Whats this insulation

**Marc M** · 12-20-2012, 09:42 AM

Never seen it...Felt like wool.

Similar Threads:

**Scott Patterson** · 12-20-2012, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by Marc M

Never seen it...Felt like wool.

Looks like old cellulose (ground up newspaper) insulation, but then it does not feel like wool. You might have rockwool insulation with some vermiculite mixed in with it. Were those whitish specks shiny?

How old was the house?

**Gunnar Alquist** · 12-20-2012, 04:53 PM

Hey Marc,

Did it itch when you rolled around in it? Looks like rock wool or fiberglass.

**Marc M** · 12-20-2012, 11:30 PM

Originally Posted by Gunnar Alquist

Hey Marc,

Did it itch when you rolled around in it? Looks like rock wool or fiberglass.

Lol.., no but it tasted like crap.

**Rich Goeken** · 12-21-2012, 05:25 AM

Originally Posted by Marc M

Never seen it...Felt like wool.

Mark, how old was the house? had to be at least 100 years old. Some of the older homes in some areas had a lot of sawdust available and they used that for insulation. A very small R factor though.

**WAYNE ALLEN** · 12-21-2012, 07:37 AM

We found the same "stuff" in our home in SD, only it was encased in tarred kraft paper. The label on the paper called it "Balsam Wool". We'd never seen it before or since. W.D.Allen

**Lon Henderson** · 12-21-2012, 08:10 AM

Funny the regional differences. I often see this, although I've never thought to taste it.

It is just a kind of cellulose. I can't remember right now what it's actually called. If it's what I believe it is, I've been told that it'll burn like kindling in a house fire, but there isn't any formal recommendation to replace it. Because it was installed back when energy was relatively cheaper and conservation wasn't much of a concern, it's usually only an inch or so thick. So, I note minimal and inadequate insulation.

**Gunnar Alquist** · 12-21-2012, 09:00 AM

Marc,

Looks like we have a consensus. It's some form of insulation.

**Mike Bauer** · 12-21-2012, 09:23 AM

I see it alot in the homes that were built in the 1950,s and 60's. It does appear to have some paper products in it. i wouldn't venture a guess on the r-value. I always thought of it as one of the first attemts at blown in insulation and that they were trying to develop something that could be blown in.