General Questions
1) What is stone wool?
ROCKWOOL insulation is a rock-based mineral fiber insulation comprised of Basalt rock and Recycled Slag. Basalt is a volcanic rock (abundant in the earth), and slag is a by-product of the steel industry. The minerals are melted and spun into fibers.
2) What happens if ROCKWOOL insulation gets wet?
ROCKWOOL insulation is moisture resistant yet vapor permeable. In the event the insulation becomes damp or wet, the insulation, when thoroughly dried, will maintain the original performance characteristics.
ROCKWOOL stone wool insulation does not wick water, which means that any bulk water that contacts the outer surface will drain and not be absorbed into the body of the insulation.
3) Are ROCKWOOL products mold resistant?
ROCKWOOL products are inorganic which provide no food source for mold to grow. ROCKWOOL products are tested to ASTM C1338 – A Standard Test for Determining Fungi Resistance – and passes with zero fungal growth.
4) Are ROCKWOOL products rodent resistant?
There is no test method to determine whether or not any product is rodent resistant. ROCKWOOL’s reputation as a rodent-resistant insulation is mainly based on word of mouth and lack of negative feedback from numerous customers who use our products in “cottage country”. That being said, if a certain pest type is a nuisance to your particular area, best practice is to protect the insulation.
5) Does ROCKWOOL make blowing wool insulation?
ROCKWOOL insulation is only manufactured in batt, board, and pipe forms.
6) ROCKWOOL WARRANTY – What is ROCKWOOL’s warranty information?
ROCKWOOL (ROXUL Inc.) Terms and Conditions regarding Limited Warranty
Here at ROCKWOOL (ROXUL Inc.), we are committed to ensuring the highest standard of quality possible in everything we do. We are proud of our constant, consistent efforts to improve our operations to ensure we exceed your expectations on every product that leaves any of our facilities. As ROCKWOOL has no control over installation design and workmanship, accessory materials or application conditions, ROCKWOOL does not warrant the performance or results of any installation containing ROCKWOOL products. ROCKWOOL's overall liability and the remedies available are limited by the general terms and conditions of sale.
The limited warranty in the terms and conditions is in lieu of all other warranties and conditions expressed or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
7) RECYCLED CONTENT – How much Recycled Content is in ROCKWOOL Products?
ROCKWOOL insulation is a stone-based mineral fiber insulation comprised of Basalt rock and Recycled Slag.
ROCKWOOL products contain between 16% or 40% pre-consumer recycled material dependent on the ROCKWOOL manufacturing facility location.
The amount of recycled content is optimized to provide the ideal thermal, acoustic, and fire protection properties from ROCKWOOL products, while still maximizing the recycled content.
8) How does ROCKWOOL help to earn LEED Certification?
ROCKWOOL products can be used as a contribution to obtaining LEED certification in residential and commercial buildings. ROCKWOOL has made available a LEED calculator that can help to provide LEED documentation to meet required standards. Please see here to be directed to the ROCKWOOL LEED calculator.
9) Does ROCKWOOL Supply Complete Systems?
ROCKWOOL manufactures and distributes insulation products only; but we do provide system design advice on fire, acoustics, thermal, and moisture performance of assemblies.
10) Does ROCKWOOL contain formaldehyde?
Standard ROCKWOOL products do currently use a phenol formaldehyde binder during production. During manufacturing, the binder is cured at very high temperatures leaving only trace amounts in the product after it is produced. ROCKWOOL AFB®, SAFE’n’SOUND®, and COMFORTBATT® have all achieved GREENGUARD GOLD status for indoor air quality.
ROCKWOOL also offers a no added formaldehyde product, AFB evo™, starting July 1st 2017. This product is produced with a new formaldehyde free binder, and retains all of the properties of the original AFB® product. Please contact your local specifications manager for more information.
11) Does ROCKWOOL slag contain heavy metals?
ROCKWOOL products do not contain any heavy metals. Please contact ROCKWOOL Technical Support to receive specific information on materials found in ROCKWOOL products.
12) Why are ROCKWOOL batts priced at a premium?
ROCKWOOL Batts are an average of 3x denser than fiberglass batts; providing a better fit in the cavity and delivering superior thermal, sound and fire control.
13) What is the best way to cut ROCKWOOL batts and boards?
A serrated knife is always the best way to cut stone wool; we advise not to use utility knives as they will dull too quickly and end up tearing the batts, a bread knife works extremely well with our products.
14) Does ROCKWOOL have insulation for Metal Building applications?
ROCKWOOL has a variety of insulation products for Metal Buildings for roof and wall applications. In addition ROCKWOOL has available both 1HR and 2HR fire rated assemblies for metal buildings in close lot line applications. Please contact your local ROCKWOOL representative for specific applications. Please see more information on our metal building products here.
15) Does ROCKWOOL sell directly to Builders/Contractors/Installers?
ROCKWOOL products are available through our broad network of commercial insulation distributors. Please contact your local ROCKWOOL sales rep for information on local distributors.
16) Can I tape the seams of the CAVITYROCK® product?
CAVITYROCK® insulation will not act as a vapor and/or an air barrier and therefore no need to tape the seams of the boards. Ensure when installing the insulation that the boards are butted closely together so that there is no space between each successive board.
17) Can ROCKWOOL help designers meet the thermal needs of their wall assemblies?
Yes, ROCKWOOL has a comprehensive Technical Department and Building Science Team that can assist you with the design to help you meet your needs. Please contact your local representative for details, or visit the Building Science contact page.
18) Can ROCKWOOL be used with direct applied stucco?
ROCKWOOL recommends applying a ventilated stucco system using ROCKWOOL COMFORTBOARD™ 80 attached with furring strips. Please ensure the wall assembly is designed to hold the required weight of the system when applying a heavy weight cladding. A stucco wall assembly using COMFORTBOARD™ can be found in the Residential Insulated Sheathing – Installation guide.
19) What are UL/ULC approvals?
UL approvals, or UL Listing, signify that a product has been tested and has met nationally recognized requirements in standards for safety. These tests are run by a private, third party company and approvals are listed on ROCKWOOL technical data sheets. ULC Listings are used for Canadian tested assemblies.
20) Where can we find designs for UL?
ROCKWOOL offers a list of UL designs on the ROCKWOOL website, which can be found by searching UL Listing. This will include curtain wall, fire wall, and fire stopping designs. Other UL rated assemblies can be found on the UL database, linked to here. This database contains UL listings for wall, floor/ceiling as well as roofing assemblies.
21) Does ROCKWOOL come in different colours?
ROCKWOOL insulation comes in one standard natural colour. Some options are available for facing of ROCKWOOL products in foil or black colours. Please contact your local sales representative for facing details.
22) How long will ROCKWOOL last before it has to be replaced?
ROCKWOOL insulation should last the lifetime of your building if installed in a properly designed system according to spec. ROCKWOOL products will not decay since they are inorganic, so they will retain their properties assuming no physical damage occurs.
23) Is there any off-gassing with ROCKWOOL products?
Off-gassing refers to the gases emitted from a product post-production, often known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's). ROCKWOOL products conform to testing standards limiting the emission of VOC's.
24) Can ROCKWOOL be used in an oven/stove application?
ROCKWOOL products have a high melting point of 2150°F and can operate at high temperatures. We do not currently have tested assemblies for these applications. The recommended commercial or industrial ROCKWOOL product will depend on the temperature and usage of the stove/oven. Please contact your local representative to find specific products.
25) Does AFB® come sized for wood studs?
No, AFB® is only available in steel stud sizes. If you would like to insulate wood studs we would recommend using our residential product, ROCKWOOL SAFE’n’SOUND®.
26) What is the thickest I can get the ROCKWOOL product?
Depending on the application ROCKWOOL can make a board product up to 6” thick and a batt product 7.25” thick. ROCKWOOL products can also be layered to achieve a higher R-value when needed. For example: R15 + R30 = R45.
27) What are the dimensions of the product?
ROCKWOOL products are produced to accommodate standard construction practices. Common Sizes are 24 x 48 and 16 x 48 at a variety of thickness depending on product. Larger and custom sizes can be produced however minimum order quantities are usually required.
28) Does ROCKWOOL make custom sized products?
ROCKWOOL can produce custom products depending on order quantity and line capabilities, please contact your local representative for details.
29) Can facings be applied to ROCKWOOL stone wool products?
Facings can be applied to some of our board products during the production process, and we also have a network of fabricators that can apply facers to our product. Please contact your local sales rep for information on facing options.
30) Is Black Scrim available on ROCKWOOL CAVITYROCK®?
31) Where can I purchase ROCKBOARD® PG?
ROCKBOARD® PG is no longer available to purchase from ROCKWOOL. We do still supply third party fabricators that continue to produce this product for purchase. Please contact your local sales representative who can help direct you to a local fabricator.
32) What is the R-value on each ROCKWOOL product?
Please visit the ROCKWOOL product page and/or specific product technical data sheet for the R-value of ROCKWOOL products.
33) What are the R-values of AFB® and SAFE’n’SOUND®?
Interior insulation products do not require an R-value and as such, we do not brand our interior insulation with this information.
34) Where can I find your Safety Data Sheets?
35) Is ROCKWOOL batt packaging (Safe’n’Sound, Comfortbatt, AFB) recyclable?
Yes it is recyclable. Plastic recycle symbol 4 - LDPE (low density polyethelyne). Please note some municipalities may not be able to recycle the material and customers should check with their recycling centres.
