This is just one example of what is going on in our structure industry because of bad preparation on the part of the professional. Keep in mind, you get what you pay for; the low bid isn’t really always the ideal person for the task.
There is a household in Florida that was exposed to friable fiberglass that has triggered a severe health issue for the household. The spouse recently was and had an infant worried about an itching on the skin feeling that she and the other members of the household were having. The family of 5 experienced a variety of eye, ear, skin, and breathing issues. 6 months prior to this time, the household had a licensed Insulation Contractor blow in additional insulation on top of their existing Builder set up Batting Insulation. Well this is just the beginning of a nightmare for this household.
Six months prior to this time, the household had a certified Insulation Contractor blow in additional insulation on top of their existing Builder set up Batting Insulation. They wished to save money on their electrical costs and believed this was properly to go. Even the Power Company got into the act by providing an incentive award to increase the R Value of the insulation of the house. Sounds great doesn’t it. Well this is only the start of a problem for this family.
After doing a number of air and tape samples, sending them to a lab, the results returned favorable for fiberglass in the air and surfaces of locations evaluated. The first thing we asked for the client do was to eliminate and set up the new sealed recessed lighting in the house. They hired a licensed Electrical Contractor, removed all the fixtures and solved the air intrusion problem from the attic. That was only the start of the repair, then they needed to HEPA Vacuum and clean everything in the home to remove the friable fiberglass particles on the surface areas.
We were hired to do an Indoor Air Quality Investigation and found that they had the old design recessed lighting in the ceilings. There were approximately 20 of these components. The issue with the old style lighting was: there were 4 slits on the attic side which enabled the heat of the lights to dissipate. These slits were 3/8″ X 2″ long. This corresponds to roughly a 2″+ hole in the ceiling at each place. Multiply this by 20 lights and you get a 40″ hole in the ceiling total. Wow, that’s a big hole in the ceiling. These holes avoided the lights from overheating and causing a fire. This is an excellent principle for a fire risk, but a bad principle for Indoor Air Quality and Blown-In Insulation. The one requirement with these old design lights was you could not cover them with Insulation Batting. We found multiple recessed lights with Blown-In Insulation covering them and inside the lights.
How would you want to live this headache for over one year due to the incompetence of one professional who did not think the task through?
If you choose to include insulation to your attic, consult the Insulation Manufacturer and see what their requirements are before working with anyone to do the job. Have your attic checked out first to see if there are any holes leading into the attic that can enable air invasion into your home. You will not be faced with this type of problem if you do this.
There is a family in Florida that was exposed to friable fiberglass that has caused a major health problem for the household. The partner recently had a baby and was concerned about an itching on the skin feeling that she and the other members of the family were having. The household of 5 experienced a variety of eye, ear, skin, and respiratory issues. She was also grumbling about a lot of white dust particles all over her furniture and individual ownerships.
Next on the list, have the duct work looked for any kind of leakage and sealed. Inspect all your electrical fixtures in the ceiling and seal them. Make certain the individual who does the repairs is qualified and understands exactly what they are doing or it will affect you in the long term.