A friend of mine asked if it's practical to use bagged leaves as insulation. Under a trailer "mobile home". My first thought is that the leaves will decompose, and make a mess. He says to catch them when the leaves are fairly dry.
Anyone tried this?
Bags of leaves do have insulating value, however they have even greater vermin factor and by spring you'll probably have a full infestation.
Can you say serious fire hazard? Decomposition generally requires moisture and they are not going to get much moisture under the trailer. Instead they will dry out even more and become a real fire hazard.
I have used them in a fall garden with great results.
I would be very skeptical of using them around a home or mobile home for the same reasons others have posted.
Colbyt
Not to mention the hilarity that will ensue when a passing breeze blows a hot coal from the grill, or a lit cigarette butt, in amongst the bags. Paper bags of dry leaves are what we used to use to start the grill fire at the lake lot we had when I was a kid.
Having said that, I have seen people use hay bales, outside the skirting, as a winter windbreak. I wouldn't rate that as much less risky than bagged leaves.
They sell faced foamboard used for insulating the outside of the exposed foundation real houses. A layer of that, well sealed together, on the the skirting, would probably do more good, and be less prone to become kindling. A row of dry concrete blocks on the ground provides a good place the tie the bottom of the skirting down, so it doesn't flap around.
I take it this is an older trailer, and gets a little breezy inside at times? Plastic on the windows usually helps, as does caulk and/or a few cans of Great Stuff foam around all penetrations of the outside envelope. Any way to rig a windbreak on the side the prevailing wind comes from? Only so much you can do to insulate a 3" wall. A tin box is a tin box, etc.
-- aem sends...
"Stormin Mormon" wrote in news:gf7vqu$2io$ snipped-for-privacy@registered.motzarella.org:
Hello, pharmacy? Do you have condoms that will fit over a trailer?
========================================================== Subject: Re: rebar protrusion problem From: "Stormin Mormon" Newsgroups: alt.home.repair
Hello, pharmacy? I'd like a pair of eye condoms.....
The bags might settle to quickly to work, but its free
I hope he takes photos of the fire too. It will be spectacular.
Why not just grind up your trash and use that?
Thanks for a good laugh. You're right, a vapor barrier would be a good idea.
There was an old man in a trailer Who was once Navy man and a sailor He went and Asked on usenet of the nation A problem it was not much the tempation And now, he has a trailer Full of insectious infestation!
If there were some source of fire. Which, not much source of possible ignition under a trailer. It's still more combustibles to add to the fire.
Increased fire load, not a good thing.
I'll have to make him a sign "tin box, sweet tin box" and put a decorator border on it.
Two years ago, a couple fellows from church helped me blow cellulose into the ceiling of my trailer. That was a major benefit. I've suggested the ceiling cellulose to him.
Person tossing a cigarette (I have seen fires start from that) Person tossing a cigarette just before the windstorm begins to kick in Intoxicated person tossing a cigarette Child playing with a magnifying glass and sunlight and UH-OH THE WIND BLEW MY BURNING LEAF INTO THE LEAFPILE UNDER HIS TRAILER Fireworks experiencing Murphy's Law on New Year's Eve Someone fires a bottle rocket on Veterans Day and the rocket goes wayward 3-year-old runs outside with mommy's matches/lighter Lightning strikes neighbor's antenna and a glob of molten metal hits the leafpile Neighbor has a fire with embers blowing in the wind Neighbor has something explode Drunken motocyclist wipes out and wires on the motorcycle short and spark, possibly with some gasoline spillage Tornado or severe thunderstorm gust or a cold front gust blows a burning object under the trailer (Check out month-by-month historical tornado data and severe thunderstorm data for your state - chances are the numbers for November are not zero.) Neighbor's charcoal barnecue or outdoor lightbulb gets hit by a wayward baseball, soccerball, football, or model airplane or drunk motorcyclist or drunk cyclist or kid going too fast on his first day of having a bicycle
- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)
Cellulose sounds flammable to me. I wonder how that affects fire risk - electric lights don't have an absolutely perfect safety record, even when UL listed. Some don't handle insulation well. Some have poorly determined ratings for maximum wattage of bulb to put in - I did once see a UL listed lamp with the specified maximum wattage incandescent bulb experience charring wire insulation because the rating was determined poorly. The UL certification could even have been counterfeit. I have also seen a fluorescent lamp ballast burn up with flames (actually result thereof) by being unable to handle a foreseeable failure mode (starter "got stuck" after trying repeatedly to start a dead lamp). Apparently, the manufacturer had samples barely pass UL testing and I have heard someone suggest to me that production units could have been slightly chintzier than the units that UL approved. I do not expect such barely-passing and corner-cutting to be limited to fluorescent lamps.
How about fiberglass or rockwool?
- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)
The cellulose insulation product they sell is soaked with a sodium borate solution so it meets flame spread requirements.
I wonder how that affects fire risk -
My buddy got carried away and had a huge amount of cellulose blown into his attic and then lost a bunch of recessed light fixtures. Luckily there was never a fire. Lamp bases melted and leads fell off etc.
I have used the leaves from my trees to insulate my landscape plants for many many years and never once had a fire. Then again, that was in Houston where the leaves were almost always kept damp from rain or sprinkler system. They were great for protecting my semi-tropical plants from the occasional freeze. I didn't worry too much about fire because they were against brick or stone and couldn't have spread the fire very well. They also tended to pack down after a couple of rains and if they did catch fire they would have burned very slowly.
That is far different from being under the shelter of a trailer where they would continue to dry out. The big question that must always be asked is rather the value to be gained is worth the risk that one would incurr. A careless cigarette thrown by someone without thinking could be all that would be needed. Those trailers are a tender box to begin with.
You may be discounting the mindset of those who often live in trailers. They think outside the box.
Ya know, that sounds kinda like a frat house at Auburn University.
TDD
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