Attic Insulation Deteriorated??

[Skip Erwin]

I couldn't figure out which thread to post this on. It involves heating and cooling so I put it here. I inspected this 55 year old condo today. The insulation in the attic was deteriorated. It was like when you see a 1,000 year old book in the movies. You touch it and it disintegrates. It had a foil like backing on the conditioned side. Anybody seen this? It can't have hardly any R value. Sorry. No picture. It looked like gray dust.

[Ted Allen]

Originally Posted by Skip Erwin

I couldn't figure out which thread to post this on. It involves heating and cooling so I put it here. I inspected this 55 year old condo today. The insulation in the attic was deteriorated. It was like when you see a 1,000 year old book in the movies. You touch it and it disintegrates. It had a foil like backing on the conditioned side. Anybody seen this? It can't have hardly any R value. Sorry. No picture. It looked like gray dust.

I would most likely recomened replacement, but without pics................ ??

[David P. Valley]

I've seen this 2" insulation many times.

I simply recommend upgrading insulation to a total of 14 inches (R-39 value), here in Masachusetts.

[Barry Adair]

This reminds me of an old "country" friend of the family who wore glasses and kept on complaining, "the subscription had run out on the lens."

Although insulation is inanimate, by what is described, it has reached the end of it's service life and should be replaced if energy efficiency and moisture related issues are a concern to your client.