I am remodeling a ceiling in a home built before 1975, in the attic there is insulation that looks like salt! it is about 3-4 inches deep.I have read descriptions of vermiculite and it is not that.it is white! and the grains are like table salt.any ideas where I can find out what I have?
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It might be perlite- that's lightweight white pellets, sometimes used in stucco mixes, and poured into block wall cells as insulation. I guess it could work in an attic too.
Bob
I crawled an attic last week and found this white fine textured attic insulation that had been randomly added over the 1959 r11 fiberglass insulation.
It sort of looked like salt but was not dense enough as it produced a cloud of dust with each minor disturbance. It was very scratchy to the throat and I exited the attic very quickly.
I reminded me of powdered cheapy styrofoam ice chests.....was powdered styrofoam manufactured as an attic insulation? What are the pros and cons on this type of insulation?
.......................Iron Helix
if it is perlite, then would it contain asbestos?
i think perlite may have been non-asbestos.. the no-no is tradename zonalite..
did ya try lickin it ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
no I haven't licked it but I did look at it under microscope, at 100x it looks like salt, but kind of like shattered glass. a finer crystalline structure than salt...hmmm
Edited 8/5/2003 11:13:52 PM ET by geronimo
i think perlite may have been non-asbestos.. the no-no is tradename zonalite..
See: http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/insulation.html
Including: Is vermiculite insulation a problem?Prior to its close in 1990, much of the world’s supply of vermiculite came from a mine near Libby, Montana. This mine had a natural deposit of asbestos which resulted in the vermiculite being contaminated with asbestos. Attic insulation produced using vermiculite ore, particularly ore that originated from the Libby mine, may contain asbestos fibers. Today, vermiculite is mined at three U.S. facilities and in other countries which have low levels of contamination in the finished material.
_______________________
10 .... I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.
11 For no one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have--Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:10-11
Edited 8/5/2003 11:21:33 PM ET by Bob Walker
i too am very curious to know what it tastes like, just don't swallow!
I don't think so, it did not desolve in water so I don't think it would have flavor
Edited 8/6/2003 12:29:57 AM ET by geronimo
oops, I will start a new discussion.
well I think I got it! I got some perlite samples from some potting soil, then compared the samples at 40x and 100x, they were identical. thanks for your input...
perlite !!!
God, I'm good.....lol. And I didn't even need a microscope or a taste-test...lol
This is really good news...
Between you and Geronimo there are now now in house testing facilities...
curious minds make wonderful finds...
geronimo
actually, I am the superintendent of a fire and water restoration company, I wanted to know, before I sent my guys into the house.
thanks to the suggestions I received, I was able to solve the problem 2 days before the environmental hygienist's report came back. Making my customer very happy.
Geronimo says "happy customers good"...
yes good
thanks again to all who helped