Business and EDU

3 Housing Insulation Alternatives To Asbestos

Alternatives To Asbestos

Anyone finding asbestos in their home will, considering the serious health risks involved, want to remove this material as quickly as possible. However, a house without any insulation whatsoever will be much colder in the winter and, with the severe winters that Britain has been experiencing recently, a non-insulated house is not somewhere that many would want to come home to. Here are some effective alternatives to this material.

Alternatives To Asbestos

Natural Material

The environmentally friendly nature of this alterative is making it increasingly popular today. If wool can keep a sheep warm during a life spent mainly in the British outdoors, then it will also be effective as a property insulator and is an effective substitute for synthetic glass fibre or mineral wool that, although the cheapest option available, is not a nice material to work with.

Other options include Thermafleece, hemp, Thermohemp, Homatherm and so forth. This is the cheapest option available and comes in roll form, as well as in slabs that are harder and good for insulating walls.

Polyurethanes and Extruded Polystyrene

This is the catch all name for a group of plastic, gas-based foams, with the most common forms known as Celotex and Kingspan. This is an expensive option, but they are more effective than natural materials and do not take up much space. These come in board form and, as such, fitting them on sloping roofs necessitates a lot of cutting to size. Extruded polystyrene is a denser variant of this type of insulation and is designed for use under ground-based floors that will obviously be colder than other areas of the house.

Multi-foils

This is the best of insulation and one that is a popular choice for those looking to insulate slopping roofs. This option is composed of layers of aluminium and foam padding rolled together. This offers a level of insulation much more effective than you would expect from something that measures only 25mm in width.

Cost Efficient in the Long Run

On top of the forms mentioned above, all these types of insulation can also be installed using a blower machine and this is a common form of installation for roofs. Installing insulation is something that even the most amateur of DIYer can do and do well, as long as the right research and preparation is done beforehand. Despite the difficult working conditions, there are large savings on heating bills, compared with uninsulated houses, which means that any outlay here will see a return on the investment after a short period of time. Indeed the Energy Savings Trust guarantees that, for every 250mm of loft insulation installed, for instance, you will see annual energy bill savings of around £90, meaning that the investment will be back in your pocket after less than 2 years.

Take Care

However, regardless of any work done, it is nevertheless vital that you dispose of any asbestos carefully and that you look after the health of anyone living in the property. Asbestos can cause serious dangers to your long-term health and a doctor should be consulted to make sure you are free from harm. And, if you have contracted any symptoms do not hesitate to contact the National Mesothelioma Claim Line to help guarantee you secure your rights under UK law.

Author Bio

The author’s father has apparently made it his life’s work to board and insulate lofts and not a weekend went by when his cursing and blinding wasn’t haunting the home. Simon has been writing guides for DIYers for over 4 years and his blogs are nailed to nice websites around the web.

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