​Welsh Wool insulating iconic Grade II Listed Welsh Building

TrueWool, a Welsh wool insulation product, is being used to insulate the roof of Watton Mount in Brecon. Known locally as the “Ivy Building”, Watton Mount is a Grade II listed building. It’s a wonderful example of an early 19th-century four-storey family townhouse opposite the early Victorian y Gaer Museum, Art Gallery and Library in Brecon. 

Watton Mount is being renovated by Andrew Scott as part of a £3.5 million project to repurpose various buildings in the area for the NPTC Group of Colleges. The College has plans to safeguard the heritage of select town centre buildings to provide education, skills and training to students and businesses. 

TrueWool insulation was chosen for the roof for several reasons. It is hygroscopic, meaning that it helps regulate moisture within the roof. It can absorb up to one-third of its weight in moisture without losing its thermal qualities. The exterior is hydrophobic meaning it does not feel wet. These factors mean that it is a great choice of insulation to help manage dampness, moisture and mould. Condensation will not build up and drip in the roof space. The wool naturally holds and releases it as and when the humidity and temperature change. It is also fully breathable. 

TrueWool is currently the only 100% wool insulation produced in the UK. Welsh Wool Insulation (WIW), the company that makes TrueWool, is passionate about ensuring wool is seen as a valued product by both the producers and consumers. To do this they source the wool via the British Wool Tracability Scheme. 

Mair Jones from WIW says:

“we can work with contractors to use wool that has been grown in the surrounding areas so that we know it's genuinely making a difference to the local farming communities.”

TrueWool is made from wool from Welsh Mountain Sheep, a breed of sheep that has notoriously coarse wool (compared to other breeds whose wool is made into clothing etc). Historically the texture of the wool from this hardy breed has made it difficult to sell, but it is exactly this characteristic that makes it ideal for insulation. WIW researched the wool from many sheep breeds to find out which has the best features for natural fibre insulation and found their local highland sheep to be the best. This is potentially a boon for Welsh mountain sheep farmers who have often seen the wool from their animals as a waste product. Now we can see that the wool from Welsh Mountain Sheep has great value as a product in and of itself and insulation made from it contributes to net zero construction targets as wool is about a 50% carbon store. 

We stock TrueWool insulation and can dispatch it to anywhere in the UK. See our Wool Insulation Wales page for products and sizes available (more will be added as and when their range expands!).