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This page illustrates and describes balsam wool and wood product insulation materials. I've added these examples because of frequent questions about these materials. This document assists building buyers, owners or inspectors who need to identify various insulation materials in buildings by simple visual inspection.

We provide photographs and descriptive text of balsam wool insulation and other wood insulating products to permit identification of these materials in buildings.

© Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

BALSAM WOOL - Balsam Wool Insulation is a wood product and does not contain asbestos

The wood product insulating batts shown in these photos was produced by Weyerhauser corporation.

In the right hand (and page top) photo of this insulation (basically chopped wood fibers, probably treated with a fire retardant), you can see the brown/tan fibers of insulating material.

We advise against cutting the kraft paper covering these insulation batts as if the paper is cut a large amount of the insulating material is likely to simply fall out. If you must make a cut to test or confirm the material or its condition, the cut should be just an inch or so, and you should tape the cut closed after your inspection.

"Balsam Wool" is also a wood product or "cellulose" insulation that was widely used in homes in the U.S. in the 1940's and possibly earlier.

We estimate that balsam wool has an R value of about 2 to 3.5 in loose fill and about 2 to 3.25 in batts, and we've seen some estimates of an R value of 3.4 per inch for versions of insulation that contain a mixture of wood fibers and chopped paper.

To compare insulating material R-values see our Table of Properties of Insulating Materials

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN BUILDINGS
ASBESTOS: Photo Guide to Materials / Products
Asbestos Under the Microscope
Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials
INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT
  Asbestos Pipe Insulation
  Paper Duct Insulation
  URETHANE FOAM Deterioration, Outgassing
  Vermiculite Insulation
Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials
  Balsam Wool Batt Insulation
  Cotton Insulating Batts
  Cellulose loose fill insulation
  Concrete insulation, light-weight
  Fiberglass Insulation
  Foam Board Insulation
  Foam Insulation Types - Visual Id
  Homasote & Other Insulating Board
  Icynene Foam Spray Insulation
  Insects & Foam Insulation
  Mineral Wool - Rock Wool Insulation
  Mold in Fiberglass Insulation
  Mold in Foam Insulation
  Perlite Insulation

• 3/07: thanks to Gary Randolph, Ounce of Prevention Home Inspection, LLC Buffalo, NY, for attentive reading and editing suggestions. Mr. Randolph can be reached in Buffalo, NY, at (716) 636-3865 gary@ouncehome.com
• 06/07: thanks for photographs of transite asbestos heating ducts, courtesy of Thomas Hauswirth, Managing Member of Beacon Fine Home Inspections, LLC and (in 2007) Vice President, Connecticut Association of Home Inspectors Ph. 860-526-3355 Fax 860-526-2942 beaconinspections@sbcglobal.net
  

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Asbestos: How to find and recognize asbestos in Buildings - visual inspection methods, list of common asbestos-containing materials
• Asbestos HVAC Ducts and Flues field identification photos and guide
• Fiberglass: Indoor Air Quality Investigations: Health Concerns About Airborne Fiberglass: Fiberglass in Indoor Air from HVAC ducts, and Building Insulation
• Enviro-Scare: Electric Power Lines, Electromagnetic Fields, Cancer Risk, & "Enviro-Scare" - The Normal Curve Cycle of Public Fear of Environmental Issues
• Dust from the World Trade Center collapse following the 9/11/01 attack: the lower floors of this building contained spray-on fire-proofing asbestos materials.
• Asbestos Information Links: Asbestos Detection, Testing, Recognition, Hazards, Field Photos, and Information Sources, including health-related links such as legal services and information about mesothelioma and other cancers.
• Asbestos Identification and Testing References
• Asbestos Identification, Walter C.McCrone, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL.1987 ISBN 0-904962-11-3. Dr. McCrone literally "wrote the book" on asbestos identification procedures which formed the basis for current work by asbestos identification laboratories.
• Stanton, .F., et al., National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 506: 143-151
• Pott, F., Staub-Reinhalf Luft 38, 486-490 (1978) cited by McCrone

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