More Sloppy Cotton Batt Installations from Bonded Logic

I know of all the problems Bonded Logic has with their batts and they cannot correct them without changing their whole mfg. process, so don't expect any great improvements. I know this because I was isssued a paten for cotton insulation batt in 1990. Soon there were others that tried it but never made it correctly. Bonded Logic should never have even tried. I f you want to see how a real cotton batt is suppose to work try Mr. Insulate by APPLEGATE INSULATION. It addresses all the problems with cotton insulation and solves them. If you would like to see the product go algadondistrubiting.com

I'll have to disagree with Buzz, since – for all the challenges of doing a quality batt installation – we're still putting a rectangular "peg" in a rectangular "hole" and it just takes a certain degree of care to do it well. I prefer dense-pack cellulose, and have been using it for more than 20 years, but in small jobs and many renovations, it's just not practical or cost-effective – unless you have your own blower. I'll also have to somewhat disagree with Tristan. The reason that incomplete cavity fill can be a major problem with fiberglass is because it's density is so low and it's so permeable to air flow that it's easy to create in-cavity convective loops. This is far less the case with recycled cotton batts which are manufactured at about twice the density of fiberglass. It is a challenge to cut, but it produces no dust during installation because the fibers are thick and heavy, and of course no itch. I've found that it's not that difficult to do a quality installation and, in renovations with limited cavity depth, I will often install rigid foil-faced polyiso board inboard of the studs as thermal break and air barrier, then strap to leave a lowE dead air space (for a "free" R-3 and a radiant barrier) before hanging drywall.

To say which type of insulation is better is subjective. I've attended a few green building conferences the past few years and talked to a lot of green insulation reps. They all say their product is better and point out the negatives of the others technology. The truth is no one product is 100% green. Foam for example, is basically plastic that emits to some degree or another cancer causing fumes but it's still considered to be a green product. My 2 cents.

"Spray foam will perform better and fit better every time" Not only is it imperative to evaluate and verify "green" product claims, it is at least as important to identify the ways we evaluate the appropriateness of product options. "Better", for instance, is a meaningless term unless we first define the parameters that make an insulation material or product "better" meet our needs and our goals. The narrowest way to measure insulation is with R-values. Including air impermeability and "fit" in the envelope cavities expands the parameters only slightly. Other values that must be included in a determination of product performance and suitability for a particular application include: embodied energy; embodied global warming; toxicity to installers, occupants or the environment; allergenic propensity; long-term durability and eventual recycling or disposal issues; impact on future renovations; attraction to insects, rodents and mold; hygroscopicity (ability to absorb, disperse and release – or buffer – humidity or minor leaks); as well as cost, ease of installation, suitability for owner-builder use, and its interaction with all the other elements of a total building system (which includes the necessity to employ specialized or proprietary contractors).

I would counter that most so-called "green" products are under-scrutinized and often simply accepted (if the marketing is clever enough or its fulfils a money-making niche) without independent evaluation, science-based analysis, and values-based assessment. There are two levels of necessary scrutiny for all allegedly "green" building materials: how does it compare in ease of application, function, cost-effectiveness and durability to all other products in its category, and how is it truly more healthy for users and the environment and is its use truly sustainable? Fiberglass batt insulation is a classic example. It took over most of the insulation sector because of low price, extensive and clever marketing (the Pink Panther, for instance) as well as strategic attacks on its competitors (primarily cellulose), and yet – objectively – it's the worst insulation on the market by every measure, and not just by a little but by an order of magnitude. Recycled blue jean batts appear to be, in many ways, a far better option in terms of function and with some "green" qualities. But it's perfectly reasonable, and in fact quite necessary, to examine its liabilities as well. These include the problems of quality installation which are common to all batts as well as the significant difficulty in cutting (partially alleviated by the new perforated batts) but compounded by the sizing of the batts. Bonded Logic Ultra-Touch is cut to a full 16" or 24" width, which makes it much too wide for friction fit and forces the batts into contortions which impact the function of the installed product.

I think this is another classic example of green products being overly scrutinized. Sure there are problems, but as has been said above this is true of all batt insulation. Anytime there is a problem with a "green" product people immediately blame it because it is "green" and tend to overlook any number of other factors including site conditions, installation practices, and installer capability. This happens with flooring too. It's cupping so it must be because it is green and there fore lesser quality. NO its actually because the sub floor wasn't tested for moisture penetration and this would happen to any floor. As a side note. The widths of Bonded Logic are a little thick so it can friction fit in place.

"Also, the real culprit in batt insulation is fiberglass, which has been poorly installed by so many people in so many buildings for so many years--to the extent that one observer called for it to be banned." That is an idiotic statement! A product is only as good as the person installing it. Both cotton and fiberglass must be installed correctly. How is fiberglass more of a problem to install than cotton?

Those with broad chemical sensitivities, often initiated by formaldehyde exposure, have few options, among which are concrete, steel and unfinished gypsum plaster. My cellulose insulation manufacturer tried using post-consumer newsprint but found it too contaminated and had to revert to post-industrial paper (with soy-based inks). There are very few who have sensitivities to clean, borate-treated cellulose. My understanding is that most wool insulation is made from the otherwise wasted first shearing which is full of winter dirt, plant matter and feces and as such requires washing – probably in strong detergents. Straw-clay or straw bales may be an option for the chemically sensitive as long as the straw doesn't contain allergens and the clay is not polluted. But whatever insulation is used, sensitivities are yet another reason to place the air barrier inside of the thermal envelope to isolate it from the living space.

To the MCS community, this product is now toast. Fabric softener sheets are one of our worst contaminants and triggers. And MCS is more often triggered by a combination of toxic mold exposure, chronic infections *and* toxic exposures of all kinds, not simply formaldehyde. It's rare that just formaldehyde triggers MCS. This product was much loved by the MCS community before. Now the word is going out against it. In addition, strong detergents are not needed to detoxify wool. Shepherd's Dream makes wonderful wool mattresses and felts. I've used washed wool. I hear Latitude is a really good product. Some dirt is nothing to us compared to bounce dryer sheets. And finally, cellulose, even with borate, is a material that would be utterly vulnerable to mold and bacterial contamination with a leak. I wouldn't even consider it. I stayed in a farmhouse renovated with exactly that insulation and it was a mold hell, in the newly "insulated" part of the house.

Post consumer recycled jeans are not good for the chemically sensitive, for whom this is a prime product. Most of those jeans will have been washed multiple times in scented detergent and dried in driers with bounce fabric softener. You can *NEVER* get that stuff out. So much for bonded logic. Can you tell me what you think of wool insulation, such as Latitude? Thanks.