Insulating Materials That Are Suitable For Your Roof

There are many ways your commercial building can become efficient. Usually, building owners would choose energy-efficient building materials such as flooring and windows, which can be expensive. However, one construction material is the least costly for commercial buildings, and that is roof insulation.

Every commercial building needs to have roof insulation because of the many benefits it can provide. You can find that there are different types of insulation you can choose from. Each class can provide specific benefits, so you need to select the right one to ensure you and the building can benefit from it.

Here are the different types of roofing insulation you can install on your commercial building:

1. Fiberglass

This type of roof insulation is what most commercial buildings often have. What you need to know about fiberglass roof insulation is that it is a thick layer of spun fiberglass filled with small air pockets that trap air. It means that fiberglass can minimize heat transfer. It can make your commercial building's interior cool, ensuring people don't have to worry about the space getting hot.

Another reason most commercial buildings prefer fiberglass roof insulation is because it is a non-flammable insulation material. The R-value of this ranges from R-2.9 to R-3.8 per inch. It is also a cheap way to provide insulation for your roof, so you can choose this if you are on a budget.

2. Cellulose

If you want eco-friendly roofing insulation, you can go for cellulose. Cellulose has a mixture of paper, recycled cardboard, and other related materials. It usually comes in a loose form, which makes it suitable for roofing insulation. It is also safer insulation even though it comes from paper. The R-value for the cellulose is between R-3.1 and R-3. Although not as high as fiberglass, it can still provide fire protection and minimize damage caused by fire. The cellulose contains almost zero oxygen, which helps in preventing fires from combusting even more.

3. Mineral Wool

Mineral wool is another type of roofing insulation that uses several kinds of insulation mixed into one. Usually, manufacturers combine it with glass wool made from recycled glass, rock wool made from basalt, or slag wool made from the slag produced by steel mills. You can purchase mineral wool in batts or loose material, depending on what your roofer prefers to use. The R-value of the mineral wool ranges from R-2.8 to R-3.5.

4. Polystyrene

The polystyrene roofing insulation can prevent rainwater from penetrating and into your building. Apart from being waterproof, it also has excellent sound insulation properties. It usually has two types, which are the extruded (XEPS) and expanded (EPS). If you want the cheaper variant, you can choose the EPS with an R-value of R-4. However, the XEPS is more expensive than the EPS because of its R-value, which is R-5.5.

Ensure you know your roofing insulation so that you can correctly choose which ones you need for your commercial building. If you need more help with roofing topics, you can always visit Best Roof Hatches and read more of our blogs about it.