Envelope and protection · Insulation
Aerogel Insulation Blanket and Board
Describes what aerogel is, the blanket, board and render formats it reaches buildings in, why it is used at constrained details rather than everywhere, and the handling and assembly questions it raises.
Educational reference entry. Suitability depends on the complete assembly, substrate, exposure, installation method, manufacturer documentation, local requirements and qualified professional review.
Overview
What aerogel insulation is
Aerogel is made by forming a gel and then removing the liquid from it in a way that leaves the solid network standing, producing an extremely light and highly porous silica solid. In that raw state it is fragile and dusty, so it very rarely reaches a building site as a block of aerogel that could be handled like a board.
In construction it is normally encountered as granules or particles carried in something else: a thin flexible blanket in which the aerogel sits within a fibre matrix, a rigid board or laminate with a bonded facing, or a render, plaster or mortar with aerogel blended through it. Each format cuts, fixes and finishes quite differently, so the format matters as much as the material does.
It is used where depth is the constraint rather than as a general purpose layer: window reveals, jambs and heads, junctions where a detail has to be improved without losing dimensions, internal linings in rooms or historic interiors that cannot give up their proportions, and narrow service voids. Cutting a blanket releases fine dust, and the manufacturer's handling guidance is specific to the product.
Terminology
Common names and aliases
These names describe the same thing. The library keeps one entry per material so that an acronym, a trade name or a regional spelling never becomes a second, thinner page.
- Aerogel blanket
- Silica aerogel insulation
- Aerogel insulation blanket
- Aerogel based insulation
Applications
Common applications
Where this material is typically encountered. A typical application is not a statement that it suits your project.
- Thin blanket applied at window reveals, jambs and heads where an internal lining has to stop or turn a corner.
- Detail positions at junctions where a professional wants to improve a build-up without adding measurable depth.
- Internal linings in rooms whose proportions, joinery or cornices cannot be given up to a thicker product.
- Work on historic and traditionally built interiors where a professional has designed the whole wall build-up.
- Aerogel blended renders and plasters applied to walls where a coating rather than a board has been specified.
- Narrow service voids, riser walls and similar spaces where nothing thicker will physically fit.
Consideration
Where it is commonly considered
- Where the depth available is so limited that conventional boards and quilts have already been ruled out.
- At specific details and junctions rather than as the general insulation across a whole elevation or roof.
- Where the interior has features, proportions or joinery that a thicker lining would materially alter.
- Where a qualified professional has assessed the whole wall build-up, including its moisture behaviour.
- Where the manufacturer's handling and fixing guidance can genuinely be followed on this particular site.
Professional review
Where additional professional review is especially important
These are the situations where the answer depends on the specific building, and where a qualified professional should be involved before anything is decided.
- As a general substitute for a conventional layer where there is no real constraint on depth.
- On walls with unresolved damp, salt staining or rain penetration whose cause has not been diagnosed.
- Where the dust released during cutting cannot be controlled in an occupied or finished space.
- Where the adhesive, lining or finish going over it has not been confirmed as compatible by the manufacturer.
- In historic fabric where the effect on the wall has not been assessed by a professional familiar with such construction.
Properties
Key properties to discuss
Qualitative topics worth raising. Measured values, classes and grades come from the manufacturer's technical documentation for the specific product, not from a reference page.
- Thermal behaviour
- Thermal behaviour at limited depth is the entire reason the material is considered, and any figures belong to the manufacturer's documentation for the exact format and to a calculation prepared for the actual detail rather than to a general description.
- Installation dependency
- Blankets are cut with a knife and shed fine dust while being cut, and they are flexible rather than self supporting. How the material is held, lapped, fixed and then covered is set out by the manufacturer for each format.
- Moisture behaviour
- Because it is frequently used on internal linings and on older walls, the moisture behaviour of the wall behind is central to the decision. That is an assessment for a qualified professional on the actual construction, not something a material page can supply.
- Fire-related questions
- This entry describes no fire characteristic and offers no comparison. Fire behaviour depends on the format, the carrier, the facings and the whole assembly, and is a matter for the manufacturer's documentation, a qualified professional and the relevant authority.
- Appearance
- It is always covered in service, so what is seen is the lining, plaster or render over it. Its value is that it takes up so little depth that reveals, joinery and room proportions survive largely unchanged.
- Documentation
- Ask for the data sheet for the exact format, the manufacturer's cutting and handling guidance including dust control, and written confirmation of compatibility with the adhesive, lining or finish being used over it.
Exposure
Exposure and environmental conditions
- Whether the wall behind shows any damp, and whether the cause has been investigated by a qualified professional.
- How the room and the wall behave in use, particularly in bathrooms, kitchens and other humid spaces.
- Whether the position is exposed to driving rain on the outer face, which is a question about the whole wall.
- How dust released during cutting will be controlled where the property is occupied or already finished.
- Whether the material will be protected from weather and site damage before it is covered.
Assembly
Substrate and system dependencies
What this material sits on, is fixed to or depends on. This is usually where performance is won or lost.
- The condition, flatness and dryness of the surface the material is applied to, established before anything is ordered.
- The adhesive, mechanical fixing or carrier system the manufacturer names for that format and that substrate.
- Which control layers this build-up needs and where they go, both of them decisions for a qualified professional.
- How the material is terminated at reveals, heads, floors and ceilings, since it is usually used precisely at such junctions.
- What lining, plaster or render is going over it, and whether the manufacturer accepts that combination.
Appearance
Appearance and finish considerations
- The material is never the visible surface, so the finish over it determines what the room actually looks like.
- Because so little depth is added, reveals, cornices, skirtings and joinery can often stay much as they were.
- The finish applied over a thin flexible layer needs a proper base, and how that base is formed is part of the design.
- In historic interiors the choice of finish over it is usually as significant a decision as the insulation itself.
Durability
Durability questions
Questions to raise rather than a service life to expect. No material has a universal lifespan — it depends on the assembly, the exposure and the upkeep.
- How the material behaves within this particular wall over time, assessed rather than assumed from the family.
- Whether fixings for shelves, radiators or wall mounted items can be made through the lining without damaging the layer.
- What would happen if the wall became damp behind the lining, and how that would be noticed.
- Whether the finish applied over it will hold and remain sound on a thin, flexible substrate.
- How movement in the surrounding structure has been allowed for so that the finish does not crack at junctions.
Upkeep
Maintenance and repair considerations
- What would need removing to reach the layer if damp or a defect appeared behind the lining.
- Whether the same format would still be obtainable if part of the layer had to be replaced.
- How a small area would be cut out and made good so that the finish over it remains continuous.
- What record exists of where the material was used, given that it is often applied only at specific details.
Installation
Installation dependencies
What the installation depends on — not how to do it. Method belongs to the manufacturer's instructions and the trades carrying out the work.
- The manufacturer's handling and dust control guidance, which is specific to the format being used.
- Substrate preparation appropriate to the actual wall, agreed with the designer before the material arrives.
- The adhesive or fixing system named by the manufacturer for this substrate and this format.
- Protection of finished surfaces and occupied rooms during cutting, since the dust is fine and travels.
- Careful detailing where the layer stops at reveals, heads and floor junctions, which is usually the point of using it.
Documentation
Documentation to request
Ask for these in writing, for the specific product being proposed, and keep them with the project record.
- The technical data sheet for the exact format supplied, whether blanket, board, laminate or blended coating.
- Manufacturer guidance on cutting, handling, dust control and protective equipment for that format.
- Written confirmation of compatibility with the adhesive, lining, plaster or render being used over it.
- Any system documentation where the material forms part of a wider lining or coating arrangement.
- A record of exactly where the material was used, since it is often applied only at selected details.
Conversations
Questions for qualified professionals
Bring these to the relevant qualified professional, manufacturer or authority. Requirements vary by project and location.
- What is the actual depth constraint that makes this material the answer rather than a conventional board?
- Which format is proposed here, and how does that change the fixing, the finish and the detailing?
- How has the moisture behaviour of the wall behind been assessed before adding a lining to it?
- Which control layers does this build-up need, where do they go, and who has designed that?
- What finish is going over the material, and has the manufacturer confirmed that combination in writing?
- How will dust be controlled during cutting if the property is occupied or already decorated?
- How will the layer be terminated at reveals, heads and floor junctions where it stops or turns?
- Which parts of this work need confirming with the relevant authority before it goes ahead?
Blind spots
Commonly overlooked points
- It is a detail material used where depth runs out, rather than a general purpose layer for a whole building.
- The format matters as much as the material, because blanket, board and blended coating behave nothing alike.
- Cutting releases fine dust that travels through a house, which is a real constraint in an occupied property.
- The finish applied over a thin flexible layer needs designing, and it is often treated as an afterthought.
- Because it is used only at selected details, a record of exactly where it went is unusually valuable later.
What this page does not do
- This entry states no thermal value and claims no performance outcome of any kind.
- No fire claim or comparison is made here; fire behaviour is a matter for the manufacturer's documentation, the specific assembly, a qualified professional and the relevant authority.
- Whether an internal lining is appropriate for a particular wall requires professional assessment of the existing construction and its moisture behaviour.
- Build Design Hub does not test, approve, certify or recommend any aerogel product, format, coating or installation.
Related entries
Related materials
Materials from the same family, an adjacent role in the assembly, or a shared application.
Inspiration
Related Ideas Library pages
Design directions where this material commonly appears.
Preparation
Related planning checklists
Owner-side preparation before the conversation where this material comes up.
Go deeper
Related Build Design Hub guides
Planning guidance and neutral comparisons behind the decisions on this page.
Insulation Materials
Reference entries for thermal insulation materials — mineral and glass wool, rigid foam boards, natural-fibre insulations, blown and sprayed products and reflective systems.
Browse all insulation entries →