Cork Insulation and Siding - I've never seen this!

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.

Probably the best Ryan's youtube.com/post/UgkxGZedDTcDfgD7fG_uU4esfx_EgxzlY… 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.

Plus it doubles as a giant post it board!

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

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.

The squirrels are going to love that house.

Cork from Portugal!! we are one of the world´s biggest producer of cork. used in construction here too! Good job really beautiful house!

The cork will also serve as a wonderful sound insulator, too.

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.

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.

A lot of old cold storage facilities were insulated with cork.

My house from the 60's is insulated with pretty thick cork. Works excellently, is sound dampening and is fire proof.

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.

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.

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.

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?

No, Cork is not endangered. It's a bark that regrows every decade.