Flooring Over Vermiculite Insulation

Vermiculite is the usual choice of floor material for inground vinyl liner pools.
Flooring over vermiculite insulation. New tools for home inspectors in 2018 the united states geological survey usgs announced the development of a new tool for home inspectors hoping to identify dangerous vermiculite. Unfortunately in old homes this is a common place for heat to escape so it s worth thinking about how insulation can make them more thermally efficient hold heat for longer and protect your home from damp. Insulation is required under the oven hearth in addition to over the oven dome. Insulate your attic to the recommended level including the attic door or hatch cover.
The zonolite attic insulation trust was established in 2014 to help homeowners with the cost of removing zonolite attic insulation from their homes. Although heat generally rises. Don t be fooled it is not possible to encapsulate vermiculite by covering it with another loose blown insulation. Vermiculite floor screeds are widely used in single and multi story buildings.
In fact blowing cellulose or fiberglass over the top of existing vermiculite insulation simply disturbs the vermiculite and causes the smallest fibers asbestos to become airborne. Vermiculite was a common attic insulation product sold from the late 1920s to the early 1990s. Screed laid over the set vermiculite concrete. The trust reimburses homeowners for 55 percent of their removal and reinsulation costs with a maximum payout per owner of 4 125.
So if you have vermiculite insulation look into this. Concerns about asbestos contaminated vermiculite insulation. Unfortunately almost all vermiculite insulation contains asbestos and is unsafe when disturbed. Alternatively a monolithic screed.
Perlite or vermiculite can be used for dry and loose form of heat insulation. If there s gray brown pebbly insulation on the attic floor it most likely contains enough asbestos to be a hazard to the people living there. This will be self supporting. A mine near libby montana was the source of over 70 percent of all vermiculite sold in the united states from 1919 to 1990.
There was also a deposit of asbestos at that mine so the vermiculite from libby was contaminated with asbestos. Provide the recommended level of insulation under floors above unheated spaces around walls in a heated basement or unventilated crawl space and on the edges of slabs on grade. Vermiculite from libby was used in the. Original floors represent a precious link with the past their wonderful undulations.
In the quest to make our homes warmer and more efficient floor insulation is often overlooked. Perlite and vermiculite cement under the hearth or over the dome. It could be purchased locally and could be installed by contractor or homeowner.