Finished Attic With Vermiculite

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

Finished attic with vermiculite.

I m focusing on the attic. If your home was built before 1990 you might have vermiculite insulation in your walls or attic. Vermiculite is a mineral that was used for insulation. 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. When this mineral is put in an oven it expands like popcorn. Came from a mine in libby montana sold under the name zonolite. Vermiculite is a natural insulation material but it s one that you definitely don t want to have in your 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. Unfortunately almost all vermiculite insulation contains asbestos and is unsafe when disturbed. That s good news because most zonolite a type of vermiculite insulation falls into that category. Hi i m back with another question.

It could be purchased locally and could be installed by contractor or homeowner. 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. I live in maryland and want to retrofit my house built in 1938. The space between the gables.

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.