Probably the best Ryan's ruclips.net/user/postUgkxGZedDTcDfgD7fG_uU4esfx_EgxzlY2_1 Plans on building a shed is hardly ever found. And Ryan takes the mystery out of different types of foundation options, etc. He even shows how to build a shed with different designs. Very comprehensive, covering different roofing materials, siding, etc.
A place close by was built in 1870 with 12cm of cork insulation behind the blue stone building construction. It still looks new to this day, I thought it was just something that was done long ago, but that building is so quiet inside and thermally stable it's surprising.
Had (1cm thick) cork panels instaled as interior insulation in one bedroom just to try it out. After installing them, the temperature diference with the other rooms was of about 4-5 degrees celsius, the mold/ damp problems completely gone and also a slightly better sound insulation I would say . I painted right on top of it, zero problems and it s been 5 years.Since then , I learned that you could install 10-15 cm panels on the outside of the house and they are weather proof, no need to install any cover or even paint it unless you want too, it s also a natural vapor barier , one of the best sound proofing material and bugs repelent. I ve seen houses isolated with cork with barely any usage of heaters or air conditioning. I live by the sea on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, it s warm here and this stuff ( cork) literally groes on trees over here and the factories that produce the panels are near by. We no longer use things like rockwool bcos it was proven to be toxic, the cork is more expensive but better all around on the long term. If you want to build a new house use "autoclaved aerated concrete " blocks with metalic structure ( for seismic resistance) and cork panels insulation on the outside. And of course a decent set of windows and doors. You ll never be cold again or suffer from the heat
I am going to install cork on a south facing wall here in the Marina Alta. There's a Catalan company that sells it. Also thinking of Paulownia decking 10cm off the roof terrace floors to shade the roofs in Summer. A company in Sueca has a saw mill that deals exclusively with paulownia wood, which is a hardwood.
Matt, I did a report for a company that supplied tree bark siding for the outside of houses. Once it was baked, it was not subject to insects. Once installed, it had a unique and very decorative look. It was also insulating and lasted a long time.
Fascinating material. I'd be nervous here in the wet northwest--just in terms of fungal rot--without a substantial rain screen and flawless lapping details.
They used to sell thin rolls of cork as a decorative wall covering back in 1978 when I bought my first house in Michigan. I used it on the walls of a small bedroom with an accent wall of cork & mirror tiles. Beautiful! 12"×12" Cork/mirror tiles were sold in a box of 6 tiles.
I have!!! When I moved from Dallas back to Houston in the mid 1980's, as a member of the Box-4 fire buffs, I was naturally listening to the radio, hearing about the fire in the downtown all concrete building (4 foot think concrete walls/roof, etc), built in 1928 cold storage warehouse. The cold storage areas used cork as the insulation.
There’s a very cool house in England that uses cork blocks as structure, insulation and finish. The main issue I see with cork as a building material in the US is that it isn’t really grown here. Most production happens in the Mediterranean.
@@gregkump3639 I don’t think it necessarily is an issue coming from Europe. Where it’s going to add up is from the port to your house. Not that I did the math, just based on a story I heard showing the counter intuitive results of the local food movement.
@@nunyabidness3075 OK , I'm thinking, any product that comes from ¼ of the way on the other side of the planet is not localy resourced. I like local when I can in products, people and friends. Local is my goal, can't always do it but I want to try. 😎
@@gregkump3639 If you are going local to be green, think again. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s not. Let’s look at food. Studies found that growing foods in their more ideal growth environment, and shipping them by sea was less carbon intense AND less polluting otherwise as well. Why? Because growing most every food outside it’s preferred latitude, weather, type of soil, etc. added more pollution than shipping by sea. You need more fertilizers, labor, plowing etc. which all involve pollution. And here’s the real catch, shipping by sea is just stupid efficient by a huge margin. It’s negligible. So, you want to try to beat a carbon NEGATIVE product, like cork, with a local one, it better be nearly as carbon negative. See?
Fantastic channel, a great place to learn. I really enjoy the way you approach different building materials and architecture styles. Keep up the great work!
The obvious question you forgot to ask: How does this cork insulation/siding stand up to insects? Are ants and termites going to move in and make my home their home, or is it resistant to insect infiltration like Rockwool is?
I just did a quick search to see if there are insects that like to eat cork. Guess what, cockroaches love cork. It is an interesting idea, but not one I would want to pursue.
Termites and mice/rodents don't like it according to one large insulation supplier in the UK but I don't know about cockroaches as they aren't a big thing in the UK. Nothing on the Amorim (large Portuguese manufacturer) site but I wouldn't expect its use on the outside of a building to have much bearing on infestations. The material, while only having a B fire rating does not burn readily (it is self extinguishing) and produces little or no smoke when exposed to flames. It can also be used in damp conditions where other insulation would break down or sag. It would certainly be my insulation of choice were I in the market for a safe material that could be used pretty much anywhere in on old building.
@@NancyBryantIdeas. I humbly think your Googling might be confusing Cork, Ireland (the city) with cork (the material) I don't think a roach would waste too much time munching on basically raw cellulose if there was another organic material around to munch on
You have to admit it is gorgeously organic looking. I could maybe see specifying this with a rain-screen (air gap behind), cedar trim and base, a couple of thru-wall flashings with cedar protected edges. Just to up the level of durability and water management.
Really interesting and exciting work. What keeps cork from breaking down from UV, moisture etc.? Also we know from wine bottles that it can stain. Flashing is flashing. You can make a window head out of any material but it's the joints that will cause leaks. Flashing at the moisture barrier is designed to seal off and shed water. That is not head flashing.
Cork is a hydrophobic material with a closed cellular structure that will not absorb liquid water past an 8% MC (which is extremely low) and will not pull in water through capillary action, cork bark is a UV stable material primarily because it is designed for UV exposure in its role as the outer protective layer of the tree. The joints in this case are sealed with additional liquid flashing and the top piece is continuous as well so it will deflect the majority of rain water. Staining from wine bottles is caused by tannins in the wine over years and if you note with solid wine corks, the tannins actually penetrate minimally into the length of the cork given the length of the direct exposure to the wine (year plus).
You plaster over it with breathable plaster, at least here in Spain. I would even use a mortar with aerogel to make it even more heat proof for Spanish summers. And finish with a water-based exterior paint. I am a newbie to DIY, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but it has to stay breathable to not cause condensation inside the house.
Mmhm...been using it for years. Never done an exposed wall, only as exterior insulation. There is a house in Olympia, WA with cork exposed that looks great, tho. I do have a a couple 3 inch thick 6x6 blocks that have been sitting under pots in the weather for the last 7 years in the sun, rain, snow, whatever and it’s no longer deep brown in color but otherwise its just fine. Easy to use and the trees aren’t killed when harvesting, some trees are hundreds of years old and still giving cork. Not cheap but it is awesome.
Was it expanded cork or just compacte cork? There is a difference. Expanded cork does not rot, that's why it is used to store wine both vertically and horizontally.
@@DanielDuedu Not sure- it was the "Verde Mar" Hotel in the Azores and only used on the balcony walls if you can find pictures in their gallery. Regarding wine- wine has alcohol in it, also the side of the cork touching the liquid (wine) is sealed from oxygen- both of which inhibit the ability of flora to grow, unlike an exterior cork wall which has neither.
It really does well. It's first with use was in hospitals in the 1800's. Most of it wasn't taken out until vinyl in the 50's if I remember right. The reason cork has been showing up again is wines have been going to caps or plastic corks. It's just peeled off the trees and it regrows. Surprising how much data they have on performance.
You could get a couple of 1x4 boards running from the bottom to the top to protect edges in wear and tear areas. These corner boards could be varnished pretty dark for a nice contrast
I was told this myth throughout the 80s and 90s. Now that I'm older I realize it's not the product, it's the cork industry that's endangered. It's a centuries old industry that's suffering from low demand. Low demand due to better products made with petrochemicals.
Would love to add this INSIDE my house on a few walls to improve insulation on a few south-facing rooms. Any thoughts on moisture barriers, etc? And any comments on how it works for sound deadening?
Amorim Portugal... yep. Biggest producer of cork stuff WW. Its expensive (even in Portugal) but it have the best thermal insolation parameters, doesnt rot, and it looks STUNNING!
MATT ... hello awsome content !!! ... if you have time search and learn about liquid cork it is even better termal insulation than boards or pannels ... and you spray layer 4 mm , it is for all kind of uses pf insulation i am planing to do that in my basement ... 👌😍🙌 ... good luck with channel in future 🤞😊🍀
My parents went to Europe for a month every year and frequently to the Med countries... My mom was telling me about a friend of hers in Italy who'd had her house built of cork blocks that were 2 meters long, 1 meter tall and she didn't know the thickness but was about 8" (cork all the way through). The house was 3 bedrooms and had a front glass wall looking out over the sea. It had been there for over a decade (and that was 15 years ago) and was quite comfortable. So as usual, lots of products used in Europe that take a long time to get to the US and then are so expensive they don't find much common use. There's always the problem that bankers are conservative about loaning outside their comfort zone of the standard materials and then there's the insurance problem of they don't like to insure new materials with no history (US history, they don't count others history) either.
Pretty awesome!!! Thermal mass is the word for it. That's how houses in Florida work since they are cement block. There's around an 8 hour delay of thermal loading then an 8 hour delay of the thermal release. It's technically R-2, but the size of your equipment can be smaller because it distributes the wall heat load towards the evening and night, not the hottest time of the day. It doesn't really lower your electric bill, but distributes the load, so it still needs insulation. Unfortunately, most wall assemblies in Florida are cement block with air gap, then a foil barrier inside, then drywall. Not the best. Then, the water/air barrier is paint. Anyway thanks for how you do such a great job showing everyone how to build better!!!!
We are building a new wood frame house clad in cork in Portugal. Not the norm here, that’s for sure. Which is weird considering this is the best place to get it without huge shipping costs. But wood frame construction is not prominent here either!
Cork is indeed one of the best insulation materials. Good insulation values (not the best), it is light, it is a natural product and carbon negative, fire retardant (not fire resistant), it is recyclable, hydrofobic and also very good on sound insulatation. But it has a big problem; Cost! 50% of the production is done in one only country, Portugal. Even with the latest techniques it takes 8 years to be able to extract new cork from the cork oak. And that limits the expansion of this material.
It is indeed really expensive. It is used for the handle of fishing rods. It's a great material but it's crazy expensive and not really renewable cause the reasons you explained.
An alternative I'm experimenting with is wood fibre insulation covered by a thin (1-2mm / 1/16th inch) layer of loam. I stumbled about this combination while building my garden shed/man cave. Originally I intended to go the traditional route, reed pads covered with loam, so basically a finer version of waddle and daub. But when I came to the details between windows and roof, and between the windows, I found that this proved to be awefully time consuming. So instead I bought thin sheets of wood fibre insulation, which are easily cut to size and can be screwed or nailed in place. Just make sure to get a version that can serve as ground for plaster. This combo did work surprisingly well, as the loam helps with handling humidity. I assumed I'd have to cover/white it with lime to keep it from washing off, but nope, not even that was necessary for the most part. The only place where the loam was starting to wash off during the winter, was the exposed "weather side" of the shed (in most parts of Germany that's the north-west side). And that wash off was quickly fixed by painting / plastering it again. The three other sides are just fine now during the second winter. Basically I'll have to "repaint" the small weather side every year until the kiwis I planted there are large enough to break the rain. And maybe the other sides every few years (can't really say how often yet, as they stay strong for now). Which would be the same for wooden cladings, though there I'd have to use rather questionable "wood preserving paints" instead of a slurry of loam and water. Would this work on a larger building? Nope, surely not. I've got 50cm/20" overhangs all around shielding the top third or half of the wall from the rain. Pergolas surround the west and south sides, soon to be covered with kiwi and wine, which break the rain, thus reducing the wash off on lower parts of the walls. As well as some elderberry trees shielding the north-east corner. And I have the whole building sitting on earth screws, a good 12-18 inches off the ground, thereby avoiding splash damage It's surprising how well even rather "flimsy" materials can stand the test of time, if you make sure to use constructive meassures. And of course, account for regular maintenance.
But, watch for people wearing high heels, they will punch divots into the floor. I had cork flooring in my kitchen and after one party, it looked horrible.
It's one of those concepts that look good on paper, but you find out later on it was a dumb idea. Cork is not bark and chips and dents easily. Just an errant baseball or even a Frisbee can put an unsightly dent on the surface that will not repair itself. Good for insulation, not for an outer finigh.
I would install 2” cork in an office with 9’ ceiling where lower portion of wall is a natural wood and then cork to ceiling. Keep that room better insulated as well.
Wind Resistance? Hurricane rating? What about light fixtures and utility wires? Can you use vinyl siding corners and j channels to protect the corners?
My first thought on this was replacing the foam used for ICF's. But I bet the cost would be at least 4x the amount for a regular foam form. My other concern would be vermin, specifically rats or termites.
@@sparksmcgee6641 I was thinking of the price difference between using this or the regular foam for the sides of the forms. So technically it would still BE ICF, just using cork instead of EPS or XPS foam
Personally, ICF was on the top of my list, but after discovering expanded cork I've changed my mind. The cost of protecting the ICF from the elements, the technical know-how involved and the high humidity for the first 2 years of moving into a newly finished ICF building made me reconsider. One thing I will do to my house is using a sturdy metal guard for all the corners, they will be attached such that they do not create a thermal bridge.
@@DanielDuedu Increased humidity is the least of my concerns here, I have a drip humidifier on my furnace to raise the humidity, especially during the winter. No matter what building material you use you have to protect it from the elements to some extent. Even if you're building a self-cut log cabin in the North Woods, although that may be the example that requires the least (after debarking the logs).
@@DanielDuedu look at a product named thermomass. Concrete your walls with it. Plaster or stucco walls you want finished. Sorry I'm in a rush. Think about it
Matt, I planing on using cork inside the the Golden Eagle 10” Log Home. This should be more compatible with the log construction. I’m planning on building near Jackson, Wyoming.
there's only 1 reason to use Cork -> it's vapor permeable. So you can use it on a wood structure and then a vapor permeable render over it. a cheaper option is Rockwool.
Cork is a wonderful material, mostly portuguese made, it's not overabundant, 100% natural, good thermal, acoustic and fire resistant properties. I would use it as ETICS material with external finish, not natural (the maker, Amorim Cork, has a special product for natural exterior finish, but those I have seen with some years on we're not to my satisfaction).
I would be happy to use cork with an external rainscreen. Cork is not a non-combustible material; it will burn, albeit slowly. The downside is that there are materials with a better R value that are also cheaper. These materials use a lot more energy to produce them, but they allow a thinner wall buildup, which can be vital on the small sites we tend to have in the UK.
I was “all in,” till he got to the price! 😂😮😂 Hopefully it will become widely used and drive the price down. Love the stuff!!! I NEVER thought about using it in the outside of a building!
Matt, we’re going to need a video or two on this new fangled Spray Cork I’ve seen here in the comments. Thermal barrier, acoustic barrier, sticks to nearly everything but silicon, low maintenance, degrades slower than paint…
@@JoelKreider Yeah, I was fascinated with Cork Spray recently. Ultimately, you can make your own. Take cork, grind it up into sawdust, put it in paint and spray it on. Recipes are online. Cork spray has some interesting thermal properties, particularly the low emissivity. It is hard to know exactly what to believe about corks thermal properties, but it is catching on in England and Canada. Cork spray could even have a pretty awesome sound deadening effect if sprayed on wall studs.
I live in a house that was built 102 years ago in Ottawa, Ontario. At some time in its past the second and third floor wall cavities, as well as the roof rafter cavities, were insulated with crumbled cork. The first floor wall cavities were uninsulated but I have since blown in cellulose insulation. I have never encountered crumbled cork used in this way before. It seems to work OK. I am only the second owner of this house (I bought it 35 years ago) and I suspect this insulation was put in between 60-70 years ago.
@Matt Risinger sorry my previous comment was sent before I finished typing. In order to prevent dirt clogging up the pores of the cork, does it degrade at all under the exposure of constant UVF light. Do you have any information on the cost of A supply and B the labour charges of installing it
@@fjspicer1 There is an edit function available. Click on the three dots at the right of your comment and it will appear. The program guest mentioned the two inch material is about seven USD per square foot, which is quite high. They didn't mention installation costs, but it handles like soft wood which is good, and it eliminates the need for other things like a rain screen system. That is an excellent question about how long it will endure outside!
Cork has more mass than most insulation materials. This helps with lower frequency isolation, which is notoriously difficult. Nice varied surface softens reverberations as well.
Ever since I was a child I have had ideas for building products . Hemp at most of the core ideas . We need to start trying to produce 2x4 's ply wood and other simple things out of hemp fibers . Even if its not as cost effective just grow it everywhere and turn it into building supplies .
I've used cork as underlayment and it definitely makes good insulation. I have also installed cork flooring on several projects. However, the one takeaway that I experienced in all cases is that it is easily damaged. And while it's random pattern helps to hide defects as time passes and large chunks break off it looks terrible. At $4 to $6 a SF cork flooring was a costly mistake for us.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I would assume that the wear profile of cork as an exterior vertical cladding would be very different than an interior horizontal flooring.
I was suspicious when I saw the title and thumbnail, but after watching, I was not sold on this product as an exterior cladding. Seems more fit as a sound/fire barrier than a finished siding. Maybe if the install looked a little more professional and add a coat of paint? Still not sure if that would save it for me.
This looks absolutely amazing, but for exterior use where I live, in the midwest, I don't think it would be very practical for exterior use. Mother Nature does tend to throw a nasty temper tantrum, and tends to spit out a tornado every once in a while, or even in Texas, where you are as well. Not only do you get tornadoes there, but hurricanes too. While it is most likely strong enough to resist light impacts, if Mother Nature wants to start throwing trees or branches around, the excavator that struck the house serves as a pretty good example of how well this would stand up against Mother Nature. I have a 72 year old brick house, that has very easily handled everything Mother Nature could throw at it, but I did have to replace the roof one time following a violent storm. I guess I could use a 1/2 inch layer ornamentally, to cover the boring Chicago Common Brick on the sides and rear exterior walls. I liked it for use in the attic as shown in this video. What kind of sound deadening properties does it have? I would like to consider using it, not only for interior walls, or wall coverings, but also attached to the ceiling in my basement to conceal the main floor's joists, and "hopefully" provide a decent sound barrier.
I am curious how the cork performs in freeze thaw type of cycles. Can water build up in the many crevices, freeze, expand and pop out chunks of the cork?
After looking through the comments and seeing all the people talking about how expensive this would be, I'm questioning whether my (generally very good) math skills are not as good as I think. If I'm caluculating correctly, for a one-story 1,500 sf house that's essentially 30 x 50, you'd have two sides with approximately 300 sf (30' long x 10' high) and two with 500 sf, for a total of 1,600 sf. At a price of $7 per sf for the 2" thick stuff that serves as both exterior insulation and cladding, that's going to be about $11,200 for the materials. Even vinyl siding for this size house would cost $8,000 for the material; installing an exterior rigid foam insulation of comparable R-value is going to run at least another $3,000 (I'm including installation cost here, because that keeps the comparison apples-to-apples). So how is this such a supposedly "expensive" option? And of course, vinyl siding is not generally a material of choice in a quality building; for almost any other material it's going to be that much or more. Wood siding might be less per sf for the material, but there's also the cost of finishing it with stain or paint which must be redone every few years. Full sized brick will cost as much for material and quite a bit more to install and brick veneer is only slightly less expensive. Hardie board siding will be as much or more for the material as well. And all of these options will require the additional expense of the insulation. Am I missing something here, or is everyone else?
Probably not a problem where he is at, but that building has a lot of combustible materials. Really interesting product, I would love to see how it holds up long term.
Cork is used as ablative heat shielding on spacecraft reentering the atmosphere. It can’t withstand the hottest gases, but is remarkably heat and burn resistant.
There needs to be some clarification about how much of the cooling load is driven by heat transfer through a well-insulated opaque wall assembly. The thermal lag provided by the cork will slightly delay peak heat gain through the wall assembly. Still, well-insulated walls have minimal heat gain, and there will be little to no measurable decrease in peak cooling load in this house by adding cork on the exterior walls (compared to insulation materials with equivalent thermal conductivity). Lots of good reasons to use cork, but thermal diffusivity isn't one of them. Cooling loads are overwhelmingly dictated by solar gains through windows, internal gains, infiltration, dehumidification, and ventilation. Not high-performance opaque assemblies.
Can you stain it with deck stain? As others have said, I'd be concerned about how it resists rodents and insects. I would probably want to put something over it. Maybe go with 1.5" of cork and 1.5" of rigid rockwool boards on the outside? But yeah, then you would still want some sort of finish.
![Megan Thee Stallion - Bigger In Texas [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QxTkZTLWdo4/mqdefault.jpg)
Matt, please come back to this build to show us how it looks after it's been weathered for several months and over a year.
I'd be interested in that as well.
Spoiler-alert, it looked like shit at install and looks even worse after 5 years.
@@Gzus LMAO. As much as I would like to believe otherwise, you're probably right.
There are several videos of homes in Italy with this, looks exactly the same years later.
I can imagine kids bouncing balls off of this stuff and destroying it. I wonder what intense Texas summer sun will do to it.
Probably the best Ryan's ruclips.net/user/postUgkxGZedDTcDfgD7fG_uU4esfx_EgxzlY2_1 Plans on building a shed is hardly ever found. And Ryan takes the mystery out of different types of foundation options, etc. He even shows how to build a shed with different designs. Very comprehensive, covering different roofing materials, siding, etc.
A place close by was built in 1870 with 12cm of cork insulation behind the blue stone building construction.
It still looks new to this day, I thought it was just something that was done long ago, but that building is so quiet inside and thermally stable it's surprising.
What about smell? I guess it's also very expensive.
Sounds cool, where's the house?
Had (1cm thick) cork panels instaled as interior insulation in one bedroom just to try it out. After installing them, the temperature diference with the other rooms was of about 4-5 degrees celsius, the mold/ damp problems completely gone and also a slightly better sound insulation I would say . I painted right on top of it, zero problems and it s been 5 years.Since then , I learned that you could install 10-15 cm panels on the outside of the house and they are weather proof, no need to install any cover or even paint it unless you want too, it s also a natural vapor barier , one of the best sound proofing material and bugs repelent. I ve seen houses isolated with cork with barely any usage of heaters or air conditioning. I live by the sea on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, it s warm here and this stuff ( cork) literally groes on trees over here and the factories that produce the panels are near by. We no longer use things like rockwool bcos it was proven to be toxic, the cork is more expensive but better all around on the long term. If you want to build a new house use "autoclaved aerated concrete " blocks with metalic structure ( for seismic resistance) and cork panels insulation on the outside. And of course a decent set of windows and doors. You ll never be cold again or suffer from the heat
I am going to install cork on a south facing wall here in the Marina Alta. There's a Catalan company that sells it. Also thinking of Paulownia decking 10cm off the roof terrace floors to shade the roofs in Summer. A company in Sueca has a saw mill that deals exclusively with paulownia wood, which is a hardwood.
Agreeable on any point
Cork from Portugal!! we are one of the world´s biggest producer of cork. used in construction here too! Good job really beautiful house!
Plus it doubles as a giant post it board!
Pretty tacky 😁
@@timmmahhhh Lmaf🤣
@@timmmahhhh Touche'
The squirrels are going to love that house.
NOT
Did somebody say, SQUIRREL? 🐕
Matt, I did a report for a company that supplied tree bark siding for the outside of houses. Once it was baked, it was not subject to insects. Once installed, it had a unique and very decorative look. It was also insulating and lasted a long time.
Sick. Love the content that's not just 2x4s and sheeting.
Love this channel keep showing us the alternative building trends
Can't wait to pin a message to the side of that house! 😂
In all seriousness though, it's pretty cool to see cork being used like this again.
The cork will also serve as a wonderful sound insulator, too.
My house from the 60's is insulated with pretty thick cork. Works excellently, is sound dampening and is fire proof.
Fascinating material. I'd be nervous here in the wet northwest--just in terms of fungal rot--without a substantial rain screen and flawless lapping details.
Maybe lay it proud to the surface for ventilation. Then additional insulation to break the thermal bridge in Summer.
They used to sell thin rolls of cork as a decorative wall covering back in 1978 when I bought my first house in Michigan. I used it on the walls of a small bedroom with an accent wall of cork & mirror tiles. Beautiful! 12"×12" Cork/mirror tiles were sold in a box of 6 tiles.
It's a great natural product and very popular with our clients.
I have!!! When I moved from Dallas back to Houston in the mid 1980's, as a member of the Box-4 fire buffs, I was naturally listening to the radio, hearing about the fire in the downtown all concrete building (4 foot think concrete walls/roof, etc), built in 1928 cold storage warehouse. The cold storage areas used cork as the insulation.
There’s a very cool house in England that uses cork blocks as structure, insulation and finish. The main issue I see with cork as a building material in the US is that it isn’t really grown here. Most production happens in the Mediterranean.
This is a great point. I'm a firm believer in use what you got when it serves the purpose. Carbon footprint from Europe is significant.
@@gregkump3639 I don’t think it necessarily is an issue coming from Europe. Where it’s going to add up is from the port to your house. Not that I did the math, just based on a story I heard showing the counter intuitive results of the local food movement.
@@nunyabidness3075 OK , I'm thinking, any product that comes from ¼ of the way on the other side of the planet is not localy resourced. I like local when I can in products, people and friends.
Local is my goal, can't always do it but I want to try. 😎
@@gregkump3639 If you are going local to be green, think again. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s not.
Let’s look at food. Studies found that growing foods in their more ideal growth environment, and shipping them by sea was less carbon intense AND less polluting otherwise as well. Why? Because growing most every food outside it’s preferred latitude, weather, type of soil, etc. added more pollution than shipping by sea. You need more fertilizers, labor, plowing etc. which all involve pollution. And here’s the real catch, shipping by sea is just stupid efficient by a huge margin. It’s negligible.
So, you want to try to beat a carbon NEGATIVE product, like cork, with a local one, it better be nearly as carbon negative.
See?
Oh and the price of those blocks. Price on this type of stuff is high end.
A natural resource that we put inside our cinderblock church in ringtown penna....sound, warmth & beautiful!
Fantastic channel, a great place to learn. I really enjoy the way you approach different building materials and architecture styles. Keep up the great work!
The obvious question you forgot to ask: How does this cork insulation/siding stand up to insects? Are ants and termites going to move in and make my home their home, or is it resistant to insect infiltration like Rockwool is?
I just did a quick search to see if there are insects that like to eat cork. Guess what, cockroaches love cork. It is an interesting idea, but not one I would want to pursue.
Termites and mice/rodents don't like it according to one large insulation supplier in the UK but I don't know about cockroaches as they aren't a big thing in the UK. Nothing on the Amorim (large Portuguese manufacturer) site but I wouldn't expect its use on the outside of a building to have much bearing on infestations. The material, while only having a B fire rating does not burn readily (it is self extinguishing) and produces little or no smoke when exposed to flames. It can also be used in damp conditions where other insulation would break down or sag. It would certainly be my insulation of choice were I in the market for a safe material that could be used pretty much anywhere in on old building.
@@NancyBryantIdeas. I humbly think your Googling might be confusing Cork, Ireland (the city) with cork (the material) I don't think a roach would waste too much time munching on basically raw cellulose if there was another organic material around to munch on
I mean they use cork for packing wine, I sorta doubt it's an issue
@@TylerDickey1 Cork oak is not a city.
You have to admit it is gorgeously organic looking. I could maybe see specifying this with a rain-screen (air gap behind), cedar trim and base, a couple of thru-wall flashings with cedar protected edges. Just to up the level of durability and water management.
It's a little stark because no landscaping. Might look better in a desert setting.
You can't put a rain screen behind it because that would largely defeat the insulation value.
Really interesting and exciting work. What keeps cork from breaking down from UV, moisture etc.? Also we know from wine bottles that it can stain. Flashing is flashing. You can make a window head out of any material but it's the joints that will cause leaks. Flashing at the moisture barrier is designed to seal off and shed water. That is not head flashing.
Cork is a hydrophobic material with a closed cellular structure that will not absorb liquid water past an 8% MC (which is extremely low) and will not pull in water through capillary action, cork bark is a UV stable material primarily because it is designed for UV exposure in its role as the outer protective layer of the tree. The joints in this case are sealed with additional liquid flashing and the top piece is continuous as well so it will deflect the majority of rain water. Staining from wine bottles is caused by tannins in the wine over years and if you note with solid wine corks, the tannins actually penetrate minimally into the length of the cork given the length of the direct exposure to the wine (year plus).
@@gregesparza2557 Thanks!
You plaster over it with breathable plaster, at least here in Spain. I would even use a mortar with aerogel to make it even more heat proof for Spanish summers. And finish with a water-based exterior paint. I am a newbie to DIY, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but it has to stay breathable to not cause condensation inside the house.
Mmhm...been using it for years. Never done an exposed wall, only as exterior insulation. There is a house in Olympia, WA with cork exposed that looks great, tho. I do have a a couple 3 inch thick 6x6 blocks that have been sitting under pots in the weather for the last 7 years in the sun, rain, snow, whatever and it’s no longer deep brown in color but otherwise its just fine. Easy to use and the trees aren’t killed when harvesting, some trees are hundreds of years old and still giving cork. Not cheap but it is awesome.
Our hotel in the Azores ("Verde Mar") had this on the balcony wall. The bottom was starting to rot and crumble.
Was it expanded cork or just compacte cork? There is a difference. Expanded cork does not rot, that's why it is used to store wine both vertically and horizontally.
@@DanielDuedu Not sure- it was the "Verde Mar" Hotel in the Azores and only used on the balcony walls if you can find pictures in their gallery. Regarding wine- wine has alcohol in it, also the side of the cork touching the liquid (wine) is sealed from oxygen- both of which inhibit the ability of flora to grow, unlike an exterior cork wall which has neither.
It is interesting from a cost perspective. Looks like you eliminate exterior insulation, rain screen battens, and siding. It is all in one.
My kitchen has cork floors. It's nice looking. Not particularly wear resistant but it is easy on the feet and nothing breaks when dropped.
:o Nothing breaks when dropped! Genius!
Did you coat the cork in any way?
A lot of old cold storage facilities were insulated with cork.
I'd definitely have to see it after several decades, hailstorms, tornadoes and other weathering, cold and heat.
It really does well. It's first with use was in hospitals in the 1800's. Most of it wasn't taken out until vinyl in the 50's if I remember right. The reason cork has been showing up again is wines have been going to caps or plastic corks. It's just peeled off the trees and it regrows. Surprising how much data they have on performance.
Super interesting video... Thank you for making it.
Cork is very common in Portugal. On my trip to Europe, I ended up loving that country. Everyone should go there.
Most cork comes from Portugal and south west Spain.
You could get a couple of 1x4 boards running from the bottom to the top to protect edges in wear and tear areas. These corner boards could be varnished pretty dark for a nice contrast
This is a really good idea
@@elliottcrifasi3143 Thanks for the encouragement
Maybe even HardiTrim, or Architectural redwood, or cedar..
@@graybeard2113 certainly yes options.
No, Cork is not endangered. It's a bark that regrows every decade.
I was told this myth throughout the 80s and 90s. Now that I'm older I realize it's not the product, it's the cork industry that's endangered. It's a centuries old industry that's suffering from low demand. Low demand due to better products made with petrochemicals.
The questions we should be asking include; can production and harvesting be sustainable at scale? This feels like an exclusive product.
@@travismiller5548... cheaper products due to subsidized petrochemicals.
Harvesting cork in Portugal ruclips.net/video/YnnbuoeQFSI/видео.html
@@travismiller5548 the industry has seen some revitalization more recently though, due to consumers looking more towards the natural materials again.
The best part is having enough space for my ideas
In Canada we spray the cork on and it comes in different colours.
@Robert Swaine That would be cool, but I think it’s against his financial interests.
Would love to add this INSIDE my house on a few walls to improve insulation on a few south-facing rooms. Any thoughts on moisture barriers, etc?
And any comments on how it works for sound deadening?
My cat approves of this material.
Amorim Portugal... yep. Biggest producer of cork stuff WW. Its expensive (even in Portugal) but it have the best thermal insolation parameters, doesnt rot, and it looks STUNNING!
i bet its a great sound insulator as well
MATT ... hello awsome content !!! ... if you have time search and learn about liquid cork it is even better termal insulation than boards or pannels ... and you spray layer 4 mm , it is for all kind of uses pf insulation i am planing to do that in my basement ... 👌😍🙌 ... good luck with channel in future 🤞😊🍀
My parents went to Europe for a month every year and frequently to the Med countries... My mom was telling me about a friend of hers in Italy who'd had her house built of cork blocks that were 2 meters long, 1 meter tall and she didn't know the thickness but was about 8" (cork all the way through). The house was 3 bedrooms and had a front glass wall looking out over the sea. It had been there for over a decade (and that was 15 years ago) and was quite comfortable.
So as usual, lots of products used in Europe that take a long time to get to the US and then are so expensive they don't find much common use.
There's always the problem that bankers are conservative about loaning outside their comfort zone of the standard materials and then there's the insurance problem of they don't like to insure new materials with no history (US history, they don't count others history) either.
O.G. SIPs 😅that is awesome. (Original gangster Structural Insulated Panel)
Well said.
Pretty awesome!!! Thermal mass is the word for it. That's how houses in Florida work since they are cement block. There's around an 8 hour delay of thermal loading then an 8 hour delay of the thermal release. It's technically R-2, but the size of your equipment can be smaller because it distributes the wall heat load towards the evening and night, not the hottest time of the day. It doesn't really lower your electric bill, but distributes the load, so it still needs insulation. Unfortunately, most wall assemblies in Florida are cement block with air gap, then a foil barrier inside, then drywall. Not the best. Then, the water/air barrier is paint. Anyway thanks for how you do such a great job showing everyone how to build better!!!!
We are building a new wood frame house clad in cork in Portugal. Not the norm here, that’s for sure. Which is weird considering this is the best place to get it without huge shipping costs. But wood frame construction is not prominent here either!
Very interesting. I'm not sure what to think but very interesting.
Very nice
Cork is indeed one of the best insulation materials. Good insulation values (not the best), it is light, it is a natural product and carbon negative, fire retardant (not fire resistant), it is recyclable, hydrofobic and also very good on sound insulatation.
But it has a big problem; Cost!
50% of the production is done in one only country, Portugal. Even with the latest techniques it takes 8 years to be able to extract new cork from the cork oak. And that limits the expansion of this material.
It is indeed really expensive. It is used for the handle of fishing rods. It's a great material but it's crazy expensive and not really renewable cause the reasons you explained.
An alternative I'm experimenting with is wood fibre insulation covered by a thin (1-2mm / 1/16th inch) layer of loam. I stumbled about this combination while building my garden shed/man cave. Originally I intended to go the traditional route, reed pads covered with loam, so basically a finer version of waddle and daub. But when I came to the details between windows and roof, and between the windows, I found that this proved to be awefully time consuming. So instead I bought thin sheets of wood fibre insulation, which are easily cut to size and can be screwed or nailed in place. Just make sure to get a version that can serve as ground for plaster. This combo did work surprisingly well, as the loam helps with handling humidity.
I assumed I'd have to cover/white it with lime to keep it from washing off, but nope, not even that was necessary for the most part. The only place where the loam was starting to wash off during the winter, was the exposed "weather side" of the shed (in most parts of Germany that's the north-west side). And that wash off was quickly fixed by painting / plastering it again. The three other sides are just fine now during the second winter. Basically I'll have to "repaint" the small weather side every year until the kiwis I planted there are large enough to break the rain. And maybe the other sides every few years (can't really say how often yet, as they stay strong for now). Which would be the same for wooden cladings, though there I'd have to use rather questionable "wood preserving paints" instead of a slurry of loam and water.
Would this work on a larger building? Nope, surely not. I've got 50cm/20" overhangs all around shielding the top third or half of the wall from the rain. Pergolas surround the west and south sides, soon to be covered with kiwi and wine, which break the rain, thus reducing the wash off on lower parts of the walls. As well as some elderberry trees shielding the north-east corner. And I have the whole building sitting on earth screws, a good 12-18 inches off the ground, thereby avoiding splash damage
It's surprising how well even rather "flimsy" materials can stand the test of time, if you make sure to use constructive meassures. And of course, account for regular maintenance.
I might use it inside my imaginary cabin.
That thermal mass is important
The valley girl speech pattern was on point in this video
cork flooring is amazing. not just as an underlayment
But, watch for people wearing high heels, they will punch divots into the floor. I had cork flooring in my kitchen and after one party, it looked horrible.
@@michaelhuynh93 I didnt think about that. When I visited Germany some friends had it but just in the bedrooms. makes more sense there I guess.
Matt just read my mind.
Would like to see you do a video on wood fiber insulation, focusing on the continuous type. Thanks.
Next week Matt shows us how to build a house out of old bars of soap.
It's one of those concepts that look good on paper, but you find out later on it was a dumb idea. Cork is not bark and chips and dents easily. Just an errant baseball or even a Frisbee can put an unsightly dent on the surface that will not repair itself. Good for insulation, not for an outer finigh.
Very cool
Now I want to build a house out of cork and bamboo.
That's pretty sweet
I would install 2” cork in an office with 9’ ceiling where lower portion of wall is a natural wood and then cork to ceiling. Keep that room better insulated as well.
That would work really nicely.
Wind Resistance? Hurricane rating? What about light fixtures and utility wires? Can you use vinyl siding corners and j channels to protect the corners?
Squirrels love cork and will scratch every bit of it off your building
I’m sure the wood peckers would love this.
My first thought on this was replacing the foam used for ICF's. But I bet the cost would be at least 4x the amount for a regular foam form. My other concern would be vermin, specifically rats or termites.
It's expensive but I bet it's half of the cost of ICF per board foot. ICF is the most over hyped product of the last 20 years
@@sparksmcgee6641 I was thinking of the price difference between using this or the regular foam for the sides of the forms. So technically it would still BE ICF, just using cork instead of EPS or XPS foam
Personally, ICF was on the top of my list, but after discovering expanded cork I've changed my mind. The cost of protecting the ICF from the elements, the technical know-how involved and the high humidity for the first 2 years of moving into a newly finished ICF building made me reconsider. One thing I will do to my house is using a sturdy metal guard for all the corners, they will be attached such that they do not create a thermal bridge.
@@DanielDuedu Increased humidity is the least of my concerns here, I have a drip humidifier on my furnace to raise the humidity, especially during the winter. No matter what building material you use you have to protect it from the elements to some extent. Even if you're building a self-cut log cabin in the North Woods, although that may be the example that requires the least (after debarking the logs).
@@DanielDuedu look at a product named thermomass. Concrete your walls with it. Plaster or stucco walls you want finished. Sorry I'm in a rush. Think about it
Holy shit this is sick. This is really cool. Wonder how it holds up in cold climates? Would love to do this sorta thing up here in Canada.
it has been used in Ice coolers for years. Ice coolers are cold. It was used in iceboxes and refrigeration for years.
Cork is a good sound proofing material
Matt, I planing on using cork inside the the Golden Eagle 10” Log Home. This should be more compatible with the log construction. I’m planning on building near Jackson, Wyoming.
Around here woodpeckers would love it.
there's only 1 reason to use Cork -> it's vapor permeable. So you can use it on a wood structure and then a vapor permeable render over it.
a cheaper option is Rockwool.
CORK EXCELLENT FIRE STARTER
if you don't know anything, just say that
It's amazing Matt cork, bamboo, rock fibers, etc,etc, etc...
Cork is a wonderful material, mostly portuguese made, it's not overabundant, 100% natural, good thermal, acoustic and fire resistant properties. I would use it as ETICS material with external finish, not natural (the maker, Amorim Cork, has a special product for natural exterior finish, but those I have seen with some years on we're not to my satisfaction).
I would be happy to use cork with an external rainscreen. Cork is not a non-combustible material; it will burn, albeit slowly. The downside is that there are materials with a better R value that are also cheaper. These materials use a lot more energy to produce them, but they allow a thinner wall buildup, which can be vital on the small sites we tend to have in the UK.
Mike Holmes the Canadian builder who helps people has used spray cork to insulate brick or similar surface homes for years
I understand it has a good uv protection
🙌Awesome!!!
Armstrong Industries was originally Armstrong Cork, been around for generations even before Asbestos
I was “all in,” till he got to the price! 😂😮😂 Hopefully it will become widely used and drive the price down. Love the stuff!!! I NEVER thought about using it in the outside of a building!
What is the comparable installed number for insulation and siding?
(I don’t know.)
Matt, we’re going to need a video or two on this new fangled Spray Cork I’ve seen here in the comments. Thermal barrier, acoustic barrier, sticks to nearly everything but silicon, low maintenance, degrades slower than paint…
A local office had it done here, sprayed over metal siding. Looks really good, owner said it was pretty costly though.
@@InceptionJiuJitsu …yeah, I was kinda leery when I was seeing no base material costs, and all individual quotes. Sure like the benefits though.
@@JoelKreider Yeah, I was fascinated with Cork Spray recently. Ultimately, you can make your own. Take cork, grind it up into sawdust, put it in paint and spray it on. Recipes are online. Cork spray has some interesting thermal properties, particularly the low emissivity. It is hard to know exactly what to believe about corks thermal properties, but it is catching on in England and Canada. Cork spray could even have a pretty awesome sound deadening effect if sprayed on wall studs.
I live in a house that was built 102 years ago in Ottawa, Ontario. At some time in its past the second and third floor wall cavities, as well as the roof rafter cavities, were insulated with crumbled cork. The first floor wall cavities were uninsulated but I have since blown in cellulose insulation. I have never encountered crumbled cork used in this way before. It seems to work OK. I am only the second owner of this house (I bought it 35 years ago) and I suspect this insulation was put in between 60-70 years ago.
Crumbled cork insulation is a European thing.
Bet it keeps the noise down
@ Matt Risinger is it possible to seal the outside of the cork in order to prevent dirt clogging upò
@Matt Risinger sorry my previous comment was sent before I finished typing. In order to prevent dirt clogging up the pores of the cork, does it degrade at all under the exposure of constant UVF light. Do you have any information on the cost of A supply and B the labour charges of installing it
@@fjspicer1 There is an edit function available. Click on the three dots at the right of your comment and it will appear. The program guest mentioned the two inch material is about seven USD per square foot, which is quite high. They didn't mention installation costs, but it handles like soft wood which is good, and it eliminates the need for other things like a rain screen system. That is an excellent question about how long it will endure outside!
How well would cork hold up in the Desert? Like Palm Springs CA?
What do you need to do with joints? caulking? Is there expansion and contraction in wet of hot/cold changes.
I've heard about the sound deadening effects of cork and wonder what sort of sound insulation this product provides compared to alternatives.
Cork has more mass than most insulation materials. This helps with lower frequency isolation, which is notoriously difficult. Nice varied surface softens reverberations as well.
Great idea, what's its rating in hurricane areas?
Ever since I was a child I have had ideas for building products . Hemp at most of the core ideas . We need to start trying to produce 2x4 's ply wood and other simple things out of hemp fibers . Even if its not as cost effective just grow it everywhere and turn it into building supplies .
I've used cork as underlayment and it definitely makes good insulation. I have also installed cork flooring on several projects. However, the one takeaway that I experienced in all cases is that it is easily damaged. And while it's random pattern helps to hide defects as time passes and large chunks break off it looks terrible.
At $4 to $6 a SF cork flooring was a costly mistake for us.
so dont get cork?
@@randomrazr Not for a building product! Maybe to pull out of a bottle of Laphroiag . . .
Thanks for sharing your experience. I would assume that the wear profile of cork as an exterior vertical cladding would be very different than an interior horizontal flooring.
@@michiganengineer8621 a man of patrician tastes.
Yeah a lot of that 1/4 inch tile stuff they started pushing at lumber liquidators and places like that was to thin to get good performance.
I was suspicious when I saw the title and thumbnail, but after watching, I was not sold on this product as an exterior cladding. Seems more fit as a sound/fire barrier than a finished siding. Maybe if the install looked a little more professional and add a coat of paint? Still not sure if that would save it for me.
Bring your darts.
The sound insulation must be amazing. Just quiet, no matter how loudly your neighbors play Mexican music at 11:30 pm.
He seemed to imply cork would be waterproof. Did they put house wrap or other barrier anyway? Is that necessary?
can you lime wash it though?
How does it work in the Northern climates of the U.S. for snow and very cold weather conditions?
Ive seen this applied on a house in Manitoba Canada, where temperatures reach -50.
You can do many things with cork, from purses to cloaths, construction isolation, shoes, etc.. Even NASA uses cork to isolate space ships.
I was in Germany and the factory walls were insulated with cork
this is so cool.. any worry of animals eating the cork?
This looks absolutely amazing, but for exterior use where I live, in the midwest, I don't think it would be very practical for exterior use. Mother Nature does tend to throw a nasty temper tantrum, and tends to spit out a tornado every once in a while, or even in Texas, where you are as well. Not only do you get tornadoes there, but hurricanes too. While it is most likely strong enough to resist light impacts, if Mother Nature wants to start throwing trees or branches around, the excavator that struck the house serves as a pretty good example of how well this would stand up against Mother Nature. I have a 72 year old brick house, that has very easily handled everything Mother Nature could throw at it, but I did have to replace the roof one time following a violent storm. I guess I could use a 1/2 inch layer ornamentally, to cover the boring Chicago Common Brick on the sides and rear exterior walls. I liked it for use in the attic as shown in this video. What kind of sound deadening properties does it have? I would like to consider using it, not only for interior walls, or wall coverings, but also attached to the ceiling in my basement to conceal the main floor's joists, and "hopefully" provide a decent sound barrier.
I am curious how the cork performs in freeze thaw type of cycles. Can water build up in the many crevices, freeze, expand and pop out chunks of the cork?
After looking through the comments and seeing all the people talking about how expensive this would be, I'm questioning whether my (generally very good) math skills are not as good as I think. If I'm caluculating correctly, for a one-story 1,500 sf house that's essentially 30 x 50, you'd have two sides with approximately 300 sf (30' long x 10' high) and two with 500 sf, for a total of 1,600 sf. At a price of $7 per sf for the 2" thick stuff that serves as both exterior insulation and cladding, that's going to be about $11,200 for the materials.
Even vinyl siding for this size house would cost $8,000 for the material; installing an exterior rigid foam insulation of comparable R-value is going to run at least another $3,000 (I'm including installation cost here, because that keeps the comparison apples-to-apples). So how is this such a supposedly "expensive" option?
And of course, vinyl siding is not generally a material of choice in a quality building; for almost any other material it's going to be that much or more. Wood siding might be less per sf for the material, but there's also the cost of finishing it with stain or paint which must be redone every few years. Full sized brick will cost as much for material and quite a bit more to install and brick veneer is only slightly less expensive. Hardie board siding will be as much or more for the material as well. And all of these options will require the additional expense of the insulation.
Am I missing something here, or is everyone else?
Probably not a problem where he is at, but that building has a lot of combustible materials. Really interesting product, I would love to see how it holds up long term.
Cork is used as ablative heat shielding on spacecraft reentering the atmosphere. It can’t withstand the hottest gases, but is remarkably heat and burn resistant.
There needs to be some clarification about how much of the cooling load is driven by heat transfer through a well-insulated opaque wall assembly. The thermal lag provided by the cork will slightly delay peak heat gain through the wall assembly. Still, well-insulated walls have minimal heat gain, and there will be little to no measurable decrease in peak cooling load in this house by adding cork on the exterior walls (compared to insulation materials with equivalent thermal conductivity). Lots of good reasons to use cork, but thermal diffusivity isn't one of them. Cooling loads are overwhelmingly dictated by solar gains through windows, internal gains, infiltration, dehumidification, and ventilation. Not high-performance opaque assemblies.
Can you stain it with deck stain?
As others have said, I'd be concerned about how it resists rodents and insects. I would probably want to put something over it. Maybe go with 1.5" of cork and 1.5" of rigid rockwool boards on the outside? But yeah, then you would still want some sort of finish.
Right? I wonder how it resist fungus that dry rots even pressure treated decks.