Big Green: Cotton insulation

[Dean Sherwin]

Michelle
my personal experience is just that, personal, with no test data to 
back it up.  what I observe is that the batt does not "loft" well on 
opening and installation, ie it does not open up to be as thick and 
fluffy as it could be.  this solidity no doubt helps its STC rating, 
which is certainly higher than fiberglass batt.  But I doubt its 
thermal performance is as good as touted.  On the other hand it does 
sit firmly between studs, with less gaps.  On the other hand again, 
any wiring etc that has to installed in the same cavity  (highly not 
recommended) will cause more spaces than with fiberglass, it will not 
easily deform around them.
It certainly is a joy to feel and handle.   Hardly relevant once its 
installed in a wall.  Much harder to cut.  Although I have it in a 
basement, so far I do not see any tendency to grow mold.  However it 
is an organic (In the old fashioned meaning of the word) material and 
one would think be prone to harboring molds and pathogens.  Not sure 
that I would consider it ideal for a hospital.

Dean Sherwin

At 03:58 PM 8/1/2008, Halle Stern, Michelle wrote:

>I'm looking for information independent of the manufacturer, 
>including any personal experience people have with performance.
>
>
>Michelle
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Goldblum, Gary [mailto:ggoldblum at hedev.com]
>Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 2:50 PM
>To: Halle Stern, Michelle; biggreen at lists.biggreen.org
>Subject: RE: Big Green: Cotton insulation
>
>See link below for info
>http://www.bondedlogic.com/ultratouch.htm
>
>
>
>Gary Goldblum, AIA, LEEDR 
>AP  |  Associate  |  Architecture  |  Direct: 213.542.4538 ggoldblum at hedev.com
>
>Harley Ellis Devereaux
>Celebrating 100 Years
>1908 | 2008
>click on the icon to learn about our history:
>
>
>601 S. Figueroa St., Suite 500  |  Los Angeles, CA 
>90017  |  213.542.4500  |  Fax: 213.542.4515
>
>Please consider the environment before printing this email.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>
>From: biggreen-bounces at lists.biggreen.org
>[mailto:biggreen-bounces at lists.biggreen.org] On Behalf Of Halle 
>Stern, Michelle
>Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 12:22 PM
>To: biggreen at lists.biggreen.org
>Subject: Big Green: Cotton insulation
>
>Is cotton insulation a viable choice to replace fiberglass on a 
>large hospital? I'm hearing that the r-value and STC are 
>unconfirmed, that there are performance issues, and that the fire 
>retardants may be toxic.
>
>Michelle
>
>Michelle Halle Stern, AIA, P.E., M.S., LEED(r) Faculty 330 N. Wabash 
>Ave., Suite 3600, Chicago, IL 60611
>t: 312.755.4596 f: 312.755.0775 e: michelle.hallestern at perkinswill.com
>www.perkinswill.com<http://www.perkinswill.com/>
>
>Perkins+Will.  Ideas + buildings that honor the broader goals of society
>
>This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and 
>intended solely for the addressee.  If you are not the named 
>addressee you should not disseminate, distribute, copy, or alter this email.
>
>Please consider the environment before printing this email.
>
>
>_______________________________________________________________
>This green building dialogue is provided as a public service by Drew 
>George, along with Environmental Building News 
>http://www.buildinggreen.com. For instructions see 
>http://www.biggreen.org/discussion.html
>_______________________________________________________________
>
>_______________________________________________________________
>This green building dialogue is provided as a public service
>by Drew George, along with Environmental Building News
>http://www.buildinggreen.com. For instructions see 
>http://www.biggreen.org/discussion.html
>_______________________________________________________________



Dean Sherwin CPE
Certified Professional Estimator
LEED Accredited Professional
CONSTRUCTION COST MANAGEMENT
3, Cherry Street
PO Box 11
Media, PA 19063-0011
(610)892 8860
fax (610) 892 7862
costman at verizon.net  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.biggreen.org/pipermail/biggreen/attachments/20080803/4d528fda/attachment.html