Irish insulation vs UK?

cormie

I've been doing research into insulation for a van and have gotten good info from the UK, but they seem to have different brands there than we do here. I'm almost afraid to post this as I know there's a lot of differing opinions and I've researched so much into insulation already, that I'm almost back to square one in terms of what to go for with all the different opinions haha.

I was given a leftover roll of supasoft plastic insulation by someone but it seems hard to get the same stuff in Ireland at a good price. Its wmk value is 0.040, the plastic insulation stuff in B&Q is 0.044, but then there's earthwool you can get that's 0.032 or 0.037.

My local builder providers doesn't have Earthwool at the moment and said there's supply issues with it at the moment, but they can get Moy insulation 100mm with 0.037 wmk. It's a mineral wool and 14m2 would be €39

For the flatter parts of the wall, I'm happy to go with xtratherm boards, 50mm 2240x1220 with a wmk value of 0.022 which is better than the rolls above, they are just under €25 a board locally.

Would love to get the insulation sorted tomorrow for the weekend if possible, so just need to decide on what roll to get. The coverage of that Moy 100mm seems good value, but I never heard of it until today and I've never seen it recommended on any of the groups.

Would also settle on Knauf Earthwool, there's both rock and glass, but I think rock is meant to be better. I reckon about 10m3 coverage should hopefully do for the spaces I need it!

Any last minute feedback or suggestions of where to buy around South Dublin would be great

booooonzo

research using rock or glass wool in your van walls. doesn't handle moisture well

Lumen

There's a couple of Moy products. Is it the Metac rafter roll you're looking at? I'd expect that to work better than regular low-density earthwool as it's designed to friction fit between rafters so should hold its shape better.

Woodfibre might be worth looking at if moisture is a consideration, e.g, Pavatex Pavaflex or Gutex Thermoflex. Heavier but more thermal mass than rock/glass wool so should even out day-nights temps better. I made a chick coop out of woodfibre recently and the thermal performance is amazing.

cormie

Thanks a lot for the replies! I'm going to be be putting a vapour barrier over it so I'm hoping the moisture thing won't be an issue?

I don't actually know what moy insulation it is, all they mentioned was it's 14m2 of moy insulation so it could be anything really

Weight is actually a concern, I'd like it to be as light as possible.

I'm going to be following this guide as close as I can with what's available locally I guess!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDZBJw7cV2U

cormie

Just doing more research on this, are Moy and Isover the same company?

Lumen

cormie wrote: »

Just doing more research on this, are Moy and Isover the same company?

As far as I can tell, Isover is a brand of Saint-Gobain, and Moy is an Irish company which distributes Isover.

https://www.saint-gobain.com/en/isover
https://search.cro.ie/company/CompanyDetails.aspx?id=41766&type=C

Or something. :pac:

cormie

Haha that's some good detective work I was thinking Moy was the old name or something!

That metac stuff you mentioned looks to be pretty well rated thermally, but is quite expensive.

Also from what I've seen, knauf is much nicer to work with.

I may give knauf a call and see what they suggest for use in a van and if the glass is ok or if I should try get the rock!

Lumen

The issue I'd have with the lower density insulation is that it might slump down the sides of the van, particularly since the sides are (presumbably) smooth metal and the van is going to be bouncing around on a regular basis.

I reckon going for the rafter-fit Metac or acoustic rockwool is worth the investment.

Even the acoustic stuff (which is higher density than the usual attic roll stuff) is still fairly fluffy.

edit: have you considered using insulated attic boards for the floor? Like these:

https://www.goodwins.ie/products/Xtratherm-Loft-Walk-Board-1.2-x-0.6mtr-x-86mm.html

cormie

Thanks again for the reply! I'm really only going to be putting the roll into small crevices. I'll be using PIR board anywhere else that can take it, so I'm not too worried about the roll slumping as it'll be in small gaps and pieces anyway and there's a fair few supports in the wall that it'll be resting against.

The floor is done already, that had to have it's own research and headache around as there were a few specific requirements for that with thickness etc but thanks for the suggestion

cormie

I might go with this one, has good thermal properties of 0.034 and seems it'll fit snug too, a bit more expensive, but I may only need the one roll, max two:

https://tjomahony.ie/1203100-1.html

That's the best price I've found in Dublin so far.

cormie

Ah here, after watching the above video again, I see it IS glass earthwool he's using :pac:

This seems to be the exact one: https://www.hpc-ric.ie/index.php/products/knauf/product/255-knauf-earthwool-dritherm-37-standard-cavity-wall-insulation

which is the same group as TJ O'Mahony. The omni grip might be the better choice as it's better thermally and may sag less? I'll need to check the weight of each though as I need to be careful with the load weight in the van too!