Insulation#

There are three places to consider insulation - roofs, walls, and floors. Roofs come first as they save a lot of heat loss and are relatively easy to do but what comes next depends on the building’s construction and site.

With buildings made of traditional materials like stone, you need the insulation to be breathable. Wool can be a good, sustainable material choice. It gets bad press because of moth damage, but some discussions in the industry suggest that this is for brands that use biocides to treat the wool. “Isolena” insulation uses a different method and appears to have a better reputation. We’d be interested in hearing your experiences if you know of installations using it.

When you choose insulation, question the supplier carefully about how they will ensure that the building will still be ventilated enough, and in the right places, not to create problems with damp. With insulation laid on the floor of an attic, for instance, it typically doesn’t go right to the edge so that there’s still airflow in the attic space.