organic / Animal-Derived / Flooring
Wool Carpet, tile or broadloom (8mm-30mm pile height)
Premium natural flooring offering superior thermal insulation, acoustic performance, and durability for Australian residential and commercial applications
Atlas code
ORG-ANI-FLR-001
At-a-glance signals
Premium natural flooring offering superior thermal insulation, acoustic performance, and durability for Australian residential and commercial applications
Overview
Executive summary
Wool carpet with 8-30mm pile height is a premium flooring solution manufactured from natural sheep wool fibres, primarily sourced from Australian Merino sheep. Available in cut pile, loop pile, or cut-and-loop configurations, it provides exceptional thermal insulation (R-value 0.14-0.54), acoustic absorption (NRC 0.30-0.70), and natural flame resistance meeting Australian Building Code requirements.
Best when…
- Excellent thermal insulation (8-13% energy savings)
- Superior acoustic absorption (NRC up to 0.70)
- Natural flame resistance
- Biodegradable and renewable
- Moisture regulation capabilities
- Long lifespan (15-20 years residential)
- Natural resilience and recovery
- Luxurious appearance and feel
Top advantages
- 01 Excellent thermal insulation (8-13% energy savings)
- 02 Superior acoustic absorption (NRC up to 0.70)
- 03 Natural flame resistance
- 04 Biodegradable and renewable
- 05 Moisture regulation capabilities
Top limitations
- 01 High initial cost ($80-150/m² installed)
- 02 Requires moth protection treatment
- 03 pH sensitive (damaged by alkaline cleaners)
- 04 Moisture absorption can lead to mould
- 05 Regular professional maintenance required
Technical
Physical ·9
- Density
- 600-2000 g/m² (face weight) kg/m³
- Specific gravity
- 1.31 (wool fibre)
- Porosity
- 75-85% %
- Water absorption
- Up to 30% by weight %
- Hardness
- Not applicable
- UV resistance
- Moderate (requires treatment)
- Chemical resistance
- Poor to alkalis
- pH tolerance
- 5.0-7.5
- Surface roughness
- 8-30mm pile height µm
Mechanical ·7
- Tensile strength
- 200-400 MPa (fibre) MPa
- Compressive strength
- Not applicable MPa
- Flexural strength
- Not applicable MPa
- Shear strength
- Not applicable MPa
- Poisson's ratio
- 0.25 (fibre)
- Impact resistance
- Good (resilient fibres)
- Creep resistance
- 85-95% recovery
Sustainability & Health
Embodied carbon & energy ·7
- Embodied carbon
- Limited data available
- Carbon footprint
- 5-10 kg CO₂e/m²
- Embodied energy
- 45-65 MJ/kg MJ/kg
- Water footprint
- High (sheep farming) L/kg
- Recycled content
- 0-20% (product dependent) %
- Renewable content
- 80-100% %
- Circular score
- Limited infrastructure
Compliance & Fire
Fire performance ·6
- Combustibility class
- Combustible
- Fire resistance level
- Not rated (surface material)
- Ignition temp
- 570-600°C °C
- Flame spread index
- CRF 4.5-9.0 kW/m²
- Smoke dev. index
- 250-450
- Heat release rate
- Low
Cost & Lifecycle
Capex & lead time ·6
- Material cost (range)
- $60-100/m²
- Material cost (per unit)
- $80/m² average
- Lead time
- 1-4 weeks
- Lifecycle cost
- $150-250/m² (20 years)
- Annual maintenance
- $5-10/m²
- Market availability
- Readily available
Service life & durability ·3
- Expected lifespan
- 15-20 years (residential)
- Maintenance interval
- Annual professional clean
- Warranty period
- 10-15 years typical
Layer D
Where it's used
Residential bedrooms and living areas
Commercial offices and meeting rooms
Hotels and hospitality venues
Aged care facilities
Educational institutions
Stairways (with appropriate density)
Home theatres (acoustic applications)
Heritage building restorations