Recognizing unsafe vermiculite removal
We have lived in our 1960s built home for about 5 years, and are trying to make some improvements. A low ceiling needed to be opened, maybe add some skylights, as well as redoing electrical work in the ceiling.
At first sight, the insulation in that attic look to be loose fill of some sort, on top of a layer of black plastic. However, the attic portion above the garage is not treated the same way, and it looks to us like unvacuumed remains of some grainy material, possibly mixed with some nasty rodent feces. There seems to be too little material for collection and testing at a lab, but we wonder what the rest of the house is like, under the plastic insulation.
So, Questions: 1) How common is it to contain vermiculite by simply covering it with a plastic membrane? (I’m hesitant to pierce that and see what’s under); 2) Are there services that would come and perform a site inspection and a modest cost? Should I just collect a baggie of the nasty dust in the attic, pierce the membrane and collect whatever is there, and then send it all to a lab? and finally, 3) if someone already tried to remove or otherwise mitigate zonolite in the attic, will the zonolite trust still pay for the removal of contaminated insulation?
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Replies
Iinva,
Start by reading this article: Fixing Attics With Vermiculite Insulation.
Iinva,
Q. "How common is it to contain vermiculite by simply covering it with a plastic membrane? (I'm hesitant to pierce that and see what's under)."
A. I've never heard of that technique -- which doesn't mean that someone hasn't tried it. It wouldn't work in any case.
Q. "Are there services that would come and perform a site inspection and a modest cost? Should I just collect a baggie of the nasty dust in the attic, pierce the membrane and collect whatever is there, and then send it all to a lab?"
A. If a visual inspection leads you to believe this is vermiculite, don't touch it. Testing is of little or no value. Proceed as if the insulation is contaminated with asbestos.
Q. "If someone already tried to remove or otherwise mitigate zonolite in the attic, will the Zonolite Trust still pay for the removal of contaminated insulation?"
A. I don't know.