14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
At last, useable information on home insulation of all types, July 23, 2001
This review is from: Insulation Handbook (Hardcover)
I bought this book based on the review of it written by the author. He wrote exactly what he described -- a treatise on all types of insulation and other means of blocking heat flow for applications around the home, etc. No high temperature ceramic stuff or cryogenic stuff is covered in this book. In particular, the chapters on fiber glass batt insulation, rigid board insulation and radiant barriers are well detailed and will give you the exact infomation needed to deal with contractors, or buy exactly what you need for your next remodeling or other project that involves insulation. A cursory review of the other chapters also showed good information, but was less relavent to my project. This book is as well detailed as any John Wiley book; Much better detail than you would expect from a McGraw-Hill publication. Copyright is 2001. This book is up to date. Engineers and architechts will find it to be a page turner. Even ordinary folks who might be spending thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on remodeling their home should buy this book just so they can help their contractor avoid making huge mistakes at the home owner's expense. Also covered in detail in this book are the development of modern insulations and insulation products used in the past.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good for Contractors, Architects and Do-it-Your-Selfers, March 22, 2001
This review is from: Insulation Handbook (Hardcover)
The Insulation Handbook, my third book, explores a full range of insulation materials and methods in one complete resource. The 500 page text contains over 140 illustrations along with a resource guide to facilitate correspondence with the product manufacturers of the materials discussed. Although the book is geared toward the residential architect and homebuilder, the informative and easy-to-understand writing style allows the text to be easily understood by the homeowner and architectural intern without sacrificing technical information.
As everyone knows, electric bills, gas bills, oil bills, HVAC repair bills, etc., are an everyday part of homeownership. As most homeowners, contractors, designers and architects already know, there is no magic pill to swallow in order to avoid the monetary realities in obtaining thermal comfort. But there is joy to be found in knowing the homeowner's most precious commodity is constructed using the most efficient, most environmentally responsible, most vermin resistant or maybe even the least expensive method available. There are a number of reasons as to why this book should be an essential part of a professional library. Geared as a resource in the evaluation of the many different types of insulation materials, The Insulation Handbook demonstrates that R-value is no longer the only consideration when choosing residential insulation. Other properties that now demand, and deserve, proper review are the material's cost, fire resistance, mold resistance, insect resistance, vermin and moisture transmission, environmental benefits, health impact as well as the ease and appropriateness of its application.
The organization of the book's text is simple and logical. The concepts of thermal comfort, vapor transmission, insulation principles and building codes provide the reader with a solid understanding of the "how's and whys" of building insulation. The chapters that discuss specific insulation materials are organized by application method; such as loose fill, blanket types, sprayed-in-place, foamed-in-place and rigid board products.
The scope of The Insulation Handbook goes beyond conventional insulation materials. Historical products from the early to mid-20th century, such as asbestos, insulating board and urea formaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI) are examined. Alternative strategies and materials are also discussed at length. Reflective insulation systems, as one example, demonstrate the use of a system of reflective sheets (radiant barriers) and air spaces that act as insulation when designed together. Also discussed are ceramic coatings, earth wall construction, straw bale construction as well as engineered systems such as in structural insulated panels (SIPs) and insulating concrete formwork (ICF).
I have also investigated some of the insulation materials that designers may encounter in the foreseeable future. Not only are these technologies a significant departure from conventional thermal mass-type materials, they are generally thinner, lighter and possess much higher R-values than common insulation materials available today. For example, a silica aerogel, in a 90 percent vacuum, has a thermal resistance of R-20 per inch. Other products, such as vacuum insulated panels (VIPs) can attain R-values of R-16 to R-40 per inch at room temperature.
The transfer of energy, heat, air and moisture is never-ending. My task as an author was to make the extreme amount of information available so that we, as architects, designers and builders can make informed and wise decisions regarding the critical selection of an insulation method. It has become paramount to understand why the proper installation of insulation materials is so critical to the life cycle cost of a structure and the thermal comfort of the occupant.
Happy reading !
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