Insulation Materials recommended in AECB Gold Timber Frame

[Maureen Diffley]

The Gold standard recommends Wood fibre insulation in the 'Larsen truss'.  Which material is best for this?  Is there any need to support it at intervals?  Does it slump?  Over a two storey building is this ok?  Could one use cellulose here - would it slump over time?

Where one has a raft foundation with insulation running under and around the face - is there a proprietary insulation which is made for this?

[Mark Siddall]

Maureen,
I don't think that the standard recomends any particular construction - the standard is an energy performance standard. Whilst every effort has been made to make the details buildable I would say that the details are not recomendations is a specific sense rather a demonstration of a range of possible solutions. It is for the desiger to make an assessment about whether the detail is suitable for a given project and to determine how to impliment the details successfully.

If cellulose is not installed incorrectly it can slump, but with current technology and good skills I understand that the risk of slump has been minimised. As for wood fibre it is often a fairly rigid material - at least all the samples that I've seen. If installed so that there are no air gaps (so that it is encapsulated - say by a rigid board on either side for example) there should be no risk of slump.

Mark

[Andy Simmonds]

Thank you Mark - that was very helpful (and correct!).

[Mark Siddall]

Maureen,
Perhaps have a look at this thread for links to the under slab solution that you may be considering: http://www.aecb.net/forum/index.php?topic=2197.0

Mark