Every year, the United States spends more than $13 billion on the services of insulation contractors. As insulation products improve, architects, contractors, and more are excited to use them to provide the best results for their clients.
ICC is proud to offer our clients K-13 thermal and acoustic insulation products. But what is K-13 insulation? Why is it such a valuable tool to contractors? Read on to learn about K-13 insulation and the benefits it can provide for your next building project.
What Is K-13 Insulation?
K-13 insulation is a spray-applied thermal and acoustic insulation that can be sprayed onto exposed ceilings and other surfaces. This application method is highly convenient and does not require any barriers or additional materials on top of it to function correctly.
Because K-13 is spray-on insulation, it does not require an especially smooth surface for application. K-13 will fill in cracks, seams, and voids in other materials, allowing it to standardize and maximize thermal and acoustical insulation across any given surface. On top of that, using K-13 insulation results in a natural-looking texture that can complement the aesthetic of the overall space.
Many builders are used to spray insulation products that function well enough but at a high price. Alternative insulation products often create an unsightly appearance. By contrast, K-13 insulation provides the best of both worlds. It creates an attractive and natural appearance while also providing excellent insulation through the use of special kinds of cellulose fibers. Those fibers are combined with fire retardants in a systematic manufacturing process. The end result is a powerful insulation spray that looks better than many alternatives and functions in an efficient and safety-conscious way.
Benefits of K-13 for Acoustical Control
K-13 insulation provides enough sound control to improve speech intelligibility in a space while reducing ambient sounds.
The fibers that makeup K-13 are resilient in their structure. The end result is that they absorb sound rather than reflect it, reducing reverberation and echoes. This makes them ideal for restaurants, open office plans, entertainment venues, and other similarly noisy spaces.
Benefits of K-13 Insulation for Thermal Control
Many people are interested in K-13 insulation for its hybrid capabilities of both acoustic and thermal control. Other kinds of insulation materials have a tendency to develop voids, unfilled spaces in an insulated surface. Unfortunately, having voids in just 1% of the surface area of insulation greatly reduces the insulating properties.
Other insulating products also have a tendency to develop compression areas. Even insulation that works well under ideal conditions will lose a lot of its thermal control ability when compressed.
K-13 fills insulation voids, offers high-quality protection against heat transfer, and avoids compression through its spray-on application process. K-13 insulation can be sprayed in a 5″ thick layer in a single application. In most cases, this K-13 insulation provides an R-value of 3.75. However, more extreme applications of K-13 insulation are available to provide greater thermal control and, thus, greater R-values. In some cases, you can even achieve an R-value of 19 with K-13 insulation.
Other Features of K-13 Acoustic and Thermal Insulation
K-13 insulation provides a number of other features, outside of its thermal and acoustic insulation capabilities, that make it usable on a wide variety of construction projects. For example, K-13 is available in an array of colors like black, white, brown, and other neutrals, as well as more expressive colors like purple, yellow, red, and more. Combined with its attractive texture, its flexibility makes K-13 insulation capable of functioning as a standalone surface in any stylish or stylized venue.
K-13 insulation is made out of 80% recycled content, which makes it a fantastic choice for architects and contractors who want to incorporate sustainability into their buildings. The materials it’s made from, and its efficiency in thermal insulation means less money and energy spent on air conditioning or heating in the long term, making it an environmentally friendly choice.
Contractors will also be glad to know that K-13 is free of the common problematic materials found in some insulation products, including glass fibers, asbestos, silica dust, and more.
Furthermore, K-13 insulation is compatible with all kinds of substrates. It uses a special adhesive based on water that allows it to adhere to metal, concrete, wood, and a variety of other surfaces, even if they are complex. All of these benefits make K-13 an excellent choice for builders seeking the perfect insulation for their next project.
K-13 Insulation Certifications
Based on all of the benefits it provides, K-13 insulation has received many certifications. K-13 insulation is a Class A, Class 1 fire-rated material. Factory Mutual has approved K-13 in multiple applications continuously since 1974. K-13 is also manufactured under the Underwriter’s Laboratories Classification and listed in 15 UL BXUV Guide Design Assemblies as allowable sprayed fiber for application over spray-applied fire-resistive materials.
To make sure it is applied expertly and most effectively, K-13 is applied by an international network of professional contractors. Those contractors must be licensed by ICC to maintain quality standards.
K-13 has also received a UL GREENGUARD Gold and Cradle to Cradle certification and is compliant with LEED v4: Low-Emitting Materials, CDHP/California Section 01350, SCAQMD Rule 1168, and CHPS-Acoustical Ceiling.
Understand the Benefits of K-13 Thermal and Acoustic Insulation
K-13 is an advanced insulation product that provides contractors superior insulation from sound and heat transfer while also complimenting the vision of architects and designers involved in the building process. We hope that understanding more about the K-13 and its benefits will enable you to make an educated decision when considering what insulation to use on your next project.
If you are interested in learning more about K-13 or using it in your next build, get in touch with the experts at the International Cellulose Corporation. ICC’s spray-applied thermal and acoustical materials are readily available for shipment to our network of licensed installers. Please contact us for details on how we can help your project be the best it can be!