| Product Characteristics An overview of "Frequently Asked Questions" posed to Rockpanel about product chararteristics. Click on the question in order to see the answer.
Please use our Contact us form to submit your question. Answers: |
| 1) Is Rockpanel sawdust harmful to health? On the basis of long-term research done on both people and laboratory animals, the Health Council, an advisory board of the government, came to the conclusion that mineral wool is not carcinogenic for human beings. The Dutch government adopted this conclusion in August 1996. It is true that mineral wool gives off dust. When you work with mineral wool, a number of practical tips should be followed. These will ensure you a maximum of work hygiene and the greatest possible comfort while working. Specifically for the processing of Rockpanel we recommend that you:
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| 2) Does Rockpanel expand or shrink? Dimensional stability, or length/width changes, is determined by the expansion behaviour of material as a result of temperature and/or moisture (absorption). With Rockpanel, differences in temperature or relative humidity cause virtually no change in length or width, thanks to the unique board composition. For a strip or board length of 3 metres, the difference in length as a result of temperature and moisture differences with a dark colour finish will amount to 1.41 mm and with a lighter colour 0.76 mm. For a board of wood fibres bonded with polypropylene this expansion is respectively 3.51 mm and 2.20 mm, and for a board of wood fibres in thermosetting synthetic resin these values can even be as high as 4.57 mm and 3.03 mm. |
| 3) Can Rockpanel rot or warp/delaminate? Rockpanel is composed of high-quality inorganic mineral fibres, bonded together by a thermosetting binding agent. Moreover, the boards are homogeneously structured. Delamination, or separation of material layers from one another, arises primarily as a result of the absorption of water. However, the swelling behaviour or shrinking behaviour of Rockpanel when immersed in water is zero, and Rockpanel boards therefore do not delaminate! Due to the absence of organic ´nutrients´ like those found in wood products, rotting is absolutely excluded. |
| 4) Is Rockpanel fireproof? The Rockpanel boards fixed in the final situation satisfy, both with fixing on vertical wood laths and on vertical aluminium profiles, at least class B according to the new European fire determination method (in May 2003 the European determination method for material behaviour in the event of fire of building materials came into effect via an ´Amendment regulation Buildings Decree 2003´. Ultimately, these so-called Euro-classes will completely replace the Dutch determination method in the construction sector). The contribution of Rockpanel to a fire is thus very limited, and the possibility of fire spreading through the panels or burning parts falling down is excluded. |
| 5) How heavy is a Rockpanel board? A Rockpanel board weighs roughly per mm of thickness 1 kilogram per m². A board of 6 mm thickness thus weighs 6 kilograms per m²; a board of 8 mm weighs 8 kg, and a board of 10 mm weighs 10 kg per m². This means that Rockpanel is significantly lighter and thus more convenient to process than other boards. |
| 6) Does the edge of the Rockpanel board remain so green? The characteristic yellow/green colour of the Rockpanel board which is visible after sawing the board will change under the effects of the weather (precipitation, sunlight) into a dark brown colour. One also calls this the ageing effect, which gives the edge a natural colour after 6 to 8 weeks (depending on the positioning of the board). |
| 7) Can Rockpanel be recycled? Rockwool processes and reuses virtually 100% of the generated production waste itself. The various wastes - such as residual waste mineral wool, Rockpanel edge strips, filter material, melted waste, stone tailings, etc. - are processed in the raw materials plant. The waste is ground and pressed with cement into briquettes which again serve as raw material for the mineral wool production. The production waste at both Rockwool and Rockpanel is returned into the production process through a recycling system. In part because of this, Rockwool´s modern production centre generates a very low level of environmental pollution. The environmental effects are virtually reduced to a minimum. Moreover, thanks to a national return system and our own recycling plant, raw material consumption has fallen by no less than 40%. For all of these efforts, Rockwool received the Construction Recycling Prize already as far back as 1994. Thus, after many decades of use, Rockpanel products can be completely recycled. |
