Blown-in insulation toxicity/safety

This is a two fold question… The first is the thermal properties of insulation and how to keep your place at a comfortable level. There are many different materials that can be used when blowing in insulation ranging from Gutex to standard cellulose or even denim. The only difference would be the cost of the material and how much of an R value per inch you achieve with each case. Spray foam will work out great as an R value per inch but it is a petrochemical so its not really the greenest material out there but there is always a give in take for every circumstance.
The second is soundproofing which if you just add items like Roxul or other material on its own you really don’t get a full effect as you would with a complete decoupled structure since you have several factors when dealing with sound and wave propagation. You need to have shock absorption along with Roxul and add density with multiple layers of drywall with green glue between those layers. Because most homes are built to meet minimum code requirements which is pretty much 2 hour fire rating between units th ey don’t focus on how close people are living to each other in a densely packed city. Soundproofing an apartment is not cheap and it does cost money to have it done the correct way. Most contractors say they soundproof places and don’t really know what they are doing and many customers spend thousands of dollars and are unhappy with the results. Its best to do your research and get multiple quotes and see who will provide the best product for your situation.

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in General Discussion 8 years ago

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smadargolan | 8 years and 6 months ago

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I am looking at a two-fold insulation project – one part is insulating my cockloft (heh heh) and one part is for sound reduction in the ceiling between our main unit and a rental. I am trying to asses the potential safety issues of the different materials, and the information is confusing. Some say that cellulose is much safer because it’s just paper fiber; some say that cellulose is totally awful because of the fire retardant chemicals it’s treated with. Some say that fiberglass is completely safe because it’s not treated with anything, but fiberglass is also a potential carcinogen – how can it not be dangerous to have loose fibers hanging out – seems like the potential for an asbestos-like problem down the road is high, or at least inconclusive enough to be nervous. Some say spray foam is the way to go, but again, if you need a hazmat suit to install it, how can it not be loaded with bad stuff that’s going to off gas forever? My wife is an art conservator, so she’s really sensitive to materials safety issues, and we have two young kids. So far I’ve had Joey from Federa l Conservation out, and I had a long phone conversation with Uri from Eco-Rite. Both were super nice, seemed very knowledgable and passionate about safety, but are on opposite sides of the argument.

workisfun | 8 years and 6 months ago

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I just had Federal blow in Insulsafe (BIBS). Check it out at the Insulsafe website. This topic is indeed very confusing. Joey was great to talk with and during actual install. I didn’t have much to choose from given my specific site variables. I also have kids and am sensitive to health risks today, and beyond.

BobMarvin | 8 years and 6 months ago

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I thought cellulose was pretty safe, but did a little googling after reading this question. I still think it’s among the safer alternatives, but you can find some scary stuff on the Internet!

I’m sort of glad I had my cock loft insulated >40 years ago when it was harder to do research. My wife and I are still healthy and our kid, born several years after we had insulation blown in, turned out OK.

FWIW our house became much more comfortable and out heating bills went down. Pieces of insulation pretty much stopped sifting through cracks in door frames after 20 years :-). I don’t mean to disregard the OP’s health concerns though. Maybe it’s better to do nothing.

dougb | 8 years and 6 months ago

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Do you live above or below the rental? If you’re below then you may want to spend more on the soundproofing insulation. Typically people are using Rocksul to provide sound deadening and insulation between the floor joists. Additionally when putting the ceiling back you could use QuietRock (or whatever the soundproofing sheetrock is called.) Of course soundproofing pros can suggest more elaborate techniques including using special mounting devices for the sheetrock, etc.

kassie319 | 8 years and 6 months ago

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Is denim/cotton insulation is a good substitute for fiberglass or cellulose ? I’m going to soundproof a ceiling and am reluctant to use fiberglass.

BobMarvin | 8 years and 6 months ago

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I think that’s another form of cellulose. You’d avoid whatever chemicals are in the ink of newspaper, but it still must have fireproofing chemicals. If I’d had a choice I might have opted for it. However I had my house insulated during the mid-70s energyccrisis when all iinsulating materials were in short supply. I was supposedtoget fifiberglas, bbut they substituted cellulose because ffiberglass wasn’taavailable. In retrospect I’m gglad

ela50 | 8 years and 5 months ago

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safe is Roxul aka mineral wool which is made from a molten rock. It comes in sheets or in a roll, can be purchased I home depot. We did our entire house with it-insulates well. Better than fiberglass in terms of health hazard, cuts easily with a knife.

bkarchitect | 8 years and 5 months ago

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Mineral wool is going to be your most inert option out there for both thermal and sound absorptive applications. If you are below the rental, no amount of insulation you stuff between the joists will reduce the vibration. It will muffle speaking and noise, but do nothing for a kid running around. You would need to install a sound isolation mat between the flooring and the sub-floor above, or hang a new ceiling on spring isolaters below to solve that problem.