[Cob] Re:insulation

[Barbara Roemer and Glenn Miller]

RE: http://www.cottonbatt.com/

This product is called Ultra Touch and is mfg by a company called Bonded
Logic which makes other insulation products as well.  Ultra Touch is
recycled jeans treated with borate for insect resistance and fire
retardance.  It comes in batts suitable for placing between studs and
rafters, both 16" and 24", is sold rolled and bagged in plastic.  Takes up a
lot of space if you plan to pick it up somewhere in a pickup truck, and
because of its loft, is a bit pricey to have delivered.  In our area, the
Sierra Foothills of California, it's about 50% more expensive than
comparable R fiberglass.  Doesn't cause itching, though there is a lot of
dust in handling and particularly in cutting it (a bread knife works in one
direction, and in the other, tearing is best).  In wall cavities it does
settle a bit: we used it extensively in a place we are living in as we're
remodeling and had a chance to watch the bays over a year in some places
before we got it sealed up.  The settling sometimes amounted to an inch in 8
feet, but I learned to compensate by cutting it long and tucking it into the
cavity like a comforter, and in those bays saw no settling.  I think over
several years it would settle much less than blown in cellulose which I've
also used.  It was very easy to work chunks in small spaces around plumbing
and electrical, and there is significant sound reduction with it.  A
disadvantage in using it overhead is that you have to provide some means of
affixing it to the bay because it doesn't stay put as a wedged in batt
might.  We just stapled strings in a diagonal pattern across the rafters to
hold it in place as we went along.  The company does not indicate the
percentage of borate, but to be an effective fire retardant, I believe it's
a fairly high percentage, perhaps 20% by weight???, and I know nothing about
the safety of it.  It seemed the best of alternatives for our situation
where there was no decking to contain the stuff, and at the time we bought
it, it was only slightly higher than fiberglass (now distributors probably
recognize both the market and the expense of shipping the large volumes).
Many of us in Nevada County, CA have used it: it's easy to handle and except
for the dust, pleasant to put up.