What is vermiculite? Vermiculite is a mineral that expands when heated to a very high degree, making it very light. This process of heating and expansion is called exfoliation and causes the vermiculate to change from a rock-like substance to smaller pieces shaped rather like worms. This is where the name comes from; in Latin, vermiculite means to breed worms.

Vermiculite has many uses because when expanded the product is so light and has other properties such as high absorbency, fire resistance, and insulation properties. Vermiculate insulation can be used to pack around reptile or other eggs for hatching, in stoves or where products needs to be kept hot or where cold temperatures are needed. Glass blowers use vermiculite to allow their products to cool more slowly and thus prevent cracking.

It is used as a soil additive to prevent compacting and as a growing medium in hydroponics to name just a few.

In fact, it is often used for Cryogenic Insulation, where the temperatures must be extremely cold – hundreds of degrees below freezing point. In such applications the storage tanks are double walled with the annulus being filled with vermiculite.

Many ceiling tiles are made from vermiculite or a mix of that and other substances to make them lighter, so you could have a vermiculite ceiling and not even realise it. It is also used to manufacture Lightweight Render, Lightweight Plaster and Lightweight Concrete. It is used where Insulating Concrete is needed since the finished product is a Fire Rated Product. These are all classed as Refractory Products as they are very stable under high heat conditions. Such products would be ideal to use in building a home that would not burn down.

Commercial vermiculite suppliers can easily be found by looking up the Yellow Pages; however, you can usually get small quantities from gardening supply stores.

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