Great video as always! We used this to retrofit insulation in our 70s house in the UK. It's not super common in the UK so was unusual here, too. We full-filled the roof with 220mm of batt, followed by 60mm of sarking board on top. The interior side has an air tightness moisture control membrane, and the exterior sarking is sealed on the perimeter so it is effectively wind-tight (not air tight). The U-value is around 0.13, which is very good. In a 190m2 house that has triple glazing, only an air cavity wall, and some work-in-progress holes in the fabric, our heat demand is now about 100kwh/day at 0 degrees C, and only 20-30kwh above 10 degrees C. Previously the house ran at more than double this. A few points that are worth adding. Fire proofing is not just about resistance. When it chars, it reduces the ability for air to reach the rest of the material, and as such, the fire doesn't have enough fuel to burn. So, when you have it around a whole building, it will form a charred layer and rapidly prevent fire spreading. This is the same reason straw bale houses work, because they starve the fire of oxygen as they char. Not to mention, you can still have fire boarding and other details to slow the spread to the material in the first place (anyway, PIR burns horrendously at high temperatures! Just lookup Grenfell Fire!). The moisture retention capability means that in practice, with the right design and moisture control on the interior side, it does not grow mould. The UK is well known for being mild (cold!) and wet. However, one key advantage of the material is that it stores, rather than just reflects heat. Heating warms the material over time, and dries it out. Because it is completely breathable, moisture naturally migrates through the material. I think it's a non issue. If you've got that bad moisture problems, your timber structure will have just as many problems as this insulation will. This heat storage is brilliant - if you have a significant thickness of it, it acts as a two-way buffer. It can absorb solar heat and then release it over time, but it can also absorb your own house's excess heat. This slows the swings in temperatures you see with more reflective insulation. I am using it between floors because it means you get brilliant acoustics, but it also acts as a very slow battery holding excess heat until the house cools down and needs it. Finally, acoustically it really is amazing. Our house sounds completely different. We have pitched tall 'skielings' and the room acoustics are so different. Combined with triple glazing, we don't even know when it's raining now a lot of the time. In practice, with a house with a large south facing mono-pitch roof, where we get a large amount of solar gain, we have found that after a number of hot days the house stays cool, but the following days after the heating demand is much lower. This is in theory because the insulation is holding some of the solar heat still, and either releasing it, or lowering the temperature differential between inside and outside. The house never overheats and stays a consistent temperature, despite having some rooms with (too much) solar gain. Oh, and working with it - yes I'd probably wear a mask, but all it creates is (a lot) of sawdust, which biodegrades into your garden. It's not itchy like Rockwool. It is a great material with upsides that outweigh the downsides, in my view.
HI Belinda, thank you for another good video. Here in the UK we have been using LDF board for more than 100 years and it works. I recently repaired a roof on a large 1907 house which still benefits from its LDF board as a sarking layer (laid over the top of the rafters to cut down on thermal bridging) In this time it has not decayed and still functions as it did day one! For conservation of historic buildings LDF is the most reliable choice. When applied to walls inside or outside we apply our lime renders directly to it. It is of course a lot cheaper to buy it in the UK so I hope you get your manufacturing facility in the US to make it more affordable.
Very interesting to read that it was used in that way already in 1907. The engineer or carpenter at that time, have been very much ahead of their time.
This type of insulation looks very interesting. Also looks like it would be a great sound deadening for a house. Hopefully this is something that can be made here in the US to bring down the price and make it more competitive. Great video to introduce this product.
I have used Gutex multiplex top sheets on all my house building project for some years. I use them as external sheeting on the outer walls, sometimes on the roof to, bus usually we just use permeable house wrap in the roof. for the walls I glue and nail them on and so they also act as shear panel for the walls. about your burning test, I burn wood scraps in my fireplace at home, the gutex also burns very nicely ;), so i wouldn't rate it as fire retarding. overall, I'm very plaesed with the product and will continue using it.
I live in Denmark and just got my roof replaced and added insulation to the attic. I have experience with both wood fiber insulation and paper fiber insulation and I can recommend both as exceptional options for insulating homes.
A huge reason why the European construction industry is so ahead, is our conditions. I live in Finland, we have four very extreme seasons. Very hot and dry summers, very windy and rainy falls, winters that can have extreme cold and snow. Our fall and spring also include lots of temperature variation which causes snow and ice to constantly melt during the day, and refreeze during the night. We have always had to build our homes with insulation and ventilation in mind. Especially a few decades ago, we only had access to heating by burning wood, and cooling by letting air flow. Currently we obviously have modern air conditioning and heating systems, but we consume far less energy using them. That's just because our buildings are way more energy efficient than in many other places.
Im using this for all insulation inside of the vapor barrier. Its got superb sound deadening qualities, and it handels moisture so moisture levels are not fluctuating as much.
Good to see that woodfibre is spreading in the world. I am from UK and have been working with woodfibre for about 11 years now. And I can assure you, I loved it when I did my first report on woodfire as a student and after 11 year I still love it. Future of insulation. Very good work Belinda. Let me know if I can be of any help.
We're using Pavatex insulation board & membrane for the new roof on our watermill in Scotland, and will be insulating all the internal walls with with Pavatex board - its visually very similar to the product you have. It is more expensive, but for us with a historic building it has a huge amount of advantages - such as giving us a negative condensation risk do the the permeability, being compatible with lime mortar, and allowing our whole building to breath through the stone walls. Using modern materials would mean we would need to have a vapour barrier around the whole inside of the building, and the stone walls would not be able to dry out effectively - reducing the life of the building.
Thank you, Belinda. I’ve been looking for a better review of European wood insulation techniques. You are doing a terrific job for those of us in engineering in other fields than building science. Your fair and equitable evaluations are very helpful as build in Wyoming and like Texas. In Wyoming(near Yellowstone) we’re building a large office area and studio on the ranch with studio as we develop software and communication protocols and technology. I also plan on building a log home on the ranch where I’ll spend more of my time. When we get closer I will contact you with how we use sustainable materials and ideas. Again, thank you for great work.
I used 140mm gutex continues insulation over a 90mm stud frame on my house in Australia. I really like it, but another disadvantage is I used expensive, hard to find screws to hold on the counter batters (I think they where 240mm long!).
With the current US wood shortage though I'd wrather see people looking at other materials used for cellulose insulation board and bat insulation. For the industry looking back at hay, hemp, and AG byproduct fill and upgrading it into a panel or batt product would be nice for sustainability. Using Borax and Modern glue products could make great improvements over the old school methods they used to use a hundred years ago where any insulation you had was whatever plant fluffy chuff you could shove in a wall cavity. Other than the wood shortage though I'm 200% behind sustainability and carbon sink insulation. Great video 😁👍 I wish they made this product in the US
There is no wood shortage. In fact it is hard to sell logs to lumber mills. We own 20 acres of timberland that used to be logged every 20 years but not any longer. We received an offer to log it for free. Oh joy.
@@Krunch2020 I wrote this 2 years ago when finnished wood was in short supply due to pandemic supply chain issues. Things have changed and prices have normalized.
As a carpenter who knows more about this stuff then anyone I work with, I knew about this product but didn't know details. Thank-you for filling in some gaps!
This is super interesting, thank you again Belinda. I’m looking forward to when you turn your microphone to HVAC systems as a system working with insulation and ventilation, and specifically heat pumps and thermal mass options.
@@guringai Hi Mate, not gutex but there are two other brands available. Pavatex and Steico. Contact me on Instagram DM and we can chat more, I can give you some names and contact details of the resellers. @davidbelledesign I am also a certified Passive house designer
In Europe there’s a tradition of rendering the outside of buildings (stucco). That’s where the wood fibre gets used a lot in combination with modern polymer renders. These come pre-mixed in a range of colours. So you can add to the insulation value of a timber framed building while having a good substrate for the external render. It’s that versatility that works.
Sounds like termite food. :) We used to use Buffalo Board into the 60s. Redwood bark before that. Nothing new here. Just a more advanced and way more expensive version of the old fiberboard it appears to me. In poorer areas, like northern Minnesota, you would see it exposed without siding.
Hi Belinda, Thanks for the nice video ! We decided tu use wood fiber for our next project ( cabin in the woods ) and can't wait to see the result of the wood fiber products :) Have nice day
Hi Belinda, I stumbled across your channel and have really enjoyed your insight, thoroughness and cheerful attitude about building. I'm a Building Official in Washington State and would encourage people to watch your videos. They are full of great information. I'll keep an eye out for future videos, great job.
2 years later and the US now has a local distributor of the stuff. I'm super interested in using this when I reside my house and add external insulation in the process--even as I balk at the idea of putting something made of wood fiber and /paraffin/ on the outside walls, as it keeps sounding like I'm coating my house in candle wick. :p
Wood is an amazing material, I think a lot of people kind of forget about it as a good material for the future because we have had it for so long. And very few realize it can be used for so much more than just planks and paper.
Gutex products seem to be very good. However, one thing worth further investigating is whether there are potential health issues associated with the substances utilised for gluing and protecting the wood fibres. That for me worth another video on its own. Thank you also for your excellent video.
This is definitely a contender for us, we are restoring a 1882 Victorian home, most of it not having studs like traditional modern homes. So we already have to custom cut most things, as well as install interior studs as we go to have properly installed electrical and plumbing, so custom cutting one more product is nothing for us. The positives in this video and the possible longevity of the product vastly out way any negatives.
there are a number of companies that make these products in Germany . Steico is almost identical to Gutex and i think there is at least one more company in Europe that makes this product . My house in germany is a wood block house from Finland .the blocks/logs are 14 cm thick . the steico insultaion panels are about the same thickness and are installed on the outside of the walls and roof. furring strips are installed vertically directly onto the panels with little to no compression . on top of the strips is wood siding.the space between the walls and the siding created by the furring strips acts as a channel to wick off any moisture build up . the results are xtraordicany .the house is almost rated as a a passive house and it's incredibly quiet inside . We hear with a two ton soapstone wood oven that only has to be fired every second or third day.The house is 260 sq. meters . the house across the street from us is about the same size and they use 12 stairs of wood while we use only 3 to 4 . the savings in energy cost can pay for the insulation in just a few years . sorry about the long rant , but i'm super excited about this product
Hi Belinda, Great job and compacted knowlage... ;-) Your study is very helpful in educating investors. My house will be insulated with Steico wood fibers and when it will come to realisation i will share with you also. Thank you a lot.
am unable to get 5cm thick corkboard in Japan now, so in searching for alternatives that arent VOCed up, this came out as a good choice for rennovating 200 year old samurai house inner wall insulation. Definitely less mess cutting compared to corkboard, and less brittle too.
Love the video and the channel! I'm still left wondering more about the fireproof properties (what chemicals etc are added to keep it from burning) and insects (not just termites, nesting is just as bad as consumption). I agree with Belinda that this product could be great as an exterior insulation if those questions were more completely answered, for me at least.
Thank you for another great and informative video! In Norway we have a wood fibre product called Hunton Fibre. Would be great to see your review on that! Merry x mas!
I really like the one with the stucco.. Now i have to go back and watch that part again. If these are ready to install this would make for really fast retro fits jobs along with new construction with out the need to rush the job. Example a Diy user. It is sad that it cost a lot. Once they get a few plant up and running the cost should come down. I also see this as a way to keep wood mills going more now that we have cut paper products down over the last few decades. We need more wood products on the market as that is what keeps mill planting trees and cutting them down. The more we harvest and plant the better the areas will thrive and less prone to fires. Really cool products.
Sounds very interesting. I guess I’ll have to look into it more. I admit at the start of the video I was very biased against it, however your presentation has caused me to at least look into it further. Thank you for your hard work.
Very interesting… I’ve heard about this product in Germany… And I was wondering why we could not find any wood fiber insulation here in north America... hopefully someone will start a manufacturing plant to produce this stuff
I just happen to see a video an individual posted about using cellulose in a garage for insulation. The problem is the cellulose had ammonium element. When the humidity got high in the summer he said the garage had a significant ammonia smell that took days to evaporate. He ended up removing the cellulose and replaced it. I would not use Thermoflex if it did the same off gas side effect.
Here in Germany it is very common to insulate the roof with wood materials like from Gutex. Between the roofters with soft and above with stiff plates. It is also a good thermal capacitor, which helps in summer time. Seven years ago I renovated a house from 1972 using wood insulation for the roof and stone fibre (like rockwool) to insulate the brick walls. Nowadays I would even opt for wooden insulation on the walls instead of stone fiber. Btw Gutex is located in the Black Forrest, which I'm living close to.
@@lepidoptera9337 Just look up from your screen and think about all the nice stuff you see around you. Just forget about the material the wall is made from...
Thanks for the 475 Building Supply. I am a DIY'r, replacing all our windows, in our home, this spring. I have been looking for information about adding exterior insulation and residing in the process. The few local GC I have spoken to look at me like I am crazy, plus they are not informed about exterior insulation installation.
I put a 1 inch layer of white foam board on my house before I sided it with vinyl. I spaced the windows out with 4 inch wide pieces of used 1 inch deck boards ( free ) White bead board has a pretty good perm rating.Letting moisture pass.
oupps, now you have mentioned it, the evaporation of water in the wall. the guys in Canada wrapped up the inside and the outside wall with plastic, moisture never could evaporate from the inside of any wall. And the best, between the basement or foundation towards walls, no moisture barrier was installed. the building inspector loved it, lol
Hi Belinda, love your videos! I have an objection to the sustainability claim. When I did a presentation on Steico company (I'm attending school in the Czech Republic), I dug a bit into the certifications like FSC and PEFC, and from what I found out, these institutions don't really have any means to control the certified wood producers and they have multiple cases of certificating straight forest abuse. In my opinion, there is very insignificant sustainable forestry on Earth right now and I think it should be mentioned. That doesn't mean that these products aren't the future of sustainable building, I strongly believe they are, but right now I wouldn't market these particular brands as sustainable.
I learn so much from your channel. I’ve been having thoughts and discussions about materials in Omaha. Our new buildings lack substance and the culture is very concrete and steel with some drywall around it. This information helps me broaden the landscape of options for how we make our spaces and do it in a way that is in harmony with the Earth. I don’t dig the polyurethane binder, but we could look into plant resin binders that perform just as effectively and better. That way the formation of the material is regenerative and entirely plant-based. Thanks for everything. I will be supporting on Patreon as soon I can. :)
I was wondering when you were going to discuss this. Though I was a bit surprised to see how little it seemed to burn despite its E Euroclass fire reaction rating. I'd be interested to see a comparison between this wood fibre insulation, sheep's wool, hemp and other low embodied carbon, vapour permeable insulations.
@@BelindaCarr I’m presently working on a project with Gutex products including Multitherm. Cold climate construction. Let me know if you’d like to get in touch.
How is it for mice and ants I wonder? Can you build a little box with your samples and stick it in a barn where there’s lots of mice and see what they do?
It always comes down to those pesky codes that are only meant to support the current products. Luckily I am not one to obey. This seems to have a potential that I am interested in. Thanks for the sharing.
Great content. It would have been nice if you could have compared the -50dB reduction in sound levels to the common materials you mentioned are worse acoustic insulators - how much better is this LDF?
@@xcalibertrekker6693 Yep, this stuff seems like garbage. An R value of only 3/inch??? Not only that, but wood fiber and parafin wax might be the most flamable in wall insulation ever devised. Think how much four inch panels of this crap must weigh just to get an R12 value of insulation. The installation must be a nightmare to boot.
Unfortunately you are right they are ahead of us. Even worst their Engineering, Architecture, Buildings, and Bridges are many decades ahead of ours. But not only Europe.
I love the concept of structural insulated panels but the styrofoam component is still a bit of a turn-off... would a sip panel made with LDF or another similar interior component other than EPO make sense? It just seems like the way we frame houses is so outdated and I would hope that some sort of panelized and frameless system would be at least part of the answer. would it make sense for these two technologies to come together?
I think it might not be very good, since the wood on either side may slow the movement of vapor too much. I would have to know the perm rating of the wood on either side. SIPs with synthetic foam is fine because it won't hold much moisture to begin with, so the wood on either side can dry outwardly
excellent idea of recycling wood in insulation, if this was such that it would also be a support structure as well as retain its insulating ability, it would be amazing -
I think it all comes down to lack of research with builders/ home owners in the USA. Pretty much everyone just follows the crowd, stick framing with 4x2 timbers or if you are lucky maybe 6x2 timbers and everything is just done to minimum code requirements assuming that state has building codes. Very few people seem to research what would be better for them and how much they would save with more insulation added to the building. I cringe when i see concrete slabs being poured in the USA without a damp proof membrane / insulation under it first, or if someone does put insulation under then it's only 2 inches. Here in the uk we are required to put at least 100mm / 4 inches of insulation under every concrete slab in a house.
I love your channel. Can you please do a review on air/foam Crete. I really trust your opinion and would love to hear what you think about it. Thanks so much for creating this great channel. Keep up the great work!
