The number one insulation material, glass wool is a natural insulator sold in the form of panels or rolls and available in all DIY stores. Economical, good thermal and sound insulation, incombustible, rot-proof and easy to install, it has undeniable advantages which explain its success throughout the world. On the other hand, it is not without drawbacks. Let’s take a look at its features, pros, cons, and cost.
What are the characteristics of glass wool? What price ?
If glass wool is a solution for insulating your home, it is the insulation most frequently installed by professionals and individuals. This material is entirely natural since it is a mineral wool, created by the fusion of recycled glass and sand or cullet. It is often compared to its close cousin, stone wool, which is another mineral insulator.
Glass wool is both a thermal and sound insulator, even if it is above all known and effective in the first case. To insulate the walls of your house, the roofs, the ceilings or the attic, it is sold in the form of rolls or panels. In both cases, it has the form of a mattress of fine fibres, flexible and particularly solid.
Glass wool has the great advantage of being inexpensive, which is why it is so frequently installed. Indeed, it takes on average between 5 and 20 euros per square meter. Note, however, that glass wool sold in panels is significantly more expensive than glass wool in the form of rolls.
What are the advantages of this material?
Glass wool is an insulating material that has many advantages:
- Glass wool offers excellent performance in terms of thermal and sound insulation.
- Its price is very interesting and much less expensive than other insulators on the market.
- Rot-proof, glass wool has a long lifespan.
- It is a natural material that poses no danger to the health of the occupants of the house.
- Glass wool is a non-flammable material.
- It is an ideal insulator for attics, cellars and outdoor shelters, as it is resistant to rodents and other pests.
- Glass wool is accessible everywhere and sold in all DIY stores.
- It can insulate all kinds of surfaces (ceilings, attics, inhabited attics, walls, partitions, roofs, etc.).
- Elastic and flexible, it is easy to install and adapts to all spaces, including the most cramped and constrained.
What are the disadvantages of this insulation?
If glass wool has undeniable advantages, it still has some disadvantages:
- The laying of glass wool cannot be done without gloves, mask, glasses and protective clothing, as it is very irritating to the skin and eyes.
- Although it is of natural origin and recyclable, it has a negative ecological balance, in particular because its raw materials are not renewable.
- Its sensitivity to water makes glass wool a material suitable only for fully sealed and non-humid rooms. In addition, to better regulate humidity, it should be laid with a vapor barrier.
- Glass wool tends to settle on contact with water or humidity. If your home is exposed to these, it will need to be replaced.
- If it is a good thermal insulator, its acoustic performance is limited.