Does anyone know to turn raw wool into insulation???

emujuice

hi all,

Chatting to my farmer friend last weekend he said it cost him more to sheer his sheep than he made selling the wool (by about 2 fold). So that got me thinking - how difficult is it to turn raw wool into something that can be used for insulation.
Digging around online I can't find a guide. I'm guessing it would want to be washed and treated to prevent bugs living in it.
Anything else? any ideas HOW???

Each fleece costs around £2 and would cover around 1/2 metre square - is it even worth it??

rdpro

the cost of the insecticides, and their potential health issues, would far outweigh the benefits afaik. Sounds lovely to have a fleece roof though

ukwoody

So if you got overcharged by the farmer, would you have been FLEECED, LOL

Woody

Canucklehead

Good evening: Info on the use of sheep fleece as insulation is available from the Center for Alternative Technology aka CAT in Machynllneth, Wales.


HTH

Canucklehead

emujuice

Thanks for the link. It's pretty helpful, but doesn't discuss how to do it from scratch. To be ecological, it would make sense to buy from local farmers and do it myself - if i knew how! As far as I know they don't dip the sheep until after shearing, which is this time of year, which is why i'm keen to find out answers soon!
I'll keep searching!

maninthestreet

The first thing you will need to do to the wool is wash it to remove the natural oils (lanolin).

Careful_with_that_Axe

I would have thought that the best way to prepare wool would be to felt it. I'll try to remember to pop off and look for some links to info for you.

Canucklehead

Hi


The comments in the above two post were covered in the link provided.

OP Is this a business you are planning, or is it for your own personal use?

I think you would need quite a bit of set up funding to get all the necessary standards set up and approved.
Contact Thermafleece in the link and you might get some help.
How much would Britishwool.org pay your farmer friend per fleece? Or does he/she use them already?

Corgi Guy.

emujuice

hi,
thanks for the comments ppl. Canucklehead this is just for me, i'm fairly certain it wouldn't be money saving in the end, but it would be green - possibly! But I just wondered if it was something ppl had experience of - obviously not!