Finished Attic With Vermiculite

Vermiculite is a mineral mined from the earth composed of shiny flakes that look like mica.

Finished attic with vermiculite.

When this mineral is put in an oven it expands like popcorn. I live in maryland and want to retrofit my house built in 1938. Vermiculite is a mineral that was used for insulation. Hi i m back with another question.

Five years ago we decided to insulate the attic and the recommendation we heard sounded good that it was best to lay fiberglass over it. If your home was built before 1990 you might have vermiculite insulation in your walls or attic. The epa says that vermiculite insulation which is the pebbly stuff found in attics of many older homes is only risky if it contains more than one percent asbestos. My attic has vermiculite so i have to assume there is asbestos.

Vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral that when heated to a high temperature expands to as much as 8 to 30 times its original size. Up to 85 percent of all vermiculite insulation in the u s. Unfortunately almost all vermiculite insulation contains asbestos and is unsafe when disturbed. I m focusing on the attic.

That s good news because most zonolite a type of vermiculite insulation falls into that category. Expanded forms of vermiculite are light weight fire resistant and odorless making it an ideal material used for attic and wall insulation inside houses and buildings. So we did that but incompletely. It could be purchased locally and could be installed by contractor or homeowner.

Came from a mine in libby montana sold under the name zonolite. The space between the gables.