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🪨Origins & milestones

Mineral wool · Melted rock or glass spun into A1 batts — the default non-combustible insulation of codes.

At a glance
Timeline

Milestones in order. This is history, not a weekly activity grid.

1840 Edward Parry lore1871 US slag wool1931–38 Owens-Corning glass wool1937 ROCKWOOL Denmark1970s Energy-crisis batts1980s Binder formaldehyde1990s EN 131622000s Rainscreen boards2010s High-rise A1 politics2020s Circularity
  1. Edward Parry lore
  2. US slag wool
  3. Owens-Corning glass wool
  4. ROCKWOOL Denmark
  5. Energy-crisis batts
  6. Binder formaldehyde
  7. EN 13162
  8. Rainscreen boards
  9. High-rise A1 politics
  10. Circularity
Score intensity

Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.

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Quick answers

Is Mineral wool non-combustible?

Declared reaction class in this atlas: A1. Assemblies still need resistance tests.

Does Mineral wool insulate?

Thermal mark 86/100 versus the atlas. Conductivity note: λ ~0.032–0.040 W/m·K typical batts.

What is the density band?

20–150 kg/m³ products

How is it made?

Origin story: Slag wool 19th c.; glass wool 1930s (US / Germany / Denmark).

Can it be recycled?

Circularity mark 58/100 — editorial, route-specific.

Typical melting or failure heat?

softens ~1000 °C class (stone)

heat 86 · fire 96

Start with this section - Origins & milestones

Mineral wool did not arrive as a finished commodity. Slag wool 19th c.; glass wool 1930s around US / Germany / Denmark still explains who makes it and which tests it sits in.

Ten dated points, five eras and three milestones below are the spine — not a complete industrial history.

Where it began

Slag wool 19th c.; glass wool 1930sUS / Germany / Denmark

Timeline

1840Edward Parry lore

Early slag-wool anecdotes in iron districts.

1871US slag wool

C.C. Hall and others industrialise mineral fibres.

1931–38Owens-Corning glass wool

Games Slayter’s glass wool process.

1937ROCKWOOL Denmark

Stone wool as a branded building product.

1970sEnergy-crisis batts

Cavity walls filled at scale.

1980sBinder formaldehyde

Indoor-air debates; later low-emitting binders.

1990sEN 13162

European product standard for MW.

2000sRainscreen boards

Dual-density façades.

2010sHigh-rise A1 politics

After cladding fires, non-combustible insulation gained code weight.

2020sCircularity

Take-back of offcuts; still not a closed bottle loop.

The eras

1931–38

Owens-Corning glass wool

Games Slayter’s glass wool process.

1970s

Energy-crisis batts

Cavity walls filled at scale.

1990s

EN 13162

European product standard for MW.

2010s

High-rise A1 politics

After cladding fires, non-combustible insulation gained code weight.

Milestones

ROCKWOOL Denmark

1937

Stone wool as a branded building product.

EN 13162

1990s

European product standard for MW.

Circularity

2020s

Take-back of offcuts; still not a closed bottle loop.

Knowing this timeline is how to read a mill certificate without treating Mineral wool as timeless.

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