Posts tagged "Insulation"

What kind of insulation is this?

by habeebee

Question by : What kind of insulation is this?
In my attic, I have found two types of blown in and/or loose fill shredded insulation, in two layers, totaling 6 inches of depth. The bottom layer is a very dark gray “wool,” where the top layer is a yellow shredded material that I think is fiberglass. The house was built around 1950. I have been laying blankets of fiberglass insulation to increase the R-value, but I was concerned there might be asbestos. What are the two layers, especially the dark gray one? Rock wool?

Best answer:

Answer by TomCom
The darker one is most-likely rock wool with a mixture of vermiculite.

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Technorati Tags: Insulation, kind, this

How do I remove dust from the attic with the pink insulation exposed?

Question by chipoff4: How do I remove dust from the attic with the pink insulation exposed?
The insulations is pink and not covered; I know I can a vac to clean the ducts, but I do not want to get exposure to asbestos(?).

Best answer:

Answer by Aaron
wear a mask

What do you think? Answer below!

Technorati Tags: Attic, Dust, exposed, from, Insulation, Pink, remove

Home Insulation

Tim Carter, of AsktheBuilder.com, gives some helpful tips on insulating your home. Sign up NOW for Tim’s FREE weekly newsletter at go.askthebuilder.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Technorati Tags: home, Insulation

What year did they stop using asbestos insulation in the US?

by jaqian

Question by Matt454: What year did they stop using asbestos insulation in the US?
Particularly as thermal inulation in the walls of campers and RVs. There is an old Tejas brand truck camper sitting on some rural property I just purchased and I’d like to cut it up with a sawzall so I can dispose of it in a construction dumpster but I’m worried that the walls might containt asbestos.

Best answer:

Answer by Vulcan
Generally you didn’t see asbestos as insulation in cheap stuff like a camper. And mostly it’s harmless anyway. There’s two kinds of asbestos – the most common form is “serpentine” – and the dangerous stuff which makes up a fairly small amount of asbestos in some projects is called “amphibole”. Nobody in the government apparently knew this when they made the big hysterical asbestos laws.

Your chances of running into any sort of asbestos in insulation is pretty small except where it contaminates vermiculite – and then it has to be just the right kind. Wear a mask – wash your cloths when you’re done – and you’ll come through smelling like a rose.

What do you think? Answer below!

Technorati Tags: Asbestos, Insulation, stop, they, using, year

Use Tyvek House Wrap over Dow Tuff R insulation boards?

Question by Justin D: Use Tyvek House Wrap over Dow Tuff R insulation boards?
I am haivng my house sided at the end of this week. They are removing wood shingles in the front and installing DOW TUFF R foam insulation boards, then the siding right over that. On all the sides, they are putting the DOW boards right over my Asbestos shingles, then the siding. Do I need/Should I have the TYVEK house wrap installed too? If yes, between the house and the DOW boards or between the DOW boards and the siding?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ANSWER!!!!

Best answer:

Answer by Keats
You betcha. Tyvex will seal your house and you won’t have to worry about air getting through the side of your windows and it will keep your house warmer in the winter.

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Technorati Tags: boards, House, Insulation, over, Tuff, Tyvek, wrap

Can I sue the previous homeowner for knowingly leaving asbestos insulation and tiling in the house?

Question by saxyman1039: Can I sue the previous homeowner for knowingly leaving asbestos insulation and tiling in the house?
My wife and I bought the house in October and we’re finding that it may have asbestos tiling and insulation in it. The homeowner knows about the asbestos as they did remodeling in both areas. We want to know if we can sue them to cover the cost of having both removed.

I realize that if you cover and leave the asbestos tiling alone it is ok. But it is beginning to break up. Any and all help is greatly appreciated! My wife is pregnant and I’d really like to take care of this before bringing a baby in to this house.

Best answer:

Answer by pj
Didn’t you have a home inspection done before you bought? I’d start there.

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Technorati Tags: Asbestos, Homeowner, House, Insulation, knowingly, Leaving, previous, tiling

Q&A: My mom said that the water heater has asbestos around it in the insulation. what do you think this means?

by Adcuz

Question by Wizard: My mom said that the water heater has asbestos around it in the insulation. what do you think this means?
The material that surrounds the water heater and is also in the walls as insulation, contains asbestos and is dangerous for our lungs my mom says, my mom gets words mixed up sometimes , do you think she means asbestos or something else ? I worry about it day and night because I’m into healthful living, but I don’t want to worry about things that my mom is wrong about because she gets words mixed up all the time. What do you think she could mean by this, I would ask her but she gets really mad whenever I talk and she tells me to shut up ? She said she was going to get it replaced or torn out but she is waiting until she has the money. We are all coughing every day it seems like, this could be coincidence but I am worried about everyone’s health.
Our house is a condo and it was built pretty recently , like just a few years ago.

Best answer:

Answer by dirocyn
If your house was built within the last 20 years, it’s not asbestos. It’s probably fiberglass–which is still no good to breath, and can cause skin irritation–but it does not cause mesothelioma (a deadly lung disease) like asbestos does.

If it was asbestos, it would be better not to tear it out without tearing down the whole building. Tearing out asbestos puts particles in the air, which can cause you to get sick. If it stays undisturbed, very little gets airborne.

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Technorati Tags: Around, Asbestos, heater, Insulation, means, Said, think, this, water

Insulation that goes on the outside of a house?

by ell brown

Question by : Insulation that goes on the outside of a house?
I have a house & detached garage built in the 50′s. There is no insulation in the walls and there are Asbestos shingles. Is there anything on the market that I could put on the outside of the house?

I have used the 1/2″ foam board, but don’t like it because it’s hard to make a smooth surface on top of the shingles.
Also, I’m not interested in spaying foam insulation down or up into the walls.

Any Ideas? Thnx

Best answer:

Answer by it’s him
Take the shingles off and stack them. Then add the foam panels. Each week dump 5 to 10 of those shingle panels wrapped in plastic into your trash cans. Eventually they’ll all be gone. Took me a year to get rid of my roofing tiles.

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Technorati Tags: goes, House, Insulation, outside

Pipe insulation and vinyl ceiling and floor tiles may be sources of?

by katsniffen

Question by : Pipe insulation and vinyl ceiling and floor tiles may be sources of?
A. chloroform
B. formaldehyde
C. carbon monoxide
D. asbestos
E. sulfur dioxide

Best answer:

Answer by JcL
D Asbestos. It was used as insulation, then banned as a common building material by the EPA. It is only dangerous when repairs are made, that is when the little fibers break off and can be inhaled.

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Technorati Tags: Ceiling, Floor, Insulation, pipe, sources, Tiles, Vinyl

Is there a NY Environmental Law that requires landlords to remove old insulation before/after leasing a home?

by sarflondondunc

Question by : Is there a NY Environmental Law that requires landlords to remove old insulation before/after leasing a home?
My husband and I are renting a home in upstate NY. The house is old but has had some minor renovations. We’ve been here for about 8 months now. A few nights back we heard some rumbling and scratching in the attic which is right above our bedroom, we believe that mice might be trying to make it a home up there so we decided to get all different types of mouse traps. We had never peeked into the Attic, so had no idea what it looked like. Once my husband went up there, he saw that the entire Attic is covered in about 3-5 inches of old insulation, with all that in mind, it was obvious that we weren’t gonna be able to see any mice since more than likely they’re either nesting underneath or hiding in some corner. I became concerned when I looked at the insulation and saw the condition of it. I did some research to find out more about it and even looked at images of what old versus new insulation looks like. I was disgusted to realize that the insulation in our Attic looks extremely old and probably even contaminated with asbestos (according to the research I did). This also made me realize that a proper inspection was not done on this house (bear in mind that the house may be between 60-80 years old).

Does anyone know if there is any law where it makes it the landlord’s responsibility to fix this issue? We’ve been thinking about sending them a proper letter, with pictures and all stating our concerns, specially health wise, the last thing we would want is to suffer from mesothelioma or other respiratory diseases in the future.

Thanks for your help!

Best answer:

Answer by Quizzard
Actually, loose insulation such as you describe is unlikely to contain asbestos, but in any event, the recommended course of action if asbestos is found to be there is to leave it undisturbed. There is certainly no law that requires the removal of insulation just because it is old. If it is necessary to disturb the insulation, a licensed contractor will test for asbestos and if it’s found, it must be removed. But ONLY if it has to be disturbed.

It is in no way necessary for inspect a home before renting it, nor would a home inspection have found anything wrong. That type of insulation is perfectly acceptable and is found in millions of homes.

The person below is completely wrong. You cannot sue your landlord for failing to make the house safe. In the first place, as I say it is unlikely to contain asbestos. In the second place, even if it is asbestos, it IS safe if you stay out of the attic. Finally, at BEST all you can do is force him to have it removed, you cannot SUE because you have no damages. BTW, you will be homeless while the work is being done.

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Technorati Tags: Before/After, Environmental, home, Insulation, landlord's, leasing, remove, requires, there

Asbestieristeiden purkua, removing asbestos insulation

Kohteessa tehdään täydellinen LVISA remontti ja vanhat järjestelmät poistettiin, vesilinjat oli eristetty asbestipitoisella eristeellä ja se piti purkaa ennen kuin putket voitiin purkaa. In this job we had to remove all the piping from the building, but before cutting the pipes the asbestos had to be removed.
Video Rating: 0 / 5

James Workman is a co-ordinator for SAVY, which stands for Support for Asbestos Victims in Yorkshire. If you have been exposed to asbestos and think you suffer from an asbestos related disease then James can help you claim the compensation that you deserve. James has helped a number of clients who have been exposed to asbestos during their working lives, including a client who worked in a railway engineering works who developed an asbestos illness spraying carriages with asbestos insulation. With his help the client was able to recover £20000.00 in damages. Another client was exposed to asbestos dust after working to lag pipes in a power station. He was able to recover £30000.00 for him. There were numerous other industries as well such as ship building and construction where people were exposed. It can take years for symptoms to develop, so claiming years after the exposure is not always a problem. If we decide to take on your claim we can recover the costs from the Defendant on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis, so you do not have to pay. Therefore, if you have recently been told you have an asbestos illness then please call James Workman on 0800 027 5999 or visit the website at www.savy.org.uk. SAVY is a support service sponsored by Crombie Wilkinson Solicitors.
Video Rating: 0 / 5

Technorati Tags: Asbestieristeiden, Asbestos, Insulation, purkua, removing

Exposure to old insulation dust during pregnancy?

by sarflondondunc

Question by apriljaymes: Exposure to old insulation dust during pregnancy?
My friend recently bought a very old house and they are renovating it. Everything has been gutted, asbestos taken out (was wrapped around pipes) etc. I went over there for 3 hours today and ended up helping her sweep out the upstairs (old insulation dust and sawdust everywhere) so they can use it for storage while finishing the lower level. I wore a face mask for part of the time, but had to keep taking it off so I could breathe.

I’m all paranoid now about exposure to old insulation dust- especially since I’m pregnant. It wasn’t until after the fact that someone mentioned to me how it can be dangerous to inhale that dust. Carcinogenic even. I’m just wondering- would 3 hours of breathing dusty, old insulation air harm me or my baby?

Best answer:

Answer by tommy
The insulation is either fiberglass or rock wool. There is not much in them that can harm you. Just will irritate your skin. Although you should were a mask or take a break and get fresh air. I wouldn’t make a habit of doing it though. Contact a doctor if you think that there is a problem.

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Technorati Tags: During, Dust, Exposure, Insulation, pregnancy

Do I need to worry about asbestos when replacing the insulation in the basement of a home built in 1920?

by contessak

Question by UndecidedMBA: Do I need to worry about asbestos when replacing the insulation in the basement of a home built in 1920?

Best answer:

Answer by Smokey da Bear
In 1920 there was no such thing as house insulation like there is today. If you see insulation between the floor beams in either paper or foil it is fiberglass and just a skin irritant. The only thing that you will have to be careful of are white cloth looking wrappings around any heat pipes down there. They would be remnants covering old steam heat lines and are usually around 3″ in diameter. THOSE contain asbestos and should be removed by an asbestos abatement company. If you do it yourself you will be spreading it all over your house and inhaling it as well.

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Technorati Tags: 1920, About, Asbestos, basement, built, home, Insulation, need, replacing, worry

Q&A: what kind of home insulation was commonly used in the late 1800′s?

by contessak

Question by TIMOTHY M: what kind of home insulation was commonly used in the late 1800′s?
I live in a historical section in connecticut and reciently putting in sheetrock (we are removing the old plaster and lattis boards ) underneath we had found some unidentifeid blown insulation grey in matter; I was wondering what was comminly used back then and if asbestos was a possibility in home insulation back in the 1800′s

Best answer:

Answer by tim e
Dried horse and cow crap.

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Technorati Tags: 1800's, commonly, home, Insulation, kind, Late, used

Spray foam insulation on roof and walls of farm building

Spray foam insulation on asbestos roof and walls of farm building

Technorati Tags: building, Farm, foam, Insulation, Roof, spray, walls

Q&A: Do I have asbestos in my insulation?

by Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden

Question by ChunkyMunky: Do I have asbestos in my insulation?
I am looking into further insulating my home which was built in 1989, the year they originally banned asbestos before it was overturned in 1991. I don’t have much insulation currently and I’d like to add what I can to the attic. Is there any way to determine what kind of insulation I have? I don’t want to do anything before I understand my safety issues. I live in California, is there any public service to help me do this? Thanks for the help

Best answer:

Answer by SSP Bowl Dude
Very doubtful. If it is pink or yellow, it’s fiberglass. Although asbestos may have been banned, it was pretty much phased out 40 years earlier. Fiberglass and blown cellulose are much cheaper.

You only have to worry about asbestos if you remove it or it gets damaged. Placing more insulation on top and sealing it in an attic, there is little danger.

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Technorati Tags: Asbestos, Insulation

Question about home insulation removal effects?

by wallyg

Question by MelancHolly: Question about home insulation removal effects?
My mother’s house is being torn apart due to water getting into the attic. Well the attic was a mess and they removed all the insulation professionally. Problem is all my childhood toys and my siblings were in that attic. So the company cleared out the insulation and threw all our stuff on the floor in the room that the attics entrance was in. It is all covered in insulation pieces and me and hubby dug through the stuff to see what could be salvaged.

It was covered in bits and pieces of the insulation… and our hands and all exposed skin hurt like it was fiberglass as I’m sure it was. Plus for about a week now we seem VERY congested.. more so than allergies or a cold. Like stuff is stuck in our lungs.

Could this be from the insulation getting in our lungs? I see that you should wear a mask during removal but what about when handling objects that have bits and pieces of the insulation on them? I’m just curious.

Best answer:

Answer by Oscar
The fiberglass in insulation is very small, easily ingested and breathed right into your lungs. It takes a while for it to get out, but worse than that it can cut your lungs even leave scarring. My suggestion is to go to the doctor and get a breathing test and therapy done. It may require going on something like Advair for a while. Good Luck!

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Technorati Tags: About, effects, home, Insulation, Question, Removal

Cel-Pak Cellulose Insulation With Green Guard Underlayment

We were able to catch up with our contractor, Eric Charest, who explains how they insulated Our Old House using a combination of Cel-Pak cellulose blown in insulation manufactured by National Fiber in Belchertown, MA and GreenGuard XP38 an Energy Star rated underlayment. When the asbestos siding was removed, Eric’s workers found rot under one of the bay windows; Eric explains how this will be repaired.

Technorati Tags: Cellulose, CelPak, Green, Guard, Insulation, underlayment

Does this insulation contain asbestos?

Question by : Does this insulation contain asbestos?
My fiancee removed a cube of insulation where the air conditioner is supposed to go in the apartment. He just let it sit there leaning against a wall and I know how dangerous insulation can be. He told me it was fiberglass based with no asbestos, but I wont take his word on it. It is from a company called Johns Manville, thermal/sound control, fermaldehide free, and is white insulation.

Best answer:

Answer by big fella
Trust him,it’s not asbestos.

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Technorati Tags: Asbestos, contain, Insulation, this

Does anyone know what is in Kimsul Insulation?

by Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden

Question by Steve R: Does anyone know what is in Kimsul Insulation?
I pulled down some walls in my bathroom and found really old Kimsul insulation behind the walls. I am just wondering if it is an asbestos based insulation. Anyone know? The house was built in 1952 if that helps.

Best answer:

Answer by The Handyguys
I am not 100% positive but I am pretty sure it does not contain asbestos. There are more effective products on the market so if its easy enough I would replace it. Wear a good dust mask regardless.

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Technorati Tags: anyone, Insulation, Kimsul, Know