Insulated with what?

[Harold J. Lowe]

I tore down an old back kitchen on my first home, about 40 yrs ago, and discovered why it held the heat so well, even though it was a hundred years old and supposedly never insulated. As i ripped down the interior lath and plaster; i discovered around 500 lbs. Of dry dog food , solidly packed between all the studs!
The room had been used to store dog food, for years, and the neighborhood mice had been stealing and storing for quite some time, by the looks of it.there was probably 200 lbs. Of the stuff spread throughout the attic, as well. I wonder what the " r " value of dog food is?.......................

Anybody else have any unique discoveries to share with us?

I'd like to hear about them.

[Frank Magdefrau]

Originally Posted by hlowe

Anybody else have any unique discoveries to share with us?

I'd like to hear about them.

I found this 4 foot tall nest one time.

[Jeffrey S. Campbell]

I've had an attic filled with styrofoam peanuts before... then another with shredded foam suspended ceiling tiles (scraps)... I've seen some similar nests before too...

[Mark Nahrgang]

Styrofoam beads (like someone salvaged the contents of 25 or 30 bean bag chairs.)

[Harold J. Lowe]

Originally Posted by fmagdefrau

i found this 4 foot tall nest one time.

hey frank!

That's awesome. Any idea what built it?

[Harold J. Lowe]

Originally Posted by mnahrgang

styrofoam beads (like someone salvaged the contents of 25 or 30 bean bag chairs.)

hey mark!

It's amazing what folks will do to save a buck; isn't it?

[Harold J. Lowe]

Originally Posted by jcampbell

i've had an attic filled with styrofoam peanuts before... Then another with shredded foam suspended ceiling tiles (scraps)... I've seen some similar nests before too...

that's really interesting jeff. I wonder how the birds get in to build the nests..........i love maine. It's a beautiful state.

[Gerry Beaumont]

Originally Posted by hlowe

hey mark!

It's amazing what folks will do to save a buck; isn't it?

I have always wondered what the R value of a foot of old news print is, I inspected a house with about 40 years of old news papers stacked in the attic space, the (deceased) homeowner believed he was insulating his attic with them, they were sure well packed in there, there must have been many tons of them up there as was witnessed by the sagging ceilings

BTW, his grandson who was the estates executor described him as eccentric

Regards

Gerry

[Barry Adair]

Harold,

Have a look and you tell me

Ran into on a huge colony of honeybees on a 3-floor commercial that had been vacant for years. It had thousands of dead bees on the first floor carpeting and windowsills a few inches thick, upon my entry. An out of country investor had never seen it except for the internet description.

During the remodel and removal of the drywall to insulate exterior walls it was found that the stud bays were full of honeycomb at numerous locations. Seems like the colony just moved to a new locale within the structure once they filled a void.

[Harold J. Lowe]

Originally Posted by gbeaumont

i have always wondered what the r value of a foot of old news print is, i inspected a house with about 40 years of old news papers stacked in the attic space, the (deceased) homeowner believed he was insulating his attic with them, they were sure well packed in there, there must have been many tons of them up there as was witnessed by the sagging ceilings

Btw, his grandson who was the estates executor described him as eccentric

Regards

gerry

i really wonder where peoples heads are at times,gerry.what a safety hazard, eh? Imagine the mess if the weight of the papers caused the ceiling to give way, or what if an old wire overheated, and started a fire. It would burn with such fierce intensity; the house would be turned to nothing but ash.wow!

[Harold J. Lowe]

Originally Posted by badair

harold,

have a look and you tell me

ran into on a huge colony of honeybees on a 3-floor commercial that had been vacant for years. It had thousands of dead bees on the first floor carpeting and windowsills a few inches thick, upon my entry. An out of country investor had never seen it except for the internet description.

During the remodel and removal of the drywall to insulate exterior walls it was found that the stud bays were full of honeycomb at numerous locations. Seems like the colony just moved to a new locale within the structure once they filled a void.

that sounds like a lot sweeter insulation than dog food, barry,but imagine how much you could have been hurt, if they were still there, and in a defensive mode. What were your re-
commendations to the client?

[bdoles2]

Here's one from my second or third inspection I ever did in 1999.

[relliott]

The most common I have seen is old carpet.

Sure , put there to crawl, but acts as a form of insulation to some degree.

[Barry Adair]

Originally Posted by hlowe

that sounds like a lot sweeter insulation than dog food, barry,but imagine how much you could have been hurt, if they were still there, and in a defensive mode. What were your re-
commendations to the client?

They were active, outside, during the inspection. Honey bees are really pretty docile.

Around here exterminators are the only solution.

Bee keepers won't pick up a wild colony...too many diseases and parasites that would contaminate their apiary. Minimum fee for removal starts at $250-$400 depending on the contractor, colony size and location.

[Harold J. Lowe]

Originally Posted by badair

they were active, outside, during the inspection. Honey bees are really pretty docile.

Around here exterminators are the only solution.

Bee keepers won't pick up a wild colony...too many diseases and parasites that would contaminate their apiary. Minimum fee for removal starts at $250-$400 depending on the contractor, colony size and location.

thanks for the info. I've never come across a bee problem before.