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I Think I Have Just Now Heard It All!

EcoBroker Logo Those of you that know me and have read my posts know that I have recently received my EcoBroker Designation and am a frequent visitor of the ECO All-Star Group-Because they write good stuff of course!

While doing my courses I decided to do some maintenance on my own personal home to make it more Energy-Efficient. As of right now the only thing GREEN about my home is the mildew on the Hardi-Plank because it needs pressure washed.

The first thing on my list to do was insulation. The insulation in my attic has settled to the point that it may as well be non-existent. I decided to start there.

I hit the internet to find a good company to do insulation; one who knows what they are doing and can see if the ventilation is up to par as well. I found a Gentleman that has been in the business for years-his bid was a little higher than other companies but his knowledge was amazing. That was a few weeks ago. Today I was on the net trying to find him again. (I can't find his phone number) and ran across a website that was interesting so I called them for a bid. Well, he just called back and I am flat out SHOCKED!

He does not use Fiberglass! He uses a product called Celbar. This product is made of cellulose, is fire resistant and would give you an HOUR to get out of your house if it caught fire, and the kicker: IT IS MADE OF RECYCLED NEWSPAPER! He said that this product is denser than fiberglass so it use 1/2 the amount to get up to an R-30, will NEVER settle or lose air or R value, and is better for noise reduction. Celbar has a coating of Boric Acid to repel rodents, insects, and so many other things.

WOW! He really had my attention. The cost of this product is approximately .08 more per square foot. Not bad. My next question was that since my home was built in 1982 there are vaulted ceilings that go up to the roof line. How will you insulate that area?

Oh, they have a product for that too. It is made by Bonded Logic in Arizona called Ultra Touch. It is a Batted Insulation and...the kicker: IT IS RECYCLED BLUE JEANS! Cotton Insulation. You have to check out their website to see how they make it. Very Inspiring.

Between the two of these, I think I've heard everything. Guess who I chose to do the job? Green insulation products that I have never heard of at a cost that is not enough more to bat an eye at with a company that is dedicated to GREEN efforts in building and remodeling. I just wanted to write about this so you could all see these websites. Phenomenal!

I will take some photos for you and let you know what else I find out. I am going to try and meet with the lady that owns the company just to visit about their product. I will also try to post about these separately with more information. Hope you all thought this was as fascinating as me!

Next time you wonder where your newspapers and blue jeans go to get recycled...it might be for a LEED home somewhere!

Posted by Stephanie Edwards-Musa, Realtor ® Spring/Woodlands, TX Real Estate on 06/13/2007 08:41 AM

Comments (78)

insulation, green products, ecobroker, celbar, ultra touch, bonded logic, eco allstars

Originally posted at: Realtor ®-The Woodlands Real Estate : I Think I Have Just Now Heard It All!

78 Comments on I Think I Have Just Now Heard It All!

JUN

2007

That was really interesting. I have no clue about insulation. Do we have stuff like that here? haha! Great info Steph!

Thanks Sally, I'm sure you have it too.

Excellent post, Stephanie! I love to see alternative information being distributed to the consumer. Who knew newspapers would have some redeeming value?

Did the contractor offer and info about whether he would remove your fiberglass existing or just encapsulate it?

Don't forget to write a photographic essay if you get this process done!

Hi Jeff, He said that they could compact it first to use it which would in turn give me a total of R-38. I am pretty sure I will use this guy unless his bid is way more when he gets here. For $150 more I would rather have GREEN products. If it were $1000 more, I might change my mind. I will be selling this house within the year.

I was more shocked that JEANS had a redeeming value! :)

I actually have this stuff in my house and I love what a difference it has made. My home builder offered it as an option when I went to the design center, I am glad I went for it. Thanks for the good post as always Stephanie.

Jacob, can you tell a difference between this and fiberglass? I would love to hear about your experience with it.

This sounds very interested and would love to read more about it. Can you give me some websites and places to do more reading?

Thanks.

Hi June, the links are in the posts. The company names. It is quite fascinating and I will post about them separately.

It looks great and I'm sure it IS great... If only we had used it in the recent remodeling of our house... If only you were a month earlier. Oh well, no sweat, I'm glad I learned about it for the future, and of course for random facts to blurt out in an awkward conversation.

Thanks and good post!

www.sugarlandrelocation.com

Hi Christopher and Bernadette, I know of some GREEN remodel companies if you want to contact some in the future. I guess Sugarland Relo would be the one close to me. :) You are welcome for the info and sorry it wasn't sooner.

The recycled newspaper has me a little bit concerned. Wouldn't that absorb moisture and attract bugs and other critters? (Remember, I'm in Florida! These are serious concerns)

Hey, I think I have some old 29" waist blue jeans from college up in the attic. DOes that count?

j/k

Hi Lisa, It doesn't. It is mixed somehow with cellulose and boric acid to deter critters. It is a huse problem here too. I am going to talk to the guy some more about it Wednesday and I will let you know what he says.

Hi Tom, Maybe that will give you an R-1 factor. :)

JUN

2007

Stephanie - so glad you gave us resources! They talked about the blue jean thing at the seminar I attending a couple of weeks ago. It sounds like you are on your way! Keep us up to date on your projects!

This is wild! Thank you for sharing......I'm going to check this out as I know I should have our insulation checked!

Stephanie wow... awesome post. We all should be doing are part

Hi Mary, I will keep you posted and give you any imformation I find.

Hi Ana- Thanks for stopping by! I thought this was crazy! Over the years Fiberglass will lose air and settle-that is what I thought was neat about this...it won't settle. Good Luck!

Thanks Matt! Hope you have a good week!

something else you can doafter you insulate is to find someone that does the aluminum foil type insulation. You put it our your rafters in sheeta and it reflects the heat back out. It is used on the space shuttle as a heat sheild.

Wow, I had no idea that stuff was available! Keep us posted on any other planet friendly products that you stumble across. I am going to start looking at those products.

Hi Jeff, I heard the paint is better than the foil. I will have to find a link for that one. You can buy it at Home Depot and DYI.

Hi Jonathan, Amazing huh? I will let everyone know when I hear about something else. Thanks for stopping by!

Stephanie - This is super cool! I had no idea that such things happened! I wonder if they use these on our Energy Star Homes in Kanabec County! Thanks for the info!

Thanks Joslyn- I don't know where all they use these products but I was pumped to hear about it. I can't wait to meet with this guy tomorrow!

JUN

2007

I didn't know they recycled blue jeans. Very interesting. I was in a green home over the weekend. Very evergy efficient.

Very Interesting!! I do learn something new everyday. Glad you posted this. Also Congrats on your EcoBroker Designation!

Wow! I just love stuff like this- it is so cool to think of all the ways we are finding to be more responsible. And go you... you are getting more energy efficient at the same time you are recycling. Does it get any greener than that?!?

Wow, Stephanie! We could probably send you all our old pairs of Blue Jeans and you would have enough to insulate your whole neighborhood! :-)

This was so interesting! Thanks for sharing this post. I would never have imagined that jeans & newspaper could be recycled to provide insulation!

Well that was an interesting and informative post, Stephanie. Who would have thought? I look forward to hearing more. I just keep my old jeans in my closet!

Jeff

Ironic and neat...very interesting

Hi Kay, so don't throw away those old blue jeans! :) The green homes are extremely efficient, I agree.

Valerie, Thanks! I was beside myself when I heard about this product. Amazing what there is out there.

Hey Christina, I don't know. I think the only thing neater than this is what I wrote about in my pond scum post. That was pretty cool!

Stefan, That would be hilarious! Just throw all of them in the attic and reduce the bills. :) Just Kidding. I wonder what else they put in there when they are recycled? Hmm.

Lola, Me too.

Jeff, put them in the attic. :) Just kidding.

Hi Christina, Glad you enjoyed it.

Stephanie- Thank you for sharing. I am going to be doing some home improvements/remodeling in the near future and I will have to print this out and put it in my file. Looking forward to a followup post after your meeting with him.

Hi Debi, He is supposed to be over later today. I will keep you all posted. I spoke with a builder for LEED homes and he LOVES this product. He says it ROCKS!

Neat stuff. I had never heard of such stuff. Just when I thought insulation couldn't get any better.

Hey Tim, I agree. The guy should be here in 2 hours. Can't wait!

This stuff does work great, but one word of warning from a water restoration company: if you have a roof leak the insulation that becomes wet will lose its R value.

That will probably never happen though.

Hi Stephanie, we have had newpaper for quite some time. The methods they employ are a bit different and futuristic. The blue jeans recycled is very sophisticated application. Great post.

Hi Daniel, I have a new roof-just 3 years old. But for other people that is really good to know. Thanks for sharing that with us!

Thanks Gary, The guy is here bidding it out right now.

Thanks for the info. I bookmarked it so I can reference in the future. What does it take to get your Green Broker certification.?I saw it the other day but didn't look into it.

Hi Jennifer, EcoBroker requires 3 courses. I have to say that I learned more in those 3 courses that I have learned in many years. It is a phenomenal workload.

Stephanie...

I found this fascinating. As I am getting ready to insulate a rental house that we own this has given me food for thought.

P.S. Let's just hope the renters decide not to sew the jeans together and wear them :)

TLW...ROAR!

Hey TLW, The cost was not much more than fiberglass. I am going to get one more bid for grins but it was about $150 difference.

I guess you could charge them $1 per sq ft and make some money if they decide to wear it. :)

Stephanie,

Great green news. I've heard of newspaper being used in these things, but jeans. Some of these scientists are ingenious. There are plenty of green products on the market for houses, but they're sometimes hard to find. As the public becomes more aware of them, they'll be more widely available. And get cheaper, too.

Hi Esko, the product is only .08 more per square foot. I thought that was minimal. I have some more information now so I will do a post on the products separately now. Thanks for stopping by!

Congrats on your Ecobroker

You'd be amazed at the many creative products out there:

http://www.treehugger.com/gogreen.php

http://www.toolbase.org/

http://www.buildinggreen.com/menus/

These are just a few of the many sites out there!

Hi Robert, thanks for these links! I will check them out. I also heard about a site www.greenbuildingblocks.com

I guess people want to conserve as much as they can by recycling even if it makes terrible products that don't work and have tons of other problems but hey at least they are saving energy.

Abraham, Thanks-I think.

I knew about the newspaper insulation but I didn't know about the blue jeans. That is so cool. We have the newspaper stuff.

Christy, how do you like the newspaper stuff?

Great post steph-

Some really good use for newspaper after using it...Good stuff

Hi Stephanie,

Congratulations on the EcoBroker Certification, I am the first in New Jersey and I try to explain what exactly that means to alot of people in the course of a day. I will offer this link for Icynene insulation which is probably far more superior in many aspects to celulose. http://www.icynene.com/ You will find there are certain issues with both the cellulose ( moisture ) and old jeans or cotton (moisture again) .

Icynene is affiliated with the Green Building Council, Energy Star, and Green Spec. it is also applied using water and there is no gas out or any harmful gases from the product. There are also tax credits available for the use of the product

The contractor is right about the pest free part , boric acid is a product used for powder post beetles, roaches, ants and also to kill many other crawling critters.

Good luck with your home, you are going to start finding many other things that need to be changed now that you have made the EcoBroker commitment. You are now forced to walk your talk.

Way to go .

Dave Green

JUN

2007

Hi Natalie, Thanks for stopping by.

Hi David, I have someone coming out to bid on the icynene this week too. It is a 10% tax credit..found that out today. I decided to get 2 bids just to be safe. One on celbar and one on icynene. I'll keep you posted.

Have heard about the newspapers and blue jeans and hear that they work very well. Who knew that old newspapers and blue jeans would have a great purpose?

Steph~ Thank you so much for the energy you put into your posts...for the lessons on sustainability and healthy living spaces and for saying the ECO-All-Stars write good stuff!..If this post is any indication, you are totally and completely RIGHT =)

My Construction Company is building an addition on a house in downtown Austin and we are using the Icynene for the exterior walls.

Hi Bob and Carolin, I agree. I would not have known.

Hi JaneAnne- So happy to see you drop by. :) I think more people are interested in GREEN topics than even they realize. It affects our lives more than we know. So many people think it is just about Saving the Earth or "treehuggers" but that is not the entire story. It affects us. Human lives, our friends and loved ones. I think more people might be stopping by the group. :)

Hi Robert, That sounds great! It is fantastic stuff. I have seen it first hand and it is amazing the difference it makes in a home. Thanks for stopping by!

JUN

2007

I have never heard of these types of materials - It is really interesting to learn about them. I have a home built in the mid 80-s and I may take a look at my insulation and see if it needs any updating. Let us know how things turn out.

Hi Joan, Mine was built in '82 and it is in bad, bad shape. I hope yours is better than mine. :) Thanks for stopping by.

JUN

2007

The moral of the story is to search green whenever going remodeling projects to see what you come up with, no matter what the project!

Hi Jessica, Very true! Thanks for stopping by!

JUN

2007

Stephanie, I'd be curious to hear what kind of feedback if any you are getting about your new designation?

Jeff, the average consumer in Houston has no idea what this is. Actually, I am the only agent within atleast 80 miles with this designation.

Everyone I have encountered in the industry (Leed builders, architects) think it's great. I am going to have to come up with an amazing marketing plan for this one. :) Actually, I am still trying to convince my broker that it is press release worthy.

I am convinced that it was a good move. The people interested in the product will know that I have added value to them. That is what matters. There is only 1 LEED home in Houston right now and I am getting a good relationship with that builder. Actually, I am going to do a stage by stage Blog on his next home that he will start in the next couple of months.

JUN

2007

Stephanie - You are brave for pursuing this path - it will work out for you. LEED for Homes is just starting to take off and you will find yourself on the forefront because you are so active in your pursuit. Give me a call or email - after the Energy Fair this weekend I will get Adam to share marketing. It really does work and is not all that exhaustive. It is sharing your passion with others -- and it is evident you have the passion. Kudos!

I must throw a "thanks" in to JaneAnne here -- for making this whole Eco thing happen--

I'd be interested in talking with you about brainstorming to expand our marketing footprint to get the word out. Maybe a dedicated post?

Hi Mary, Please do let me know! I have my marketing people working on a proposal right now. They are in the green scene so that helps a bunch! I would love to know what you all do.

Jeff, I can post something to the group to brainstorm. I think that is a great idea. I also think joining the local GBC chapter will be good for me, and you.

Hi Stephanie:

Any idea what the adhesives in celbar are made of? Thanks fro the post, will look into this product when I start the greening of our existing home.

Hi Bill, my understanding is that it is Boric Acid. It is hammermilled and then saturated to prevent moisture gain, R value loss, a dusty attic.

Thanks for the quick reply. I could not find the info quickly on the net.

Hi Bill, you are welcome. On my second bid, the company recommended a product by Applegate which is supposed to be better and not as dusty. They said that there had been "problems" with Celbar. I got the impression that is was moisture related. The Icynene that was mentioned in the comments is a little more expensive, but way better. I would be doing that instead but I won't even be in this house another year. Good Luck with your greening. :)

Does anyone know off hand the rate of return on insulation?

JUN

2007

I joined the GBACPA - in my second year of membership. They don't do much in Lancaster - it's all Harrisburg based activities.

JUN

2007

Way to make an impression! Now I feel you are obligated to come to Colorado for the Ecobroker conference.

Hey Dena, we'll see. We want to go see the Rockies next year but my daughter wants to see the Canadian Rockies. Maybe it will be at a time where I can bring the whole family. With the little one it is next to impossible for me to go anywhere by myself. I even take him to work sometimes.

JUN

2007

Great post and great group - thanks for recommending this group to me. It will be the first I join!

JUN

2007

I love it! Getting a new life out of old jeans and newspapers :-)

Taking time to see our world with a different eye can bring unlimited ideas with recycled materials. We have to want to put forth the effort. I see a "revolution" occurring in the green scene and I am thrilled about the opportunities!

Hi Adam, We are glad to have you over here on the Eco Scene!

Hi Michele, I see the revolution too. :) Glad you liked it!

MAR

2008

Great blog again!

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