Ballacosnahan House, Isle of Man

Ballacosnahan House is a wonderful and handsome period residence situated in an elevated position in a parkland setting, near Patrick on the west coast of the Isle of Man.

Client: Dave O'Sullivan Roofing Contractors Ltd

Location: Ballacosnahan, Patrick, Isle of Man

Materials Supplied: Ty-Mawr Thermafleece Welsh Wool Insulation

The property is undergoing a full renovation and improvement programme and the contractors are using Ty-Mawr's Thermafleece Welsh Wool Insulation.The contractors recognise the benefits of our Welsh Wool insulation, namely:

• Because of its ability to rapidly absorb and release water vapour, THERMAFLEECE wool insulation can help to keep buildings cool in summer and warm in winter.
• being hygroscopic, it can absorb and desorb water vapour without compromising its thermal efficiency. It is therefore ideal for use in roofs and timber-framed walls designed to avoid a damaging build-up of moisture by allowing water vapour to migrate through the structure.
• wool generates heat when it absorbs moisture from the air. That energy is known as the heat of sorption and accounts for the warmth felt by wearers of woollen clothes in winter conditions. When the air is saturated with water vapour, wool absorbs some 40% of its dry weight in moisture, producing 960 kilojoules of heat energy for every kilogram of dry wool. This warmth is not noticeable inside the building but it acts to prevent condensation in construction cavities by maintaining the temperature above the dew-point in damp conditions.
• it uses only 14% of the embodied energy that is used to manufacture glass fibre insulation, therefore paying back its manufacturing energy cost seven times faster than glass fibre.
• it can be installed without gloves or protective clothing. It is not irritating to the skin, eyes or respiratory tract and causes no discomfort to site workers during installation. Any fibres which happen to reach the living space will present no hazard to health. The necessary insect proofing and fire resistance rating is achieved by the inclusion of naturally derived additives.
• the fibre adapts to the shape of rafters, joists and studs to provide a permanently tight fit. Properly installed, it will retain its low density and thermal performance - with a life expectancy similar to that of the construction in which it is installed.
• At the end of its useful life, it can be RECYCLED for other environmentally friendly applications.
• It contains no permethrin, pyrethroids, pesticides or formaldehyde and so is completely safe to use and live with.
• The low thermal conductivity of THERMAFLEECE (0.038W/m.K) compares favourably with that of other fibrous insulants.
• The product contains a necessary lofting agent and so it maintains fibre stability.
• It has a higher fire resistance than cellulose and cellular plastic insulants; it does not burn but rather melts away from an ignition source and extinguishes itself. THERMAFLEECE is treated with a natural fire-proofing agent to improve its intrinsic fire resistance and comply with BS 5803-4 (Spread of Fire) achieving results of zero for ignitability, the spread of flame and heat evolved.
• It is protected against attack by moths and beetles using a borax treatment. Borax is a natural mineral salt that is used in a wide variety of applications. The use of borax to treat wool is extremely safe and poses no risk to people or the environment. Our wool is treated with borax at the wool cleaning stage to ensure a consistent treatment that penetrates deep into the wool fibre.
• It has good acoustic properties.