(5 votes, average: 4.80 out of 5)
Loading ...I received an e-mail from a homeowner concerned that his attic might have asbestos insulation. A home inspector pointed out that the insulation behind the upstairs knee-walls is called “something wool”. It’s old, dirty and fibrous and the inspector told him that it should be tested for asbestos fibers.
Rock wool is made from mineral fibers manufactured from stone and waste from mining . It consists of aluminum silicate rock (basalt), furnace slag and limestone or dolomite.
Slag wool is produced mainly from blast furnace slag with some natural stone.
The term for both types of this fibrous insulation is mineral wool. Mineral wool was the most common thermal insulation for residential use until the 1960’s, when fiberglass insulation become the standard. The raw materials are melted in furnaces and blown with air or steam over spinning drums or a centrifuge to create the fibers (picture making cotton candy).
Balsam Wool
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fiber that is mined. Since mineral wool is a man-made fiber, it does not contain asbestos. I’ve read about mineral wool, asbestos and resins mixed together to manufacture a couple specific industrial insulating products, but it’s not likely the kind of stuff used for residential insulation.
Other Insulation
There is one type of older insulation that has a significant possibility of being contaminated with asbestos. That is the loose, granular insulation called vermiculite. See this article on vermiculite and asbestos for more information.
Fiberglass and cellulose are the most common insulation installed in residential attics today. I have never read or heard of either containing any asbestos fibers.
Rock Wool
Other than vermiculite, it’s actually quite rare to find thermal insulation in residential attics that contains asbestos. In those rare cases, the asbestos containing materials used for insulation were manufactured for some other purpose. It was likely brought home from work at a factory or salvaged from some other type of building. I heard one story of a worker at a ship-yard bringing the stuff home regularly and stuffing his attic full.
5 Responses to “Does Some Attic Insulation Contain Asbestos?”
I have a question regarding attic insulation in an older home outside of Detroit, Michigan, built in the mid to late 1950’s. Below some newer insulation, I found a 1″ layer of tan to toast colored fiber that looked like wool, bonded to black paper. Was wool used in that era or am I looking at something else? I’m an electrician and would like to avoid any hazardous materials such as asbestos, so knowing what I’m looking at would be helpful.
Please respond to my E-mail address with any information you might have.
Thank you,
Phil Szwedo
How can I tell if drywall has asbestos? Is it harder to cut than standard drywall? I have sometimes cut drywall that was extremely tough to cut.
I too am an electrician, doing lots of work in old homes. I’d like to minimize exposure but still have to make a living.
Excellent site, keep up the good work
I have encountered what appears to be a hardened, somewhat rounded, shiny, mostly black (with some silver) material in an older homes attic. Do you have any ideas of what this might be?
Thanks
Bill E., could you be describing vermiculite?
See:
http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/vermiculite-and-asbestos.shtml