Asbestos Vermiculite Insulation In Attic | Adding Insulation Over Vermiculite

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Adding Insulation 
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Adding Insulation Over Vermiculite And
Dangers Of Vermiculite Insulation

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Hi Itchy,

I have determined that my attic is under-insulated. Our town allows for a a free energy inspection of your home, they pay the inspector, to give advice as to how to make your home more efficient.

The inspector told me I need more insulation in my attic. Not surprised, this house has always been cold. But, he did say I have to be very careful as the existing insulation, which is clearly not enough, is some stuff called vermaculite. I guess this stuff has asbestos in it. I have a respirator, Osha approved for working around asbestos, and except for anticipating having to shove some insulation in the corners and around attic baffles so I don't block soffit vents, and probably on my stomach on plywood, it should be a matter of rolling the insulation out. Before I get around this stuff, I wanted to ask someone that would know, their opinion about working around this vermaculite stuff.

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Thanks in advance for your opinion.

Rick

I have ran into vermiculite insulation many times during my insulating career. It is a flaky mineral that looks similar to mica. It's also an excellent insulation that was used in millions of homes back in the day. Back in the day when I was insulating we didn't know of any dangers of vermiculite and wouldn't think twice about adding additional blown in insulation over the top of it to achieve a higher r-value. Luckily for me I always wore a protective mask. But thinking back on it I was fortunate as many people I worked with didn't and I pray they won't have any of it's potentially deadly symptoms. It's been associated with mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer. Wow! What a nightmare!

OK. As far as adding insulation over the top of the vermiculite, what can I say? I've done it many times. But would I recommend you do it in light of what we now know about vermiculite? Absolutely NOT! While I'm not aware of any health issues with leaving it in your attic,� adding additional insulation over the vermiculite will stir it up and it could get dusty in the attic. So, if you are going to additional insulation I would definitely hire a professional for this one. I know, this isn't what you wanted to hear since this is a do it yourself website but not in this case. Good luck with your project.�

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