How to Tell the Difference between Cellulose and Asbestos Insulation?

Last Updated: 2022-02-16By Steven H.

Asbestos minerals were rapidly used in construction for many of reasons during 1950s – 1980s. It was added into compounds, concrete mixes, vinyl products and insulation material.

Nowadays renovation of house can rise up concerns about present asbestos in insulation and how to find out what type material was used during initial build.

The only way to tell the difference between cellulose and asbestos insulation is to sample material and send it to labs for examination. Any other methods are not recommended and may be dangerous for untrained workers.

Saying all that, there are people who claim to distinct asbestos insulation from regular cellulose. We wanted to discuss this more and try to understand in all depth the possibility to differentiate these two materials.

	Made of	Color	Shine	Year of Installation
*Asbestos Insulation*	Minerals	Brown	yes	1950 – 1980
Cellulose Insulation	Paper	Grey	no	1980 +

Main differences between cellulose and asbestos insulation

How to Tell if Insulation Has Asbestos?

Asbestos is not the material, but a mineral that is added to insulation product. Asbestos rich material is known as Vermiculite.

Vermiculite insulation has 4 main differences:

Manufacturing
Distinct Color
Shine
Year of Installation

During renovation or demolition its already too late to try and understand what type of material you have for insulation. Designated report should be provided prior to even touching materials that are questionable and have potential danger to health.

Nevertheless Remodel On Point wants to spread the word about how asbestos contaminated insulation looks, if for some reason lab results were not done.

Manufacturing – Vermiculite insulation is manufactured from natural minerals. All parts of insulation are mined and combined together at factory.

Tiny fibers are combined together into insulation material that expands when heated. It becomes great product for heat transfer, insulation of pipes and prevention of fire from electrical wires.

Distinct Color – unlike other types of insulation, vermiculite material with asbestos has slightly darker or even brown color.

Any other insulation can become darker with appearance of dust and potentially mistaken for asbestos material. This method of differentiating insulation is highly unreliable.

Shine – Fibers from minerals create distinct shine of the insulation. All other types of material do not have any glow or shine, because of what they are made of.

With years of time insulation sits behind walls with dust and other debris. The shine disappears and workers may confuse vermiculite with something else that causes less harm.

Year of Installation – those who deal with asbestos remediation on daily basis know that most of contaminated materials were installed between 1950s and 1980s.

Mines that produced almost all of vermiculite closed in 1990 and construction industry moved on to safe materials for insulation production.

Main Distinctions of Cellulose Insulation

As technology and safety measures advance, cellulose insulation was designed specifically to substitute dangerous asbestos contaminated material.

It is paper based and literally looks like shredded rough paper. It becomes so thin; you may think those are some sort of fibers.

The color of cellulose insulation is somewhere between light and dark grey. It depends on how long it was installed and how much darker it got with mix of dust and other debris.

Leaks of air create much darker look, because it transports small dust particles which get trapped inside insulation.

Cellulose insulation is primarily blown into the attic or wall cavities covered with vapor barrier.

Experienced Professionals Know What to Expect

Although these methods are highly not recommended and prohibited within remediation companies, some professionals that have experience working with asbestos for over few decades can sometimes predict contaminated substance.

To regular person there would be no visible difference between cellulose and asbestos insulation, while remediation teams can expect one or the other in certain homes.

Approximate Age of House
How it Looks

We cannot stress enough to repeat over and over that the only proper way to identify asbestos in material is to perform lab test.

Approximate Age of House – educated workers know during which years asbestos was popular in home construction.

Simply figuring out age of the house is first good hint whether cellulose or asbestos insulation was used in attic as well as between studs.

How it Looks – to untrained eye all insulation looks the same, but veterans of industry can distinct asbestos from regular cellulose.

Of course the rate is not 100%, and very often they can be wrong. This is not the method to be used for finding contaminated material for sure.

7-8 times out of 10 asbestos remediation can see that certain material is either asbestos or cellulose. As long as we know it could be just lucky guessing.

How Not to Test Insulation for Asbestos

Methods of distinguishing asbestos insulation from cellulose listed above are just for comparison and education on each substance. They should not be used to identify presence of designated substance by any means.

However our team wanted to underline two common ways to figure out what material workers are dealing with. They are highly dangerous, but some people rely on them anyways till this day.

Believe Someone Else

Under no circumstance information about designated substance should be hidden or undisclosed. Just because someone says this specific insulation is safe to work with does not mean you should believe it.

Home owner, your boss or fellow workers can tell you all day long that they are 100% sure based on some information they know, insulation has no asbestos in it.

Designated substance survey has to be completed and posted on jobsite for safety of all workers and occupants.

Smell or Taste

Only people that do not care for their life or have absolutely zero understanding about asbestos’ health hazards would try to smell or taste material.

It may even seem funny, but these people exist and many of them die every year due to poor decision making. Working around asbestos without personal protective equipment leads to serious illnesses and trying to smell it is even worse.

How to Handle Both Asbestos and Cellulose Insulation

Removing or installing cellulose insulation is a piece of cake. After many studies, this material concluded to be safe for human’s health while working with cellulose outdoor and indoor.

Simple mask is recommended for use, because inhaling any particles but air is not right. It can lead to minor health problems or allergies.

Remediation of insulation with asbestos is far more serious. It starts from special personal protective equipment and goes as far as technical equipment during room pressurizing and required licenses to work with designated substance.

Only approved professionals should work with asbestos substance, because they have been trained and know how to handle different types of asbestos.

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:

Asphalt
Concrete
Paver Stone
Crushed stone
Brick
Seashell
Gravel

To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway

Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
Patches and small holes can be fixed fast

Cons of Asphalt Driveway

Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
Almost everyone else has same surface
Oily surface and chemicals used in mix

Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway

Durable material for large weights
Long lifespan if installed properly
Winter and summer friendly

Cons of Concrete Driveway

Has marks and stains over time
Hard to repair without replacement
Super hard to DIY

To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway

Creative designs can be done
Personal looks, can match the house
Can replace single stone in minutes

Cons of Paver Stone Driveway

Weeds growing through
Stone can move over time
Most expensive material

There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway

Low maintenance required
Fits rural area style
Can be reused for other purposes

Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway

Gets very hot during summer
Can be messy after many drives
Hard to remove snow and ice

Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway

Variety of selections in shapes and shades
Bricks are recyclable
Slip resistant with rough top part

Cons of Brick Driveway

Needs regular maintenance
Change color over time
Old fashion looking

Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway

Environmentally friendly
Has natural drainage
Creates worm vibe of beach house

Cons of Seashell Driveway

Break and crack under light weight
Sharp and very hard to walk on
Gets stuck in shoes and tires

To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway

Cheapest of them all
Easy DIY Job
Can install another material on top

Cons of Gravel Driveway

Needs to be graded very often
Will mix with dirt and leaves
Washes up with heavy rains

It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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