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This page illustrates and describes common fiberglass 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 asbestos materials (or probable-asbestos) in buildings by simple visual inspection.

We provide photographs and descriptive text of fiberglass building insulation products to assist in identification of definite, probable, or possible asbestos materials in buildings. In some cases the resin binder which gives color to fiberglass insulation can permit an educated guess about the brand or manufacturer of the fiberglass insulation.

© Copyright 2009 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.

How to identify FIBERGLASS INSULATION in Buildings

A Color Key to Identifying the Brand or Manufacturer of Fiberglass Building Insulation

Our photos above show several colors and forms of fiberglass building insulation. Fiberglass building insulation is commonly installed in batts or chopped forms and may be yellow, pink, green, or white in color as is shown in these four photographs. Under the microscope fiberglass fibers are colorless or clear. It is the resin binder used by the manufacturer to stick the fibers together into a batt or a chopped piece of insulation that give fiberglass insulation its characteristic color. For example our lab photo below shows yellow resin binder.

• Yellow Fiberglass Insulation: most fiberglass insulation manufacturers other than the ones listed below produce yellow fiberglass insulation. (China Fiberglass Insulation Manufacturers, for example.)
  
  
• Pink Fiberglass Insulation: Owens Corning Pink Fiberglass (R) is a registered trademark for their product line.
  
  
• Green Fiberglass Insulation: John Mansville has produced green fiberglass insulation.
  
  
• White Fiberglass Insulation: John Mansville produces white insulation including their ComfortTherm(R) encapsulated batts.

Insulating Characteristics of Fiberglass Insulating Batts & Chopped Fiberglass Insulation

Forensic Laboratory Photographs of Building Insulation

A Guide to Health and Debris Characteristics of New versus Old Fiberglass Building Insulation

Don't confuse fiberglass insulation with asbestos insulation

Fiberglass insulation is not and should not be confused with asbestos nor with the well-studied health hazards associated with exposure to asbestos fibers or dust.

Information about possible hazards of fiberglass insulation

For more details about the inspection and detection of concerns with fiberglass building insulation, see:
INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT and  FIBERGLASS HAZARDS .

Our separate websites on Fiberglass building insulation and or series of articles about HVAC duct work defects contain in-depth discussion about possible air quality and health concerns which may be associated with exposure to fiberglass dust.To compare insulating material R-values of fiberglass in various forms as well as other insulating materials, see our Table of Properties of Insulating Materials

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• 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 or email: 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
• Technical reviewers are invited to comment or ask questions - contact us

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.

IDENTIFICATION of ASBESTOS in BUILDINGS
FIBERGLASS HAZARDS
  Recognizing Fiberglass Insulation
  Recognizing Fiberglass Duct Insulation
  Lab Identification of Fiberglass
  Fiberglass Fragment Hazards
  Fiberglass Detection in Building Air
  Mold in Fiberglass Insulation
  Actual mold growth in insulation
  Moldy insulation may look clean
  Why does mold grow in fiberglass?
  When to test insulation for mold
  Fiberglass Hazard References
INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT
  Asbestos Pipe Insulation
  Paper Duct Insulation
  Vermiculite Insulation
Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials
  Cotton Insulating Batts
  Cellulose loose fill insulation
  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

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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