Thermal conductivity of expanded clay bulk: technical characteristics, properties. Expanded clay or mineral wool, what to choose as a heater How to calculate expanded clay consumption

20.06.2020

The most important criterion when choosing building materials used for the construction and arrangement of any structure, is thermal conductivity. With a decrease in its value, the temperature in the rooms increases, and the cost of heating them decreases. The best thermal insulation characteristics are inherent in materials with a closed cell structure. Expanded clay is often used in construction, the high popularity of which is also due to its relatively low weight, excellent soundproofing properties, and affordable price.

According to reference data, the thermal conductivity coefficient of this material is 0.1 - 0.18 W / (m * K). The value of this indicator is influenced by a combination of factors, the main of which are:

humidity;
granule size;
bulk density, layer thickness.

To exclude the dependence of the thermal conductivity of expanded clay on the presence of moisture, you should take care of the waterproofing of the floor in advance.

Expanded clay as a heater

Classifying such a heater according to the method of obtaining and the size of the granules, several of its varieties are distinguished:

gravel;
crushed stone;
sand.

The first is rounded grains 2-4 cm in size, having a porous structure, covered with a strong shell. It is the presence of closed cells containing air that makes it possible to use expanded clay gravel as a heater. It is obtained by swelling light grades of clay. This fraction is characterized by the best thermal insulation properties.

Expanded clay crushed stone is a product of crushing expanded soft clay into fractions of 1-2 cm in size. As a result, elements are formed that have an irregular, often angular shape. If only grains of this type are included in the composition of the insulation, then the thermal conductivity of expanded clay will be slightly higher.

A by-product formed during the production of two main fractions is expanded clay sand, which is a grain of 0.5-1 cm in size. It has worse thermal insulation properties compared to gravel and crushed stone. This variety is used mainly as a porous filler, which is part of concrete screed.

Effect of Bulk Density and Layer Thickness on Total Thermal Conductivity

Provided that equal thermal insulation properties are achieved, the expanded clay gravel layer will have a smaller thickness compared to crushed stone. The load on the floor in the first case is lower - this is due to the difference in bulk density. This parameter characterizes the ratio of the total mass of granules (in this case, expanded clay) to their total volume without taking into account the gaps between them and the inevitable chips.

The density of expanded clay takes values from 250 to 800 kg/m3.

In practice, a mixture of three fractions is used as a heater: gravel, crushed stone, sand. In this way, the greatest rigidity and the smallest layer thickness are achieved, and the convection movement of heated air along the formed voids between the granules is also prevented. Therefore, when calculating the height of the expanded clay layer, it would be more correct to be guided by the value of the true density, which is 1.5-2 times higher than the bulk density. Its recommended thickness when laying on the ground is 25-30 cm. When insulating a concrete floor, it should not be less than 10 cm.

Comparison with mineral wool and foam

Polyfoam has good insulating properties, which are expressed by a specific value - 0.047 W / (m * K). It is widely used for decoration of apartment or private houses, office buildings. But, despite the large, at first glance, the efficiency of the foam plate (relative to the expanded clay layer) - this is far from always the case.

Where the arrangement of surfaces that are subject to frequent mechanical stress, significant loads is required, it is better to use a mixture of gravel and crushed stone. However, with thermal insulation of walls, floors of attic rooms, foam plastic will be more effective. In addition, it has a low weight, is characterized by a smaller thickness compared to other heaters. All this allows it to be used where excessive loads on the floor are unacceptable.

When insulating with foam plastic, additional waterproofing is not required. However, like most polymer materials, flammability is inherent.

Mineral wool is also widely used to protect housing from the cold. But even in this case, it is not worth comparing the thermal conductivity of mineral wool and expanded clay, even though its value in the first case is much lower (0.048-0.07 W / (m * K)). Such heaters are used in different occasions. So, for wall cladding, ceilings in private houses with inside premises, neither gravel, nor crushed stone, nor, moreover, expanded clay sand are absolutely not suitable. The mineral wool here will be practically irreplaceable.

However, it is a rather voluminous insulating material. Any attempts to compress it will lead to a decrease in the volume of air contained in the mineral wool, and hence to a decrease in efficiency. In addition, mineral wool should be used with extreme caution. This type of insulation has a negative effect on the human body. Similar characteristic says that all laying work should be done only with the use of tools personal protection.

The efficiency of the heating system largely depends on the insulation used for thermal insulation of walls and ceilings. Expanded clay or mineral wool evaluated in terms of practicality, cost, performance.

Thermal conductivity is not the only indicator used to evaluate the merits thermal insulation materials. The thermal conductivity coefficient of mineral wool is about 0.04 W / (m * K), and expanded clay - 0.1-0.18 W / (m * K). During operation, this indicator is influenced by the scope, the thickness of the insulation layer, and the level of humidity.

The practicality of mineral wool and expanded clay granules is evaluated by a number of parameters:

Characteristics	Expanded clay	mineral wool
Thermal conductivity	0.18 W/(m*K)	0.048 W/(m*K)
Layer thickness	950 mm	253 mm
Condensation	Not	Yes - vapor barrier required
475 kg/m²	10.1 kg/m²
Environmental friendliness	Clay is a natural material	Phenolic resins are used in the production of mineral wool
fire safety	Incombustible	With direct exposure to fire, the adhesive binder burns, releasing phenol
Biostability	Resistant to fungi, mold. Not a habitat for insects and rodents

Mineral wool or expanded clay can be used to insulate a horizontal surface. Vertical backfill will settle over time, bursting the walls. Moisture resistant expanded clay granules are considered the best insulation basements, basements and bathrooms. Lightweight cotton wool insulation is carefully isolated from living quarters to eliminate health hazards.

Subject to the installation rules, manufacturers of both types of insulation guarantee a service life of more than 50 years.

Which is cheaper: comparing the cost of two materials

1 cubic meter of expanded clay gravel can be bought for 1500 rubles, 1 roll of mineral wool measuring 8200 × 1220 × 50 mm costs from 1400 rubles.

The cost estimate for insulation should include the cost of:

for the services of loaders - for the delivery of heavy bags with expanded clay;
additional expendable materials- timber, vapor barrier membrane, fasteners;
personal protective equipment - important when using mineral wool insulation.

For the simultaneous solution of the problems of thermal insulation and sound insulation, it is clear that mineral wool is better. Expanded clay is not a heater, and the cheapness of the material can be completely offset by the need to use it in large quantities.

Expanded clay reviews

Alexander, 42 years old, Volgograd: “I used expanded clay for floor screed in the bathroom and toilet. Waterproofing "Osnovit", 7 cm layer filled with cement milk, on top cement-sand screed and tiles. Fine, warm."

Aleksey, 38 years old, Saratov: “I covered the roof of the attic of the old house with a layer of 20 cm with expanded clay. It became warmer, and the rain was not so audible.”

Even if the heating system is of high quality, efficient and reliable, without good insulation these figures are reduced to a minimum due to the large heat loss. It is necessary to insulate the floor, roof, walls, ceilings of residential buildings. Expanded clay or mineral wool is most often used as a heater.

Expanded clay is a light, due to the porous structure, building material that is made from heaving clay. This bulk breathable material is durable.

Mineral wool is a soft rolled artificial insulation. They make it from carbon alloys and metal waste. It has good technical performance and is durable.

Both heat insulators have advantages and disadvantages. Before making a choice, consider performance characteristics each heater. The main ones are thermal conductivity and weight. The thermal conductivity coefficient of expanded clay is 0.1, for mineral wool - 0.04. Therefore, mineral wool releases less heat than expanded clay with the same thickness. The weight of expanded clay is 250 kilograms per cubic meter, and the mass of mineral wool is only 30 kilograms. Expanded clay is characterized by a high degree of soundproofing, which has importance in residential construction. Mineral wool in this indicator is not inferior. And also the affordable price of both materials plays a big role. The choice of one or another material depends on the specific conditions of the construction of financial and technical capabilities. In addition, these heaters perfectly complement each other. Often they are combined. If you use building materials separately, then it should be borne in mind that expanded clay is a completely natural material and does not contain toxins. And mineral wool is a fragile and non-moisture resistant material, which is unsafe for the human body, if it enters the lungs, it has a harmful effect.

Expanded clay analogues

If expanded clay turns out to be a heavy material for the planned construction work, then other porous backfills can be selected. Agloporite is an analogue of expanded clay - pumice, similar in structure to glass. But the material is not so environmentally friendly, it contains a variety of harmful additives. As an option, expanded perlite is used. Its thermal conductivity is like that of mineral wool, and moisture absorption is slightly lower than that of expanded clay. Expanded vermiculite will be the best option in terms of its characteristics. The material is non-toxic, expanded clay weighs less. Therefore, it exerts less load on the floor.

Can expanded clay emit harmful substances

There is an opinion that expanded clay after a while can release substances harmful to the body. It's better to use styrofoam. But expanded clay is ordinary red clay, which can swell under the influence of high temperatures. Therefore, the assumption about the harmfulness of the material is not justified. In addition, if foam is chosen as a heater, then if moisture enters it, it will begin to rot, and in a year it will turn black and mold will appear. And expanded clay in this case, due to the ventilated gap, will not retain moisture in itself, it will evaporate. In addition, expanded clay is fire resistant, like brick, and will not be damaged in the event of a fire. Styrofoam at the same time will emit substances harmful to health.

Expanded clay and mineral wool are traditional Construction Materials time-tested. The best option would be a combination of heaters. When choosing a specific one, it is important to take into account the core operational and physical specifications both.

During the construction process, in order to reduce heat loss, the walls, floors and ceilings of houses are necessarily insulated. As a heater, special building materials are used - expanded polystyrene, polystyrene, expanded clay, mineral wool, etc. They have low thermal conductivity, low weight and low cost. Heaters are used not only as a heat-insulating material, but, due to their properties, they are also used as a noise-protective coating. They are subject to special requirements, in particular, mandatory environmental friendliness and fire resistance. From this side, mineral wool has the best properties.

Expanded clay

Expanded clay is a light and porous building material, it is made from some types of puffy clays. When fired by thermal shock, the clay swells up, forming rounded pieces. different sizes with melted surface. Expanded clay is characterized by high strength and lightness, and thanks to its porosity it perfectly retains heat. It can be used as a filler in the production of blocks and as a heater when backfilling floors and ceilings.

Advantages of expanded clay:

Expanded clay is not at all afraid of water
There are no synthetics in expanded clay. Environmentally friendly material

Mineral wool

Mineral wool is a soft insulation, consisting of large fibers. It is produced from waste metal and carbon alloys of minerals, therefore it has excellent performance and durability. Quick installation, environmental value, fire resistance are the most characteristic advantages this type of heater. Its only drawback is reduced moisture resistance, but this is eliminated by impregnation with special compounds.

Output

So what is better for insulation - expanded clay or mineral wool? If you are not indifferent to the environmental component of your home, then I advise you to choose expanded clay. It is also more convenient to work with expanded clay than with mineral wool.

BUT
BUT
BUT

As long as the summer heat lingers outside, construction work of a new house, someone will not be up to a specifically calculated thermal insulation, but you should immediately decide what will serve as a heat insulator, expanded clay concrete or basalt wool, and how thick the layer will be.

After all, winter will come sooner or later, and even if there are no cracks in the walls with accompanying drafts, something with low thermal conductivity should separate you from the street.

What is better - expanded clay concrete or basalt wool?

First, I propose to understand why. Walls, ceilings and roofs can be insulated. Now consider the properties of materials between which it will be necessary to make a choice. The first thing that worries us is the conductivity of heat, for expanded clay concrete its indicator is 0.1, but for mineral wool it is only 0.04. Therefore, the latter will release much less heat to the outside than the former, if the thickness of the thermal insulation is the same. And now the second significant factor is weight. What is preferable, expanded clay concrete weighing up to 250 kilograms per cubic meter or basalt wool, the mass of which is no more than 30 kilos for the same cubic meter?

The friability of expanded clay concrete depends on the size of the granules, which can have a diameter of less than 5 millimeters (sand) and even up to 20-40 millimeters, and coarse-grained material is more accessible.

But draw conclusions beforehand. Let's say a 5-centimeter layer is enough for thermal insulation of the floor mineral wool. Based on this, expanded clay concrete will need to be poured 12 centimeters. Even if it weighs 8 times more than a fibrous heat insulator, it is unlikely that expanded clay granules will require an increase bearing capacity walls and foundations. We make a low box for the entire floor area, fill it with expanded clay concrete, close it with a vapor barrier, and everything is in order. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that very small particles of basalt wool, getting into the lungs, lead to serious diseases, and clay is an environmentally friendly product.

How to change expanded clay concrete, are there any analogues?

If it seems to you that for your purposes, and specifically for bulk thermal insulation, expanded clay concrete is heavy, you can turn to the rest of the porous and swollen backfills. In particular, the similarity of expanded clay concrete, similar in its characteristics, is agloporite, a kind of pumice stone with a composition identical to glass. This filler is made from brick clays mixed with a charge of waste from coal mining and shale mining, as well as with ash and slag from the combustion chambers of thermal power plants. However, the environmental friendliness of this material is questionable. Another replacement for expanded clay concrete is expanded perlite sand, its moisture absorption is even lower than that of expanded clay concrete, only 3-5%, but the thermal conductivity index is only 0.04, like basalt wool.

Most the best way than to change expanded clay concrete - expanded vermiculite. This is an environmentally friendly material, produced from a rock belonging to the group of hydromica (remember the mica plates that were inserted into the windows in Kievan Rus). To compare the thermal conductivity index of expanded clay concrete corresponds to 0.1, and for vermiculite - 0.08, which is several times less than that of mineral wool. The volumetric weight of a cubic meter of expanded vermiculite is 100 kilograms, which is small. The use of this material will ultimately result in a thinner layer of backfill, less load on the ceiling and will be a completely suitable base for the screed.

How haydite-concrete is harmful, and is it not preferable to use polystyrene foam?

Often on the Internet there are warnings about the fact that, along with materials like mineral wool, quite harmful to health, but with excellent qualities as a heat insulator, expanded clay concrete also poses a danger. As if after some incubation period swollen granules begin to release substances hazardous to health. Is it so? First of all, let's turn to the source, by which we will mean not the manufacturer, but the raw material. A simple red clay that can swell under the influence of high temperatures. So than haydite-concrete is harmful, is it a material related to brick? There is no specifics in the information about the toxins allegedly emitted by him.

It is another matter if you select, put expanded polystyrene or expanded clay concrete in the form of an insulating material. Any heat insulator requires protection from moisture along with a vapor barrier. However, if for no reason at all it happens that dampness penetrates into the thickness of the expanded clay layer, if there is a ventilated contour, the granules will work as an unusual drainage system, and then the moisture will evaporate. Expanded polystyrene, on the other hand, has the peculiarity of rotting in a damp environment, almost a year later it turns black, mold can develop on it. And, what is very unpleasant, if to happen out of nowhere sunbathing (which you don’t want), expanded clay concrete, like brick, will not react to it in any way, but polystyrene foam will begin to release very caustic and hazardous substances.

On the video - a presentation of how to change expanded clay concrete when insulating floors

tooran.com.ua

Expanded clay or mineral wool - which is better?

Expanded clay or mineral wool - which is better able to create a protective layer that retains precious heat in the house, and how best to use them. These materials are designed for insulation:

walls,
attics,
floors,
roofs.

If we weigh the pros and cons

As bulk insulation, it requires preparatory work, it is not convenient to use it for thermal insulation of facades, to create " warm floors" And effective insulation need a large number of expanded clay. But the material itself is inexpensive and multifunctional.

Mineral wool is well suited for insulating facades, roofs and large surfaces. It can be cut with a knife or a saw, cut out pieces for insulating pipes or complex sections of a building.

It cannot be unequivocally said that one material is better than another. Both types have many similar qualities:

easy installation of material
increased fire resistance
high heat capacity
additional soundproofing.

And in principle, you can not make a categorical choice in favor of expanded clay or mineral wool, they can be successfully combined, reducing the cost of repairs and increasing the level of thermal insulation.

openoplexe.ru

Wooden floor insulation: expanded clay, mineral wool

Floors against walls have less heat loss, and yet a fairly significant amount of heat escapes through the floor. To create favorable conditions in the room, most often, even at the most modest capacities heating system, it is enough to raise the temperature of its surface relative to the temperature of the room by only two to three degrees. So it is quite justified that the temperature on the floor surface is considered the determining factor that determines the level of comfort of the room.

Insulation of a wooden floor is a set of actions performed in a well-defined order. Common to all insulation technologies is the following steps:

draft floor,
thermal insulation material,
clean floor.

Some projects also provide for the presence of a waterproofing layer located up to the subfloor and a vapor barrier layer - under the finishing one.

Thus, the floor is a rather complex system consisting of many sections. IN wooden box in this case, the tree is only the last “layer” that is laid on some kind of foundation. It is on it that the insulation is performed.

The ideal option would be to perform thermal insulation work at the cottage construction stage, but more often, as a rule, this happens during repairs. In this case, you have to resort to the complete dismantling of the old floor.

Foamed mass or mineral wool is often used for these purposes, which also have good vapor barrier characteristics. In some cases, expanded clay is used as a heater. This is a porous filler of artificial origin, which, as practice has shown, is quite effective.

When laying expanded clay, the uniformity of filling the space is especially important. This is the only way to ensure good insulation.

Foamed mass and cotton wool are produced in the form of blocks, which are laid on a previously prepared surface.

Features of floor insulation with mineral wool, polystyrene foam and other heat-insulating materials

For each of the materials for insulation, there are certain points that must be taken into account in the process of thermal insulation work.

Mineral wool: shape is important

The material is fire resistant, provides good sound insulation and moisture resistance, is capable of long time maintain their performance, not to mention thermal protection. Mineral wool is placed between logs, special beams laid on the base of the floor and forming a certain cellular system. The material is perforated on one side, and put it with this side down.

When using mineral wool as a heater, it is necessary to initially choose the shape of this material. Mineral wool is made in the form of a solid tile or a flexible mat. The first is used, as a rule, when insulating the wooden floor of a house built on the ground, in other cases, preference is given to mats.

Styrofoam: the right connection

Since the foam has a cellular structure and it has many other useful properties. When connecting foam blocks, a special sealant is used, which is sold in specialized stores. In addition, the joints must be glued with a metallized adhesive.

prestigpol.ru

Thermal insulation of the ceiling - which insulation to choose. Floor insulation expanded clay or mineral wool

Which insulation is better for the ceiling: mineral wool, expanded clay or expanded polystyrene

With an increase in the cost of heating a house, the owner comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to additional insulation. In this case, the thermal insulation of the ceiling is very important, because the heat is lost most intensively through the ceiling, if it does not have a heat-reflecting screen. Warm air, according to the laws of physics, rises. Therefore, insulated walls, reliable double-glazed windows, tight doors cannot provide effective heat retention inside the room if the ceiling is not able to retain heat inside the space. But which insulation is better for the ceiling: mineral wool, polystyrene foam, expanded clay? To answer this question, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with information about the properties of heaters and methods for insulating the ceiling.

Warming scheme attic floors and ceiling.

Ceiling insulation: indoors or outdoors

Before choosing a material for thermal insulation, you should decide on the method of insulation. Insulation of the ceiling is possible from the side of the room or from the outside - from the side of the attic.

Insulation of the ceiling from the inside is practiced, as a rule, in the process of construction or repair.

If a decision is made to insulate a room that does not require repair from the inside, then repair will still become a necessary final stage of thermal insulation work.

Scheme of the device of the ceiling with insulation.

Attic floor insulation is a traditional way of warming a house. In this case, as a heater on the ceiling, our ancestors used dry, voluminous materials - sawdust, shavings, dry leaves, reeds, dried grass. This natural materials, having some disadvantages: they are easily flammable, attract rodents, are a favorable environment for the reproduction of microorganisms, are significantly inferior in their thermal insulation properties to modern heaters. An alternative material for insulating the floor of the attic space over time has become a light, porous expanded clay material (the basis for its manufacture is clay).

Expanded clay has a number of advantages over the natural materials mentioned above - it is fireproof, absolutely uninteresting to rodents and microorganisms, and has low thermal conductivity. At the same time, the effectiveness of expanded clay insulation depends on the thickness of the layer of heat-insulating material - from 20 cm to 40 cm. The heat-insulating properties of expanded clay are significantly inferior modern materials, for example, mineral wool - inexpensive, fireproof, easy

pilorama-chita.ru

Expanded clay or mineral wool - choose the best insulation

1 What is preferable - expanded clay or mineral wool?

First, let's figure out why. You can insulate walls, floors and roofs. Now consider the characteristics of the materials between which you have to make a choice. We are primarily interested in thermal conductivity, for expanded clay its coefficient is 0.1, but for mineral wool it is only 0.04. Consequently, the latter will release much less heat to the outside than the former, with the same thickness of thermal insulation. And now the second important factor is weight. What is better, expanded clay or mineral wool weighing up to 250 kilograms per cubic meter, the mass of which is no more than 30 kilos for the same cubic meter?
The friability of expanded clay depends on the size of the granules, which can have a diameter of less than 5 millimeters (sand) and up to 20-40 millimeters, and coarse-grained material is cheaper.
But it is still premature to draw conclusions. Let's say a 5-centimeter layer of mineral wool is enough to insulate the floor. Accordingly, expanded clay will need to be poured 12 centimeters. Even if it weighs 8 times more than fibrous insulation, it is unlikely that expanded clay granules will require an increase in the bearing capacity of walls and foundations. We make a low box for the entire floor area, fill it with expanded clay, close it with a vapor barrier, and complete order. It should also be taken into account the fact that the smallest particles of mineral wool, getting into the lungs, can lead to serious diseases, and clay is an environmentally friendly product.

2 How to replace expanded clay, are there any analogues?

If it seems to you that for your purposes, namely for bulk thermal insulation, expanded clay is heavy, you can turn to other porous and swollen backfills. In particular, an analogue of expanded clay, similar in properties, is agloporite, a kind of pumice stone with a glass-like structure. This filler is made from low-melting clays mixed with a mixture of coal and shale mining waste, as well as with ash and slag from thermal power plant furnaces. However, the environmental friendliness of this material is questionable. Another alternative to expanded clay is expanded perlite, its moisture absorption is even lower than that of expanded clay, only 3-5%, but the thermal conductivity coefficient is only 0.04, like that of mineral wool.
The best option than replacing expanded clay is expanded vermiculite. This is an environmentally friendly material produced from a rock belonging to the group of hydromica (remember the mica plates that were inserted into windows in Russia). For comparison, the thermal conductivity coefficient of expanded clay corresponds to 0.1, while that of vermiculite is 0.08, which is 2 times lower than that of mineral wool. The volumetric weight of a cubic meter of expanded vermiculite is 100 kilograms, which is relatively small. The use of this material will result in a thinner layer of backfill, less load on the floor and will be a completely acceptable basis for the screed.

3 Why is expanded clay harmful, and isn't it better to use polystyrene?

Often, warnings appear on the Internet that, along with materials like mineral wool, which is rather unhealthy, but has wonderful properties as a heater, expanded clay also poses a danger. That supposedly after a certain incubation period, swollen granules begin to release substances harmful to health. Is it so? First of all, let's turn to the original source, by which we mean not the manufacturer, but the raw material. Ordinary red clay, capable of swelling under the influence of high temperatures. So why is expanded clay, which is a material related to brick, harmful? There is no specific information about the toxins allegedly emitted by him.
Another thing, if you choose, lay foam or expanded clay as a heater. Any insulation requires protection from moisture along with a vapor barrier. However, if it suddenly happens that dampness penetrates the thickness of the expanded clay layer, in the presence of a ventilated gap, its granules will work as a kind of drainage, and then the moisture will evaporate. Styrofoam, on the other hand, tends to rot in a damp environment, literally in a year it turns black, mold can develop on it. And, what is most unpleasant, if a fire suddenly occurs (which we would not want), expanded clay, like a brick, will not react to it in any way, but the foam plastic will begin to release very caustic and harmful substances.

material-stroy.com

Which insulation to choose: expanded clay or mineral wool? Mineral wool or expanded clay floor insulation

What is better for floor insulation

In our time, the cost of heating housing and premises in general is constantly increasing. At the same time, for some reason, salaries remain almost the same - a bad trend, but it has to be reckoned with. In such conditions, almost every owner of a house or apartment begins to worry about the issue of energy saving. Today, walls, floors, ceilings, slopes are massively insulated - such measures allow the most efficient distribution of heat throughout the room due to the fact that the level of heat transfer of the building is reduced.

This article will address such a difficult issue as floor insulation - let's figure out what is best suited for this: mineral wool or expanded clay. In principle, foam plastic is also often used, but this is not the best option, because the possibility of ventilation and ventilation of the ceiling practically disappears. Although, undoubtedly, the thermal insulation characteristics of the foam are at their best.

So, mineral wool and expanded clay, which is better - you can start with a review of the first material and compare everything on specific properties.

Mineral wool and its properties, features

This insulation is soft coarse-fiber plates or rolls. This material is made on the basis of waste from metal and carbon alloys of various minerals such as basalt. In its structure, it resembles glass wool, only the latter is much worse in terms of thermal insulation characteristics. In principle, mineral wool is widely used in construction and is especially popular for facade insulation. However, the facade is not floor insulation - there are still different specifics.

The main advantages of this heater are considered to be several points.

Durability.

A rather controversial property, since in order for the insulation to last for a really long time, it is necessary to ensure the absence of moisture in the space where it is laid. Weak resistance to moisture is the main drawback of the material, because if the mineral wool gets wet, then in this place all thermal insulation qualities are instantly excluded. Of course, manufacturers have now learned how to process rolls with various moisture-proof compounds, but this does not always work effectively.

In addition, mats and rolls are afraid mechanical damage, that is, simply speaking, they can tear even due to the activity of mice. Therefore, the question of durability is still mostly doubtful. It is difficult to 100% protect such insulation.

Fast installation.

This is true, but it is also debatable - which is easier - to roll out rolls on a plane or to fill the space with expanded clay? There is no difference in difficulty. Therefore, compared to working with expanded clay, this quality is definitely not an advantage.