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Cob: Questions about woolChuck & Linda clearned at bminet.comTue May 20 09:06:20 CDT 2003
Hello Everyone, I am trying to complete my research as to whether or not to use raw wool in my ceiling. I would very much like to hear from people using wool as to whether it has been worth it and what problems they have encountered and how they overcame it. I have access to sufficient wool that is currently being stored in a wool warehouse in plastic perforated wool tubes. Some of my initial research is: a. Corresponded with Jan Stern's mom Rita in South Africa. They placed wool into garbage bags with a cup of borax. She no longer lives in the house but after five years no insects have penetrated the bags and no borax has spilled out. She was not able or willing to open the bags which is what I really wanted to see the condition of the wool sitting in plastic bags-not breathing so to speak. b. spoke with the wool cooperative manager and he is skeptical about the wool not being consumed by moths as they get moths in their warehouses and bees nest in it. In speaking with a wool grower she felt that flies would not be interested in wool sheared from the animal, unless they are after the manure embedded which by the smell of the sample wool I have it manure has some presence there. I heard a story from a friend who stayed in a cob cottage over night and he woke up to tons of flies and he was told it was from the wool. c. In speaking with another wool grower she says she doesn't have moth problems and some wasps have entered the bags that are open. She hangs her bags from her rafters in a barn. She feels part of her solution is the cool Wisconsin winters help. I am wondering whether raw wool will be embedded with moth larve? I was told you can kill critters by exposing them to 130 degree heat or extreeme cold temperatures. Cleaning the wool isn't an option for me....too much wool, too much work big time. d. I spoke with an Irishman who put washed wool into his attic and was quite please. No mention of bugs, he did treat it with borax. Another wooll grower thought that by not washing the wool and keeping the lanolin percentage high it would help keep away moths. I had a thought of placing the wool inbetween my trusses and then placing typar/tyvek over the wool and stapling this material to the sides of the trusses and slanting it toward drain vents. Place extra fine bug screening over the vents and make sure the ridge vent openings were screened as well, since we would have air space above the typar for venting. My thought was this could act like a bag keeping bugs out. This wool has quite an odor too it so I imagine it to be a powerful attractant to bugs. The other purpose of the typar would be to catch any condensation that may form on my plywood sheathing and send it to a drain. I have also thought of using tight weave burlap bags instead of plastic bags. Bags in general make me nervous as I wonder how difficult it would be to get an effective insulation coverage. I imagine I would need to have them be relatively thin and overlapping each other. Thats the extent of my research and I need further info from you all to help me conclude some things. Too wool or not too wool! I am on digest and often working too long so please forgive if I don't get back right off. Chuck in Wisconsin. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.478 / Virus Database: 275 - Release Date: 5/6/03 -------------- next part -------------- <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 5.50.4134.600" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003>Hello Everyone,</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003>I am trying to complete my research as to whether or not to use raw wool in my ceiling. I would very much like to hear from people using wool as to whether it has been worth it and what problems they have encountered and how they overcame it.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003>I have access to sufficient wool that is currently being stored in a wool warehouse in plastic perforated wool tubes. Some of my initial research is:</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003>a. Corresponded with Jan Stern's mom Rita in South Africa. They placed wool into garbage bags with a cup of borax. She no longer lives in the house but after five years no insects have penetrated the bags and no borax has spilled out. She was not able or willing to open the bags which is what I really wanted to see the condition of the wool sitting in plastic bags-not breathing so to speak. </SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003>b. spoke with the wool cooperative manager and he is skeptical about the wool not being consumed by moths as they get moths in their warehouses and bees nest in it. In speaking with a wool grower she felt that flies would not be interested in wool sheared from the animal, unless they are after the manure embedded which by the smell of the sample wool I have it manure has some presence there. I heard a story from a friend who stayed in a cob cottage over night and he woke up to tons of flies and he was told it was from the wool. </SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003>c. In speaking with another wool grower she says she doesn't have moth problems and some wasps have entered the bags that are open. She hangs her bags from her rafters in a barn. She feels part of her solution is the cool Wisconsin winters help.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003>I am wondering whether raw wool will be embedded with moth larve? I was told you can kill critters by exposing them to 130 degree heat or extreeme cold temperatures. Cleaning the wool isn't an option for me....too much wool, too much work big time.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003>d. I spoke with an Irishman who put washed wool into his attic and was quite please. No mention of bugs, he did treat it with borax. Another wooll grower thought that by not washing the wool and keeping the lanolin percentage high it would help keep away moths.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003>I had a thought of placing the wool inbetween my trusses and then placing typar/tyvek over the wool and stapling this material to the sides of the trusses and slanting it toward drain vents. Place extra fine bug screening over the vents and make sure the ridge vent openings were screened as well, since we would have air space above the typar for venting. My thought was this could act like a bag keeping bugs out. This wool has quite an odor too it so I imagine it to be a powerful attractant to bugs. The other purpose of the typar would be to catch any condensation that may form on my plywood sheathing and send it to a drain.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003>I have also thought of using tight weave burlap bags instead of plastic bags. Bags in general make me nervous as I wonder how difficult it would be to get an effective insulation coverage. I imagine I would need to have them be relatively thin and overlapping each other. </SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003>Thats the extent of my research and I need further info from you all to help me conclude some things. Too wool or not too wool! I am on digest and often working too long so please forgive if I don't get back right off.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=630132613-20052003>Chuck in Wisconsin.</SPAN></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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