Nontraditional insulation- Anyone use it?

[NurseELB]

I'm gonna look into it tomorrow. See if I can find a shop with online pricing. Otherwise, next time I can get around town will be Thursday. I was wondering what to put up inside that would clean easy. I have peel n stick vinyl for the floor, and then I can use that foot/wall bendy vinyl stuff with silicone to seal the corners- It'll be waterproof

Stay tuned...

 

[chickbird]

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i've used cardboard and in my use it was very good insulation . but needs to be kept dry.

 

[PineappleMama]

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Well... if you insist...

Hehe... oh man, even I'll admit THAT was a bad one.

 

[tammyd57]

I used an old spa cover as the roof of my coop to insulate it from the sun as it gets very hot here. It was free and it's made out of a 5" thick hard foam rubber with a thick vinyl cover. You could probably find those for free on Craigslist from people who have had to replace theirs due to the cover deteriorating. They have a very high insulating factor and come in great big pieces (mine is 4' x 8'). I think some are a bit thinner also, maybe 4". It would be pretty easy to cut to whatever size you need with a serrated knife.

ETA: I wouldn't think you would have any pest problems with this material either.

 

[sashurlow]

I found fiberglass to be the cheapest. Really, it not that expensive. 20-30 dollars for enough to insulate my 4x6 coop. To make it last longer I bought 8 inch thick fiberglass and pulled it in half to make it 4 inch thick. Of course its not waterproof but hopefully your outside wall will be.
Scott

 

[patandchickens]

The two big things to watch out for are a) rodents and b) mold. Personally I would use a well-installed vapor barrier of some sort on the INSIDE of the wall, if I were going to use something organic like straw or sawdust or etc. And make sure your carpentry is SUPER tight so there are not easy ways for mice to squooge themselves in there and start breeding (it only takes a 1/4" crack...)

I am not sure whether straw would really be the best material, if you want organic -- do some googling and see how its R value compares to wood shavings.

If you just want "free", though, remember you can get lots of styrofoam for free if you just scrounge around for a while. Ask at stores... a lot of places get merchandise packed in styrofoam (sometimes nice plain 1-2" styrofoam sheets, sometimes contoured pieces whose voids can be filled with packing peanuts) and they are often HAPPY to get rid of it for free as opposed to filling up their paid-for dumpsters with it

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Minniechickmama]

If you are talking straw/clay mix, I would go with cob ( included sand too ). You don't really need to use anything else unless you want to seal it, then you could use an earthen plaster. Like I said, check out the book I suggested or one called, hold on now, Earthen Plasters. A clever name, huh? Your walls are pretty thick, and you should cover it with a plaster that would harden well. If you have a good foundation and a good roof (could make it a really cool living roof), then your walls should be safe from invasion. Another nice thing is that is a wall that breathes, so you don't have to worry as much about the "sick house" effect. We actually thought about building a house of cob (okay, my hubby did) but it would take us for-ev-er. But I would like to try doing our own little spa or meditation room, or maybe just a garden wall to start off. There are a lot of people in the northwest who have done this. If you ever get down to Eugene, there is a place called Cottage Grove and there are people there who have workshops to teach this. I would suggest checking out a structure made of cob before doing this though. It gives great opportunity to be creative and unique.
It is cheap, but don't expect it to be easy.

 

[TXbeginner]

This is an interesting link on this topic.

http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/2009/10/21/world-hands-project-pallet-houses-in-mexico/

Click on the cob link on that page to find out more about the material. Could be a fun project on a small scale if you have the time for it.

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

For a hundred years straw and saw dust were used as insulation in situations described above. Corn cobs not so much but I suppose it would be OK until the vermin found the inevitible corn included with the cobs.

Use of those two products has been all but abandonded. Reasons- it becomes a habitat for parasitic and other insects, habitation for rodents, degrades and or settles leaving void areas over time. The problems arising from moisture are too numerous to mention.

I had a mono slope shed roof once that I insulated between the rafters with layers of cardboard cut to fit and also with styrofoam packaging peanuts held up against the sheating with card board or reused metal attached to the bottom of the rafters. Didn't work to bad. Walls- well fiberglass insulation is probably going to win the cost/durability/installation/R value game.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I must laugh, "cob" building has nothing to do with corn cobs. I guess I forgot about that misunderstanding with mentioning this. Cob is a way of building using clay, sand and straw and you do this by adding a small lump, also called a cob, to build the walls. It is a very old method that has been around for hundreds of years and there are buildings in the Middle East and Meditteranean that have been standing for 900-1000 years made of cob. It is an inexpensive way to build if you have the raw materials available and you do it yourself. Also, it lends to be as creative as you want to be and have a unique house. As I said, it takes a long time unless you have a crew of friends willing to pitch in.