Insulating wallpaper

[Guest MargaretBal]

I know we should not have polystyrene tiles and flock wallpaper but I am looking at having to insulate a solid wall. The majority of the papers seem to e polyester backed lining paper although some just refer to insulating material, one has graphite in the polystyrene. Quote "4mm thick BASF Neopor polystyrene insulation, which is laminated to a fibre reinforced pulp lining paper to cheaply and effectively insulate interior walls. Incorporates graphite in the polystyrene, which BASF claims can increase the insulating ability of normal polystyrene by up to 20%. Another has polyester wool. Which, if any, of these are safe please - they do not say.

[Tom Sutton]

Erfurt Mav Polystyrene Wall Manufacturers produce a number insulating wall coverings and one question was,

Q. I remember those old polystyrene insulation tiles that were a real fire hazard, so I have worries in this regard about Thermal Liner?

A. Thermal liner is classified as "E" according to DIN EN 13501-1 in relation to its reaction to fire behaviour, which corresponds to "B2"(normally inflammable) according to the standard DIN 4102-1. If this is the case then it is no more dangerous than many of the contents of a room.

Check out Ray Stewart on I tend to agree with him.

Although not exactly what you require advice on, polyester wool is fire resistant material used in insulation - it requires quite high temperature to burn. However fires can still occur due to poor installation of Polyester particularly where it covers down lights & ceiling fans which can cause them to overheat. As a result of a number of fires attributed to improperly installed insulation consequently all down lights to be covered by approved covers.

Of the two the polyester wool appears to be the best with regards to fire resistance but I would think both are acceptable providing they are fixed and decorated correctly.