https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-much-should-you-worry-about-asbestos-in-the-home/ Building science knowledge, HVAC design, & fun Mon, 27 Feb 2023 15:50:14 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-much-should-you-worry-about-asbestos-in-the-home/#comment-7678 Thu, 06 Nov 2014 04:15:13 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=how-much-should-you-worry-about-asbestos-in-the-home#comment-7678 I’m looking forward to more
I’m looking forward to more on vermiculite. This stuff is the bane of my existence, it’s all over my local area and has proven a dead end to improvements after an audit. It usually costs as much or more to properly remove it from an attic than all of the air sealing and insulation work that I would recommend and so far I haven’t had a single customer go for it (maybe I’m just a bad salesmen). I know in some cases another contractor is hired to blow over top of it, which means no air sealing and kicking the asbestos can down the road. I’ve done three audits of just purchased homes (home inspection and all) and I was the first to tell the them about possible asbestos content. This stuff is a frustrating gray area because it’s almost impossible for testing to rule out the existence of asbestos, to the extent that most officials seem to get an uncomfortable look on their face when I bring it up. “Don’t touch it” is ridiculous advice because in an attic it’s going to get disturbed at some point, some houses I’ve seen have whole house fans or duct work that could be actively pumping it into the living space. The fact is most people seem unwilling or unable to pay to have it removed and I wish there was a way to get it out of there so it can be sealed and insulated.  
I’ll stop there, as you can see the topic frustrates me. Here’s hoping you’ve found some mechanisms to actually get this stuff removed.

]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-much-should-you-worry-about-asbestos-in-the-home/#comment-7677 Thu, 23 Oct 2014 19:16:31 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=how-much-should-you-worry-about-asbestos-in-the-home#comment-7677 I remember high school and
I remember high school and college chemistry labs with 6×6 screens we put under flasks over bunsen burners. Asbestos, of course. They were still used unto the 1970’s exposing millions of students. An amazingly useful product, with this one “little” problem. I suspect that as many lives were saved by its fire resistance as were lost to its carcinogenic properties, but still not worth the cost.

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