[Strawbale] Strawbale roof insulation

[Coralie & Andre de Bouter]

Dear Mark et al,

> (1) I can't help thinking, despite what has been written here, that wool
> insulation won't fully take off until it can be insect-proofed safely
> without being smelly, and this at a reasonable cost.
* In present consumer world, I agree. But consience needs to change as much
as our products do.

> (3) Can you give us more details, Andre, of what this good French book
> says?  What is the chemical treatment it refers to, and what health
> hazard does it pose?  (Most of the installations I've heard of use
> borax;
> I'm not aware of any significant health hazards associated with it but
> would certainly like to know - plus preferably see the evidence - if
> there are.)
* Isolation Ecologique 'par Jean Pierre Oliva, published by Terre Vivante, a
30 year old ecological center here in France) says:
The antimite products (Eulan, Mitin ou Konservan) are synthetic
pyrétrinoïdes. Of wich the the toxicity for hot blooded animals is very low,
but not negligable. Research is being done to 'stabilize' the molucule de
natural prynèthre of wich the life is reduced extreemly by oxidation.
The book also mentions the Borax as anti fire treatment.

> (4) I'm sure there's plenty of research still to be done on sheeps wool.
> To take one example, how significant is carding in the process of
> insulation production?  (CAT seem to think it was important in their
> building.)  The argument is that with less lumps you get less
> coldbridging and so a better insulant - but by what margin, and how
> would the lifetime savings compare with the energy costs of the carding
> process?

I like to get my products directly from the producer when I can. Putting in
a bit thicker layer probably has less impact on our environment than
installing a factory and sending truckloads over the country. This might not
be so easy for those who live in the big city, but then again, maybe some of
them should come and live in the country again. I don't think there exsist
solutions to make Paris (a few million habitants) livable.
Or as Pierre Rahbi puts it. Living in a system that is not repairable, we
better work towards an other system of living.

Greetings,
Andre



> atb,
> Mark
>
>
> Andre de Bouter wrote:
> >
> > > Industrially processed sheepswool is clean, easy to handle and does
> > > not smell a lot.
> > It also costs a lot more since they wash and treat the wool, plus
> > they (and the reseller) need to make a buck. I'm told (by a good
> > French book on Ecological Insulation) that the chemical treatment
> > used by almost all companies is not a healthy one for neither builder
> > nor owner.
> > But hey, it looks and smells really clean ;-)
> > Andre
> >
>
> Harald Wedig wrote:
> > > Hello Barbara,
> > > people have made mistakes with sheepwool insulation, just as with
chaff
> > > ( is that the right word for grain shells ?) and other organic
> > > materials. We all know, that organic materials are very sympathetic to
> > > ALL liveforms; not only to humans.
> > > We need to understand  wool like we need to understand straw, before
we
> > > can use it without any risk.
> > > Industrially processed sheepswool is clean, easy to handle and does
not
> > > smell a lot.
> > > Cheers, Harald
> > >
>
> Barbara Jones wrote:
> > > > Hi Harald
> > > > Glad to hear it is possible after all. I was sure it would be. Still
> > > > don't understand then the need for such commercialisation of sheeps
> > > > wool as a product, though am glad it's coming into mainstream.
> > > > Perhaps because the "ordinary" buyer wants something that looks like
> > > > rockwool?
> > > > Best wishes
> > > > Barbara
>
>
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