Isolation in corks recovered?

[Valoucondors]

Hello, people collect plastic caps to help the disabled, hence my idea!

I have a small sewing workshop, but in winter it's cold because it's a garage, so I want to isolate it, but the challenge with my children is to isolate this workshop without spending money and with a maximum of recycled materials.

So I have floor on the project and I propose to fix wooden slats, style 40/20 on the height and this every x cm, then I fix the remains of old parquet and between the wall and this parquet, I thought to fix pieces of cork stoppers, in a bag or free? more possibly put a simple large plastic on the wall before starting, what do you think? ideas, suggestions, advice, thank you all and this site is great

[Superform]

Hello,

I think it's a good idea.
To improve it, choppers should be chopped.
An assoc was doing this in my corner, but they gave up (not profitable)

in bulk, not in plastic bags. Possibly fabric bags to make it easier to install

[Christophe]

Above all, you have to find a few alcoholics who drink booze because to make 1m3 of insulation (or about 4 to 6m ² of "good" insulation) you need plugs ...

Here the container park ( https://www.econologie.com/forums/reportage- ... t2273.html ) collect the corks (gratos of course) which are valued (dearly) by companies ... at the same time garbage taxes keep increasing ...

[chatelot16]

the plastic plugs are not insulating at all: whole it is too big, it lets the air convection passing around

the plastic of the crushed plugs may not insulate a lot, since this plastic is an average conductor of heat

cork stoppers are much better: crushed and packed makes a good insulator

the cork stoppers are as well whole mixed with glass wool waste: the glass wool avoids convection between the stoppers, the rigidity of the stoppers prevents this mixture from packing as glass wool alone

the same kind of mixture is interesting with pieces of expanded polystyrene and old glass wool

all the old glass wool that goes to landfill could be used in mixture with something else

[Ahmed]

I'm not sure that adding old glass wool is a good idea, Chatelot16. There is a real risk of leaching fine particles of glass wool through the inevitable cracks in the interior wall and, from what I have been told, old glass wool is even more harmful than new one.

Filling with cellulose wadding would surely be preferable and it is already recovery ...
Another, ultra-economical solution would be to simply use (dry) sawdust.

[chatelot16]

I use old glass wool because I have some ... if you have cellulose wadding all the better for you!

sawdust is not insulating ... less conductive than sand, but not insulating

the same for the wood chips: fairly average conduction: but mixed with glass wool it could have useful insulating qualities

[Ahmed]

Old glass wool, I also have some (it's not a rare commodity!), That doesn't take away from its harmfulness; moreover, it is neither you nor me, but the problem of Valoucondors...
Sawdust is a good insulator since it is a mixture of wood (low thermal conductivity) and air; as regards forest chips, their insulating qualities depend on the grain size: it is necessary that the interstitial air is confined in micro-cavities ...

[chatelot16]

so that an insulation remains dry it is important to have a good seal between the interior and the insulation: vapor barrier, alas this sealing is often too aproximative ... the adhesive tape of connection between the vapor barriers makes me laugh ! .... in my house it is a polyethylene sheet overlapping widely

so the dust from glass wool has no chance of coming back inside

you say that so that the wafer is insulating it is necessary to avoid that the air circulates between the pieces: it is well the pricipe of the fine fibers that it is of glass or cellulose

[Obamot]

I propose to fix wooden slats, style 40/20 on the height and this every x cm, then I fix the remains of old parquet and between the wall and this parquet, I thought to fix pieces of cork stoppers, in bags or free? more possibly put a simple large plastic on the wall before starting, what do you think? ideas, suggestions, advice, thank you all and this site is great

The main problem is a sealing issue. As soon as air passes - one way or another - the benefit of the insulation will be lost.

But why put something? In the double windows, there is a gas or air and it insulates very well! (But as everyone knows, these windows are airtight.)

Back to cork. Why does this material insulate? Because it is light and all light materials are the best insulators there is (with air at the top of the pyramid).

So why do we put lightweight insulation panels instead of using free air? Precisely because the air must be confined to ensure insulation and it is not easy to do.

But I worked on your idea and there may be a solution.

For that, first of all, it is necessary to remove all the interstices of the wall to be insulated (remove any air path - including if there are electrical boxes / sockets, whose sheaths can be sealed with silicone, without put it in the socket itself - then also putty any cracks, etc.).

Then, why not drill joists the diameter of the standard interior neck of the bottles? Which would give this (with a hole provided to receive each plug every 20 or 30cm into which each plug would come to insert each time - we must make insertion tests and chamfer the orifice of the holes to remove their edges sharp -): Here is a FRONT VIEW canvas (of the wall to be insulated):
___________________________________________________
O______O______O______O______O______O______O______O



___________________________________________________
O______O______O______O______O______O______O______O



___________________________________________________
O______O______O______O______O______O______O______O



___________________________________________________
O______O______O______O______O______O______O______O




___________________________________________________
O______O______O______O______O______O______O______O



___________________________________________________
O______O______O______O______O______O______O______O



___________________________________________________
O______O______O______O______O______O______O______O



___________________________________________________
O______O______O______O______O______O______O______O

It would then suffice to turn the plugs facing the wall (here represented with the letter "H" to show one part inserted and the rest "pending"), then fix with small brackets (in red) on the side wall (or a frame joist or intermediate vertical section)
(and not on the cold gable wall) PLAN VIEW:

[____________________________________________]
H______H______H______H______H______H______H______H
______________________(Wall)

If you want to hide the brackets, you can put them on the side of the joist, but it all depends on how you want to fix the wooden panels that will close the sections (section by section of dimension to be determined, and panels screwed on the joists taking advantage of their presence to make the joint) and which will cover the whole and ensure the seal (precisely in the area where we see the brackets on the plan view above in red).

Thus, to summarize, only the end of the plugs will rest on the wall, ensuring optimal insulation. Obviously it is better to proceed by section of caissons which allows to put vertical reinforcing joists, for good stability of the whole => for example every linear meter (instead of stoppers).

Sealing operations
1) The ideal is to make a frame in joists all around, to have a good seat and an easier sealing on the edges (but then it will be necessary to stick the joist to the polyurethane foam, which will seal at the same time) without counting the screwing to the wall, of course;

2) Without frame (or with), first you have to make / place a seal all around (side sides + ceiling side + ground side) perfectly waterproof, easier with a frame, which acts as a de facto seal if it is glued to the foam (if not a little more than the thickness of the cork stoppers, so that it comes "to force" and prevent any passage of air). This is more difficult to do because you have to be careful, but still easy by cutting 1 inch (at least) wide sections of polystyrene with a cutter. extruded, and that each time it will be necessary to adjust between the 30cm spaces between each cork stoppers (on the edges of the frame and also against the sections). This joint can be glued using polyurethane foam (give it a try, it takes very little and it is also very tight if you put it all along ...).

3) To ensure the watertightness of the panels which will be screwed from the front into the joists, it can also be done with foam, but it is better to put a thin bead of silicone to place in the appropriate places, in case the 'we should dismantle one or the other of the panels one day ...

The advantages of this method VS to an insulation completely made of polystyrene panel, it is that:
- we use the ambient air and recovery plugs as insulation, which costs nothing (insulating, except the panels and joists);
- the insulation coefficient will be higher than the panels;
- there will be wooden panels more resistant than extruded polystyrene, on which we can possibly fix something not too heavy.
- you do it yourself using a little more free time, but it costs less.
- we can add a vapor barrier membrane (to avoid condensation problems)

The inconvenients
- if we have poorly insulated, if air passes, then we will lose the benefit of the insulation ... But we can verify this with a small compressor and a balloon. Just drill a hole and put a balloon in it to inflate. Then another small hole in which we will blow air with the compressor. The pressure will be stopped once the balloon is inflated. Then we will wait to see if the balloon remains under pressure (if so, there is no leak, if not, we have to plug it up and start again). If it deflates after 48 hours, it is better to leave it like that and it is rather a good sign, because it will allow the humidity to be evacuated ...
- therefore not careful workers, refrain ...

The advantages of insulation in polystyrene panels:
- it is cheaper in terms of implementation (whatever it is still better to cover with wood, because it is fragile)
- it is therefore less expensive, if we do not intend to protect by grooved-crested, but that does not prevent the creation of an airtight zone.
- the sealed area can still be colonized by mold if there is condensation that forms between the wall and the insulation;
- there can be no air leakage, but it is also better to seal with care.

In both cases, do not heat too much inside because of the many cold bridges (we are in ITI)

[Ahmed]

Chatelot16: finally, I pretty much agree with you! With this reservation, I do not find the handling of glass wool very desirable, but, with caution ...

Obamot: Devil if I understand a treacherous word about your method!
You write:

But why put something? In double glazing, there is a gas or air and it insulates very well!

It is difficult to do otherwise if we want to keep the main function of the window which is the lighting!
This does not prove that this is, in general, the best way to do it since there remains the problem of the convection of gases between the two glass walls: it is only a compromise between insulation and transparency / translucency.