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Gideon
 
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Can we safely assume that any foam product intended for exterior
home use is safe to toss in the attic? I've been using scraps of the
types of foam sheeting that is applied to the exterior of a house just
below the siding. I've also stripped off the foam backing from the
waste pieces of CraneBoardŽ vinyl siding. I've always assumed
that exterior foam must also be fire resistent and safe to toss in
the attic. Correct?


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Edwin Pawlowski wrote in message ...

"Seamus" wrote in message
om...
Hello,

In what seems very unusal to me, my home has shredded styrofoam in the
attic as insulation.

I've verified its styrofoam- there are some large chunks, and all of
it weighs, acts and burns like sytrofoam.


Is there a better way to approach this? Are my fears of poison gas in
a fire actually unwaranted (e.g. should I just put more insulation on
top of the sytrofoam?).

Any pointers would be very much appreciated.


Let's get some clarification first. The word Styrofoam is often mis-used
for any sort of foam plastics. Step one is the burning. Take a piece of it
outside and put a match to it. It should burn while you hold the match, but
when you take it away, the foam should STOP burning in seconds. If so, this
is the proper modified material used for insulation. If it continues to
burn, it means some asshole too the cheap way out and used some packaging
material that is not intended for insulation.

If it is blue, it is Dow's Styrofoam brand material, Pink is Owens Corning,
yellow is Georgia Pacific, white bead foam (expandable polystyrene) can be
many different brands. (Could be NOVA, BASF, Huntsman or others processed
locally) Any of these material can be safely used for insulation. It does
not give off poisonous fumes, but it will give of a lot of soot, water,
carbon dioxide. Building grades will only burn if other materials provide
the flame as it is treated so as not to burn on its own.

Shredded foam is often used to fill voids in the concrete blocks for
insulation. This is only the modified grades of material. Regular foam
should not be used for insulation as it will burn. If it is the real deal,
you have no worries. If the previous owner used old packing material to
save money, it should be removed and properly insulated with the proper
material.
Ed