Who Needs Insulation Anyway?

I'm really beginning to dislike all insulation and especially the people who sell it. I have said from day one that I want the least toxic insulation possible and absolutely NO fiberglass. I did some research and found that I was most comfortable with an insulation that is made from the scraps of bluejeans - really! Well, you can imagine when the sub contractors got ahold of that information, they thought I was nuts and treated me the same way.

I actually had one insulation guy tell me that the foam insulation he uses which is manufactured by a chemical company is 100% safe with no off gassing or shrinking (as has been reported numerous times). He said with a straight face that he believes this because the company told him so. Hello - CHEMICAL!!!! I replied that if you have to use a haz-mat suit to install it, then it is not safe in my book. We didn't use him.....

Well, despite what I read in my research that the price of the blue jean insulation had come down in recent years, it turned out to be over three times the cost of other choices. My theory on that is simply because Florida is the LEAST environmentally friendly place I have ever lived. More on that later.... but the material is simply not available here in the quantity we need to do the entire job, so the shipping costs help increase the price.

Anyway, we agreed to use cellulose, which is essentially recycled newspaper. Not so bad and acceptable to me. There was one location where the Guy agreed to use fiberglass bats because we needed it for sound attenuation. Okay - one place and that's it.

So, the installation began yesterday and lo and behold - fiberglass insulation almost everywhere. WHAT? What a mess - the insulation guy was a jerk and I won't bore you (more) with all that transpired, but they must pull out the fiberglass they have already installed and replace it with - you guessed it - blue jean bats. Unbelievable! The cellulose will go in the other, already agreed upon, places.

This whole insulation debacle has cost us at least a week, if not longer. The sheetrock goes on next so hopefully that process goes smoother. I would prefer low VOC sheetrock, but didn't dare suggest it. I was ready to throw down the gauntlet with insulation, so I won't fight the fight with other materials which are also toxic.

All this, just because I want to be able to breathe easier - literally! Oy!