Having a vision and making it a reality can be challenging at the best of times. When your vision involves the transformation of a concrete outbuilding into a multi-use living space with diverse requirements, the road to success can be a rocky one.
Fortunately, for homeowner and self-builder Marianne, she was able to draw on the right help, expertise, and best products - including ROCKWOOL® insulation - to realise her dream.
Marianne was working with the help of her friend Lucy, to convert the concrete garage and timber frame extension in her garden. Her family has two daughters, seven-year-old Tilly and older sister Bea.
Tilly has profound disabilities including a severe sensory processing disorder and no danger awareness, which means that life for the family can be very hard and very noisy at times. Marianne's vision was to create a safe and sensory-rich space for Tilly, a cool and functional room for Bea to enjoy with her friends, and also a grown-up space for her and her husband to use, all in the confines of the limited space she had available.
The challenge
It was important to Marianne that she used recycled materials where possible and the build be sustainably sourced, non-combustible (having previously suffered a house fire in 2016 and being without a home for six months), and also be thermally and acoustically insulated to provide a quiet and warm environment for Tilly and the family.
On researching insulation materials, it was evident that the ROCKWOOL Timber Frame Slab product could provide the perfect non-combustible solution to insulate the roof and walls of the renovation plus have the thermal and acoustic performance required to meet their needs.
The solution
ROCKWOOL Timber Frame Slab used for this project is a durable non-combustible stone wool slab that provides thermal, non-combustible insulation for walls and roofs. The slab insulation is specifically designed for use between the studwork of timber frame walls with the slabs been optimised to offer a lower thermal conductivity, is A1 non-combustible in addition to offering sound absorption performance.
ROCKWOOL is made from natural volcanic rock and spun into stone wool, and hence provides a breathable, water repellent and vapour permeable solution to help prevent rot and mould.
Because ROCKWOOL Timber Frame Slab is sourced from natural organic rock, it can be recycled to further its sustainability credentials.
The result
Paul Barrett, Head of Product Management at ROCKWOOL comments, "For Marianne's self build renovation the ROCKWOOL Timber Frame Slab provided the thermal, fire safety, and acoustic demands that Marianne and her family required for the project. The product also offers the flexibility, toughness, and ease of installation required by someone new to renovation projects."
Marianne concludes, "Being new to renovations, it made a big difference that the insulation was easy to work with and fantastic that no power tools were needed to cut to size - in fact, I cut the product easily with an insulation knife and if I made a mistake, the product was very forgiving and malleable, making it very easy to correct."
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