personally on a completely average Merino farm. Hemp is just plants growing in a field. The winner is clear to me.
What do you think of permeating the hemp insulation material with sodium bicarbonate for adding fire resistance to the fibers, and would it be cost effective?
You are full of it. I’ve shorn for 10 years and have never seen what you describe here . Stop lying for a living
Not sure how I came across your channel and also not sure why I care about hemp vs wool insulation, but here I am :)
Love your clear, logical presentation.
A truly comprehensive and easy to understand review of these two products. This video is spot on and Belinda is well versed in the topics she reviews. You simply can not get this kind of concise information in any textbook. Two Thumbs Up!! Oh, and the rebellious sheep approved the content of this presentation.
Haha! Thanks, Gary.
My concern would be mice trying to live in it but secondly I’m fascinated that both products resist mold and mildew, I would not have thought that.
I had a look at one hemp wool manufacturer who states it contains 30% recycled polyester and 10% polyester binder. Polyester is flamable and I wonder if that's what causes the acrid burning in your sample.
Stay far far away from oil derivatives. Off gasing is real. Use natural products where possible
Another great video Belinda. I love how you do the pros and cons and hold back nothing, truly a non biased product reviewer.
Keep up the good work.
Keep these comparison Videos coming. It's a great learning tool for me.
Thanks, Michael!
Found this whole subject very intriguing considering the Grenfel inquiry is still ongoing and the insulation plays a big part in that. Great video
I wonder if they could be crossed/ mixed together to get that stability and bounce back into the wool. Seems like a good blend to me.
What a fantastically well researched and produced video, you are clearly well educated! As a construction worker I get tired of using so many synthetic materials so learning about the viability of natural materials was interesting. I would love to see you perform acoustic tests with these materials if possible, particularly the hemp.
Hi I have sheep wool for my ceiling insulation it’s great but there’s a certain type of moth that eats the wool insulation so I have to keep putting moth balls in the ceiling to stop them .
It's always the things they don't tell you that are most important.
Have you ever tried red cedar chips or blocks?
Eat the moths. Assert dominance
Introduce some bats to your attic to eat the moths. I foresee no consequences for this action.
I have a campervan insulated with sheep wool. It's ok. Quiet. But I have found that some companies advertise it as humidity regulator. That is not true in van during a winter. There is far too much vapored water to store it in wool. You will get it wet. Must have perm retardant. I love the smell of it...
That’s interesting! What is perm retardant and how do you use it to keep wool dry in a van?
@@junebay5265 A perm is a curly or wavy hairstyle from the 1980s.... it is also a water vapour unit of measurement ;)
Once again, bringing me informative and interesting videos that I didn't know I needed. Thanks!
Interesting, thanks very much Belinda. I have used both these products in timber houses for the groove between the logs line-scribed together (Medfar - mosegrop, meddrag, måssåfar we call it), and several times found old clothes of wool use for this, in timber-houses over a hundred years old. I now subscribe to the more and more normal practice here, of returning to the older convention of using moss for this job, as well as around windows and doors. For the simple reason that it has antiseptic qualities as well as insulation value. Picking moss is much more expensive though. It could be wise to use moss for the lowest logs, that are most prone to water damage and use these products higher up in the wall.
@LucasRichardStephens, are you talking about live moss? I've not heard of this! Any good sources you recommend that discuss this?
@@theredbobcat th-cam.com/video/Fwl9kN29CtI/w-d-xo.html put the subtittles on for the English translation.
There are other of my films where I use moss but I don't know which exactly. It is generally considered the best thing to have between the logs of line-scribed log houses here in Norway. But there are many opinions about which moss one should or shouldn't use.
Another absolutely thorough and valuable presentation. We have bee hives that are used to insulate honey bee hives and I've had many questions regarding its properties as an insulator. Thank you again.
Yes, yes, yes to your idea of exterior insulation panels from hemp!
Wow, that was interesting. I like to see more of the uses of hemp.
I heard that whole reason it was illegal in America for so many decades is because in the 30’s someone wants to protect their interests in the timber industry. My understanding is that big business saw the potential competition as a threat because of how amazing and versatile it is.
Belinda, Great video! And thanks so much for including us. We are proud to be part of improving the health of our built environment. This video will go a long way towards getting the word out about healthy, high-performance insulation. Best, The Havelock Flock"
I have absolutely no reason to know the stuff you're talking about in your videos but I'm watching them anyway because of how interesting they are. well done. loved the container home debunk and I really hope you take your own advice and ignore the idiots. the internet is a cesspool. we know this. so ignore the noise and continue with your great work.
Hi ! just discovered your channel and i love how you are bringing data and compare stuff ! what about rodent/pests/insects resistance please ? It would be a great part to add to your reviews maybe ?
Excellent review and timely! Think I’ll opt for the hempcrete roof insulation after noting the dismal fire test. Many thanks. I’ve used raw wool once before and found it became rodent heaven, lost it’s loft and the lanolin stained the ceiling. Twas a poor choice.
Was it due to no boric acid was added to it? Do you know why it lost its loft?
Hey Belinda, I am new to your channel but am really glad I found you. Your videos are well researched, well crafted, honest, informative, clear, and educational. This is what I want! Please don’t change.
Thank you!
I'm building my first tiny home and LOVE YOUR CHANNEL☆☆☆☆ I've learned so much! Thank you🥂🥂🥂❤❤❤❤
I love any product that can be grown and is versatile. The fact these are ancient products is even better.
Thoroughly enjoying your content. This was another great one. Thank you for creating and sharing it.
An excellent video to grow awareness of two great, sustainable insulations. You do the building community a wonderful service with this content 😊
Straight to the information and no messing around, excellent! Great review. Subbed.
I really enjoy learning from you. I really appreciate all the time you put into all these videos and how detailed you explain. Keep it up!
Great review Belinda.
I was a builder for many years in New Zealand.
I would use a wool polyester blend batt, which I'm thinking reduced thermal drift.
Fairly expensive, amazing noise reduction qualities and great insulation.
Disadvantages, like you say is the dust, and much more time consuming to fit more difficult to cut etc.
I'm a hug fan of wool products, it's properties and the lanolin oils are very versatile.
Keep up the good work.
When referencing the energy used to create the wool batts it sounded like you only considered the costs of manufacture, not the cost to raise the sheep.
Just found the channel. Love it. Great work covering the properties of these materials and I very much appreciate that you post your sources.
I click on this for the beauty speaking, but dang I stayed because of the content. Thank you for being so detailed and informative.
I like insulations that don't off gas or lose R Value.
I like insulations that don't burn at the slightest hint of fire
EXCELLENT! Thanks Belinda ... I had a van with standard mineral insulation in it's walls. It was obvious that the air quality inside the van was rather harsh. My next van project, I used Havelock wool. Now, when I am locked inside, on a freezing winter's night, The van has a certain "sweet" natural smell to the air ... gone are the sore eyes, throat, and sinuses! What makes this insulation so ideal for vans is that a 2 inch depth over the walls, ceiling and floor, are all that is required to properly insulate the interior from the coldest of outside temps, like -20 or more. (I live in Canada, where as every American knows, it's igloos all year round up here! ... but the real advantage is not needing vapour barriers ... the wool naturally adjusts to ambient moisture levels, even in dry/cold, or humid/cold conditions. Cost is irrelevant, when it comes to quality ... also, any fine fibrous material will irritate one's throat, lungs, or eyes, just as dust does ... the question is, does this material pose a health risk, if inhaled ... the answer is ... Always wear a mask when handling any material that is capable of minute, microscopic off-shedding. BTW, yours is the best TH-cam channel , by far ... right up their with Paul Davids, my guitar lesson guru, and that's saying something! (he has 2 million+ subscribers) ... so just keep at it, you have the formula!
Thanks Belinda, your videos are really well researched, and very informative.
I was totally blown away with the thoroughness of this video! Great job. I subscribed. Looking forward to listening and learning from your other videos.
There is absolutely no way that the embodied energy requirement of sheep wool is lower than that of hemp this is because it is an animal product versus a plant product.
This means that per square meter to make 1 kg of wool we need to feed the sheep a significant amount of plant matter, probably somewhere in the order of 10 to 20 kg (citation needed obviously). However with the hemp product we can use those 10-20kg directly instead, therefore yielding a much higher amount of insulation material per square meter of soil used.
I must say though that I am quite saddened by the flammability of the hemp product it looks like it could’ve been a fantastic competitor to mineral wool, but given the lingering burning that happened it seems like it would be nigh impossible to extinguish a fire if one were to ever reach the insulation layer which is a serious concern, not to mention the vertical rise of fire through the walls. An otherwise small fire might wreck the whole house. Thats nit very eco friendly either.
Still I do really hope that it is solvable because otherwise it looks like a phenomenal product
Yeah that surprised me also, even more given the energy requirements for wool scouring. That said, the hemp was a blend with synthetic fibre, and there may be differences in growing pasture vs crops in terms of energy inputs.
@@motorbyclist hemp is known for being one of the most efficient crops, (ratio of sunlight to biomatter created, and equivalently co2 absorbed) together with corn,
so its very likely more efficient then a pasture too ^^
Thank you the video! I found this - as well as your Mineral Wool vs Fiberglass insulation - video quite helpful. TH-cam likely recommended these as I am always looking for new insulating material for our properties - especially if they provide the additional benefit of sound isolation from the outside or neighboring properties with shared properties. Unfortunately, the problem is that many of the newer / 'greener' / potentially less harmful (to occupants and environment) products here on youtube (such as hemp wool, sheep wool and even denim insulation) are quite hard to find (or prohibitively expensive). Regardless, keep up the great work - love watching your informative videos! 👍😊
I just found your channel and love the way you explain products and ideas. You are great in telling both the good and bad of whatever you are talking about.
Great videos Belinda! You lay out the facts clearly based on solid research. Keep going!
2:41 "Sheep outnumber humans six to one in New Zealand. They'd better be treated well to prevent an uprising." I laughed out loud at this; your facial expression and the deadpan delivery were so great!
My gut feeling is that I like wool better than hemp, but the stability issue is the biggest downer. Also, I noticed a bandage on your finger in the video, did you cut yourself while doing tests for us?
Nah, burned myself baking cinnamon rolls. They were worth it :)
@@BelindaCarr 🤣👍
@@BelindaCarr Beautiful, smart, AND can cook? Perfect in every way!
Great detail, thanks Belinda. That point about stuffing the insulation, mistakenly thinking that improves insulation was a great point. Shame about the fire properties of hemp insulation.
Stuffing the insulation raises the R-Value per inch (to a point), but lowers the R-value of the total mass of insulation (given the same mass). Most "wool" types of insulation can be compressed quite a but before it's R-value per inch starts dropping.
@@donaldendsley6199 Good to know - thanks Donald.
Belinda these videos are so high quality.
Excellent to see another renewable resource application for hemp promoted! Also, awesome to see your channel growing! Thanks for sharing!
A thing about farming hemp at scale is it requires specialist machinery as the stuff is so tough! I know a farmer who gave up on farming hemp very quickly as none of the machinery he had for normal UK arable farming would not do the job...
How about bug infestation? Moths supposedly love to eat holes in wool clothing. How will that work in insulation?
I think they add a bit of borax. Certainly the manufacturers say it passed ISO3998 (which amounts to losing less than 7.5% of the weight of a 200mg sample exposed to moth larvae for two weeks, and fairly small levels of visible damage).
Yes, I'm wondering about wool moths, dermestid beetles, and mites.
@@pondera2450 I'm worried about pot-heads.
@@paulsawczyc5019 This was addressed in the first minute of the video. Try harder.
@@xxwookey How/where did you learn that? That is interesting info
Super thorough and I learned more than I expected! New sub for sure and I love your humor and appreciate the approach.
just bumped into your channel, with the mineral wool comparison and this one.
Pretty pretty clear , visual and useful. congrats ;)
keep on making them,
cheers from Portugal
Excellent information! Thank you so much!
I am curious about how the wool is protected against insects, particularly moths and carpet beetles.
I can only echo the comments about how clear and well stated this video is. I question many people i see on the web. I respect this information
Good morning
I’m insulator
Good job on info
Really helpful on van insulation
I already purchased havelock wool
Thank you very much
Your pal cal
I probably just missed it when you talked about this, but is there not an allergy problem with wool? I mostly can’t touch it without getting rashes but I know people who get trouble breathing and their nose and eyes starts running just by being in the same room as a wool sweater. I get that it would be closed of when used as isolation but can still imagine lots of problems related to that.
Asbestos was also used as isolation and there were no problems when it was closed of. Allergies should only come into play during construction or when the will is open because of e.g. repairs...
Allergies can be present for both of these products - people working for extended periods with hemp can often sensitize to it, especially at the field level where its fine pollen is prevalent.
As someone allergic to sheep, once you clean the wool, the allergic reactions stop. I can wear wool fine.
I assume someone actully allergic to wool itself, as long as they are not arround when its being installed and covered, and the place is approprietly cleaned, they should be fine.
As someone who works with wool, allergies to wool are extremely rare as it is made of keratin, the same as your hair. People can have wool sensitivities and that is because of the twist in yarn where little fibers stick out and can irritate the skin. Merino wool is the softest that can be worn against the skin due to fine microns, but it is also expensive. You would need a much higher micron for wool insulation and would most likely come from sheep wool with a high micron count that is usually spun to make outerwear or rugs and that could be scratchy. I never wore wool because of the itch factor until I discovered merino wool which is used to make base layers and can regulate your temperature and is not itchy. Some people are allergic to lanolin which can be present in some wool products, but even that is rare as all commercially prepared fibers are very clean and grease free.
Love your videos!
I have a music production studio and when I was building it I investigated types of fiber insulation for acoustic absorption. Finally i decided to go with sheep wool because in my area I can get it for free. The wool was washed, dried and then installed. I had almost 5 cubic meters of it inside and it worked great, at first. Unfortunately, moths started coming in, eating the wool and multiplying. After some time there was literally thousands of them! Eventually I had to get rid of the wool due to the sour smell from the moths and the fact that they ate almost half of the 5m3 that was inside.
I wonder how did Havelock solve the isuuse, especially since it is supposed to be 100% naturall.
Haverlock and most other Wool insulation is apparently treated with Thorlan IW to prevent moth infestations.
Just started researching wool insulation. Materials are stating boric acid/boron salt are added to wool in order to prevent from pests and animals. Didn't you add anything to the raw wool?
We installed the Havelock for sound in our 1940’s four square home renovation. It was great to work with.
First heard about Havelock wool about a week ago and now you have an explainer video on it. Excellent presentation as always!
Thanks Belinda another great introduction to insulation. I think you covered most of the pros and cons on this subject, but may I add a con for sheep's wool. In the UK we had problems with wooly moth infestation munching their way through the insulation and then clothes and carpets! To be fair this was due to the leaching of the insecticide treatment. A new wool treatment was introduced about 10 years ago and it seems to be working, however specifiers continue to be concerned about the risks. For this reason we always spec hempwool.
Hello! Havelock Wool here. We do add a slight amount of boric acid which deters all insects including moths. And we note that across our +10,000 projects we have had zero reports back of moth issues. Thanks!
I love you're videos. I would love to see you do a video on Reed insulation. It is possibly the most naturall insulation I've seen used and I would love to see it compared to standard rock wool and stirofoam insulation.
Wow such an in-depth video on two relatively uncommon insulations! Super cool and informative!!
Very informative! Very thorough videos. Congratulations, I'm a fan.
I wonder if a mix of these two materials might get us to the best of both worlds
Good idea. I wonder how much the polyester in the hemp is responsible for some of its stability.
Hope you didn't suffer too much from those insulating materials.
It would be nice to get your opinion on how to do, or install, proper insulation.
What is required for the insulation to work best and what is the ultimate insulation construction?
Keep it going Belinda 😉 ✌️
So fantastic how you've presented your studies and facts along withe humor. Very refreshing! Thank you!
Seeing this represented with a good sense of humor is such a refreshing change. And I see you have so any videos on building technology!
The hemp wool has a few percent polyester fibre. Maybe that is what burns when you show it the blow torch.
It's a grass, so will burn/smoulder. Which didn't surprise me.
My one thought with wool insulation is wool moths and carpet beetles. I imagine in a few years your attic would be entirely full of festering insects and degrading wool.
I know that cellulose insulation is treated with boron to keep the bugs away. It's probably the same for wool.
This what you call turning your dreams into reality. Leaving her work place while still providing priceless information is incredible
Best channel for this type of information by far. I'm so impressed!
Great information. I was thinking the hemp wool would be good in my crawlspace until you did the burn test. That was very depressing. I guess I will stick with the rock wool plan.
Why not try sheep wool. HaveLock makes it for insulation
I could not find enough information about protection against moth infestation. Especially with my 50 year timeframe of living in this house. Will the chemicals they use last that long. It was top on my list though.
How complicated would it be to increase the quality of hemp wool’s fire resistance, while maintaining its non toxicity?
Very well explained and also naming the sources of information. 2 thumbs up!
As always, great analysis Belinda. I had just commented on another video of yours, talking about Hemp as a renewable construction product. Awesome stuff...thank you.
To the topic of recycling hemp wool: didn't you say in the beginning its hemp and polyester? Combo materials are notorious for beeng hard to recycle. Is this an overlook on your side or have i missed/missunderstood something?
Hemp decomposes just like any dead grass. I'm afraid that by the time the owner decides to remodel/recycle, the organic part of the mix will be largely gone.
@@jmi5969 my doubts are manly for the polyester part. I compare this to the hype for bamboo stuff. Most of the time it is treatet or mixed with some kind of plastic and even harder to recycle then pure plastic products
"They better be treated well to prevent an uprising." - so the horror-comedy film "Black Sheep" was actually a warning then.
Factual documentary actually :D
Definitely keep them away from cows with guns.
Belinda, you are absolutely a GEM!! How very nice, clear, and informative.
Fantastic video. Well done. Informative and accurate and no time wasting babble. Thank you.
Out of the two of them I would go with hemp wool
Small batches of homemade fire retardant is easy to do. I wonder how hard it would be to treat them ourselves.
"Sheep outnumber humans 6:1 in New Zealand and they better be treated well to prevent an uprising"ALOL!!!!!
i found your channel last night after watching your video on container homes and I've been hooked ever since. super education and enjoyable!
Belinda ...... The best most informative review I have seen . Thank you
Just how flammable is this stuff? Class 8 doesn't seem right.
One of the major advantages of rock and stone wools are that they're typically fire resistant...
Sheep wool, depending on context, is fire resistant.
Perhaps a mix of hemp wool and sheep wool, ie a sandwich layer of sheep wool over hemp wool, getting best of both worlds, dimensional stability and fire retardation.🤔
Rockwool might also be a simpler option.
most impressive series of videos, a very intelligent young lady. helpful to the extreme. bookmarked for future reference
Amazing work Belinda!!👏👏👏
Nice video, however I think you have a misunderstanding of how dimensionally stable blown in wool is. You seam to assume that it will be prone to settling. I just insulated my 3000 square foot house (including most of the interior walls) with blown in havelock wool. It was a lot of work, but one thing I can tell you for sure is that if done properly, there is no way settling will be an issue. Wool is remarkably springy, for lack of a better word. Once you get it into the cavity to proper density, it only wants to expand and fill the space. Outside of the wall the wool is pretty fluffy, but when packed in the wall its a different story. Anyways, thanks for the great content!
Oh gravity takes time to do its work and the vibrations in a van conversion don’t exist in homes so I’m pretty sure have like wool bats or loose fill will not violate the laws of physics
Sometimes I forget how much of a babe she is until she posts a new video.
You're amazing. No one else is as thorough as you, and you explain your topics with very clear and concise. Great job 👍
All the way from New Zealand and our sheep
These are great educational videos on insulation. Lots of information in 12 minutes of video.