What type of insulation should I use ?
1820 farmhouse..2nd floor I heated...restoring 1st floor bedroom ceiling leaving beams exposed. What is best insulation that will be moisture, fire retardant, low VOC, and easy to install. R factor would also be important! Thanks
Dawn
Choosing the right insulation for a portion of your home is very important since all materials have different characteristics and different ideal applications. You can find all you need to know on this page which lists the pros and cons and applications, so start here –
Choosing the best type of insulation
We often recommend blown in cellulose insulation for attics, or blown fiberglass, but for a home as old as yours you will need to be careful about ventilation. It was not built with the intention of adding insulation, so if there is none already it likely isn’t being properly ventilated either. Read here about why roofs need to be ventilated and the best way to ventilate your roof.
You mention fire retardants, those are toxic additives added to building materials and furniture and they are somewhat controversial, read more here about keeping fire retardants out of homes. From the concerns you list off of fire, moisture control, high R value and low VOCs I think your best bet would probably be to go with a Rockwool mineral wool insulation. It is made from recycled stone dust, it is a healthy material to have in your home, being stone it doesn’t burn, it handles moisture very well and it has a good R value. you can get it in rigid panels or in batt form depending on how you are insulating. Let us know more and we can help more, is it a ventilated attic space where you are planning to add the insulation? you will also need to consider an air barrier as well as vapor barrier / vapor retarder, see here the difference between air barriers and vapor barriers.