Are you planning on undertaking an extension to your home, while there will be a lot of hurdles to overcome, such as the Party Wall Procedures, Planning Applications and Contractor Selection, Sustainability doesn’t need to be one of them!
Have you considered straw insulation! On first impressions, this sounds like a bizarre idea, however in practice it is actually highly effective and very cheap.
As a loose product, straw is highly flammable; however don’t panic, when packed into bales, the straw is held so tightly together and is so dense they are naturally highly fire resistant.
The straw bales themselves are obviously a very malleable material and therefore the thickness, can be adjusted as chosen, making it suitable for most to all houses.
A slight negative in the material use is that although it acts efficiently as a thermal insulator, as with most things, it is only highly effective when in thick quantities, therefore conventional insulation will likely give better results when directly compared; energy for inch.
As the straws has to be tightly packed and sealed in order to pass fire regulations, in doing this where the complication, time and cost increase. Conventional insulation allows the user to simply roll out the sheet and put it in place, whereas straw insulation needs to be tucked very tightly and sealed, this process is very time consuming and hence drives the cost per square metre up.
Straw itself is very cheap, with the UK producing in excess of 4 million tonnes per year; however, the labour and ‘specialist’ skills needed in order for it to be installed properly are where the weight of the costs originates.
This is defiantly one for those with the aim to be green! The reality is, conventional insulation will offer a far superior thermal quality inch for inch!
If you’d like to discuss your proposed work with our team of qualified and experienced Surveyors, please give us a call and we will be more than happy to assist.
