Expanded clay or mineral wool - choose the best insulation

Which is preferable - expanded clay or mineral wool?

For starters, let's see why.You can insulate the walls, floor and roof.Now consider the characteristics of materials, among which to make a choice. interest to us primarily thermal conductivity of expanded clay in its ratio is 0.1, and here at the mineral wool - only 0.04 .Consequently, the latest release of heat to the outside is much smaller than the first, with the same thickness of insulation.And now the second important factor - weight.Which is better, weighing up to 250 kilograms per cubic meter of concrete block or mineral wool, the mass of which is no more than 30 pounds for the same cubic meter?Friability

expanded clay pellets depends on the size, which can have a diameter of less than 5 millimeters (sand), and up to 20-40 mm, and less krupnofraktsionny material.

But the findings do is premature.For example, for thermal insulation of floors you have enough 5-cm mineral wool layer.Accordingly, the expanded clay will need to pour 12 centimeters.Even if he weighs more fibrous insulation 8 times, hardly expanded granules of fired clay will require increasing the bearing capacity of the walls and foundation.Making the whole overlap area of ​​low box, fill it expanded clay, close vapor barrier, and a full order.It is necessary to take into consideration the fact that the smallest particles of mineral wool, getting into the lungs, can cause serious illness, and clay - an environmentally friendly product.

What can replace the concrete block, if there are analogs?

If you feel that your purpose - namely, to bulk insulation, concrete block too heavy, you can refer to other porous backfill and exfoliated.In particular, the analogue of expanded clay, similar in properties - agloporit, a sort of pumice with a similar structure to the glass.It made the filling of fusible clays, mixed with the charge of coal mining waste and shale, as well as ash and slag from furnaces TPP.However, this material is environmentally friendly is questionable.Another alternative to expanded clay - expanded perlite, moisture absorption had even lower than that of expanded clay, only 3-5%, but the thermal conductivity is only 0.04, like mineral wool.

best option than replacing concrete block - expanded vermiculite.This environmentally friendly material produced from rock, relating to hydromica group (remember the plate of mica, which is inserted into the window in Russia).For comparison thermal conductivity of 0.1 corresponds expanded clay, vermiculite and y - 0.08, which is 2 times lower than that of mineral wool .The volumetric weight of a cubic meter of expanded vermiculite is 100 kg, which is relatively little.The use of this material is expressed as a result of a thin layer of filling, less load on the floor and would be suitable as a basis for ties.

than harm concrete block, and is not it better to use the foam?

Often warnings appear on the Internet that, together with the materials, such as mineral wool, is quite harmful to health, but it has remarkable properties as a thermal insulation, concrete block is also a danger.What allegedly after a certain incubation period, expanded granules begin to excrete harmful substances.Is it so?First of all, let us turn to the source, by which we'll assume is not a manufacturer, and raw materials.Normal red clay that can swell when exposed to high temperatures.So what is harmful expanded clay, which is akin to a brick material?The information about the alleged toxins secreted by them no specifics there.

Another thing, if you choose, put as insulation foam or expanded clay.Any insulation requires protection from moisture along with a vapor barrier.However, if suddenly it so happens that moisture will penetrate into the thickness of a layer of expanded clay, beads in the presence of a ventilated gap it will work as a kind of drain, and then the moisture evaporates.The foam also tends to rot in a damp environment, in just a year, he is black, mold may develop on it.And, most worryingly, by any chance happen to fire (which would not want to), expanded clay, like bricks, did not react to it, but the foam will begin to excrete highly corrosive and harmful substances.