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Re: GBlist: Below Grade EPS (was re: Recycled XPS)



Dunno if rigid fiberglass is available.  Rigid mineral wool board by Roxul is
becoming available - 800 265-6878 - and their below grade product is called
Drainboard, because it is amazingly hydrophobic, so it insulates and drains the
foundation.  I understand they are getting their CSA approvals as insulation -
up to now it has been produced in one inch thickness to be used as drainage
board.  They have told me that thicknesses up to four inches will be available.

This stuff is amazing.  It is 8 pounds/ft3.  Their Cavity Rock product is a
semi-rigid batt for masonry cavity walls - I stuck a piece underwater overnight
under a weight, and it absorbed almost no water.  A competing product from USG
was like a sponge.  Both had similar ratings according to the ASTM test for
water absorption!

Which brings me to a short rant - I have become increasingly suspicious of
"consensus standards" coming out of organizations like ASTM and ASHRAE.  It
seems as though any party with enough bucks loads up the committee to make
certain their interests are represented.  So what is held forth as a "best of
our knowledge" document is really just a lowest common denominator political
football.  Some of these committees sound as though they work more like the US
Congress than a group of researchers/practitioners seeking the truth.  Bion's
post about ASTM's green building std confirm my uneasy suspicions.  And you all
may be exhorted to "get involved" - sure, on our own time, sitting next to the
on-the-clock rep from Philip Morris or Dupont.

Marc Rosenbaum
"living a mostly bumbling lifestyle since 1953"  (sorry, Jorg, couldn't
resist...)
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