Environmentally friendly fibreboard for thermal and sound insulation of houses

There is a lot of discussion about insulating the facades of houses, about the advantages and disadvantages of such insulation, about how quickly the costs pay for themselves thanks to lower energy bills. A hotly debated topic is polystyrene boards, which are not always the best solution. The low fire resistance and the fact that it does not allow the home to exchange moisture with the environment, increasing the risk of condensation and mould I am sure you have heard all sorts of debates. As an alternative, among the solutions on the market we have found one that will catch your attention. A natural and environmentally friendly optionfor thermal and sound insulation of houses.These are fibreboards (wood fibre boards) for insulating houses.

In Romania, fibreboards for insulation distributeNaturalpaint. Knowing the company's preference for natural and environmentally friendly products, as well as their commitment to environmentally friendly technologies, it's no surprise that they have such products. In addition to natural paints and oils for floor covering or awood used outdoorsI also found information about these wood fibre boards, produced in Germany using environmentally friendly technologies.

The plates are produced by the company Gutex Holzfaserplattenwerk. The company is based in Waldshut-Tiengen in the Black Forest mountains, 20 km from the source of the Danube. Since 1932, the company has been producing fibreboard here using pine and spruce wood waste from local wood processing factories.

The same source of raw material is still used today. The boards are environmentally friendly because only untreated wood is used and the manufacturing processes are as 'clean' as possible, with very few additives added. Apart from the wood fibre, the boards have only 4% polyurethane adhesive to form the board and 2% paraffin to make the board water resistant.

Using wood fibre boards to insulate wooden or brick buildings has a number of advantages:

• Reduces energy consumption in winter. Wood has a high heat storage and retention capacity. In fact, it is the building material with the highest heat storage capacity. For this reason, homes insulated with such materials will keep the heat inside for longer in winter, lowering heating costs.
• Maintains a cool environment during hot summer periods. Wood is a good thermal insulator, so it stores heat without distributing it. Heat from the outside will be stored in the walls, but not distributed inside the house, and the atmosphere remains cool. In short, it will be warm in winter and cool in summer.
• Allows moisture exchange with the environment. As the fibres are obtained from wood, they retain its property of exchanging moisture with the environment. This means that your home will not be insulated like a plastic bag, but will be able to 'breathe', avoiding condensation and mould.
• Soundproofs the home. Wood is a good sound insulator and passes on this property to the boards. Used to insulate walls and roofs, it will help reduce noise levels in the home.

Gutex Thermowall eco-friendly fibreboard distributed by Naturalpaint can be used for both exterior and interior insulation. On the outside they are used to insulate facades and roofs, and on the inside for attic insulation (areas between the rafters), sound insulation between levels or insulation under floors.

The thicknesses of the tiles vary depending on the type of use, the largest being 240 mm. If needed, they can be stacked to achieve the desired thickness. Installation is simple, as the boards are factory-built so that they can be joined nut and groove (tongue and groove).

Of course, some materials are still needed to mount the tiles, but you don't have to worry, as the whole mounting system, with adhesives and dowel system, comes with the tiles. After mounting, the tiles can be plastered directly with mineral facade plaster.

Fibreboard is used for both new buildings and for insulating old ones. They are perfectly usable in construction with all the necessary certificates and comply with all EC requirements for building safety, environmental protection and fire protection. We also witnessed a Comparative fire resistance test between expanded polystyrene, basaltic mineral wool, Gutex wood fibre panels. There you will also find a video which we believe will emphasise what we are saying.

In addition to all these certificates, the producers also boast something else. The fact that the wood they use comes from sustainable forests, where cultivation and harvesting is done according to the principles of sustainable forest management according to PEFC and FSC standards.

We all want to live in beautiful, comfortable and above all safe homes where we feel protected, so I thought it would be useful to know about this environmentally friendly option for insulating homes using fibreboard.