My house she is old, and a big part is coming off. It had no foundation,
just built on locust posts, shallow dirt crawl space, originally a big porch.
Now tearing it down and along with all the years of leaves, rusty pipes
etc… underneath, a layer of a sort of brown mat, well intact
considering its age. I’ve seen it before in smaller peices and thought
it was oakum, used by plumbers in years gone by for pipes joints,
but this looks like it was laid down throughout to keep the dirt
down or to insulate. Its maybe one inch or so thick, fiberous, brown.
What is this stuff- and since I need to get rid of it to move ahead,
should I have it tested for asbestos, or just rake it up and forget it.
Assume your kids would use this area for future barefoot in the grass
type activities. Not sure how old it is, at least 50 years.
Thanks, Noelski
“measure once, cut once”
Replies
old carpet?
Had something somewhat similar in an old house near Winnipeg a few years ago, though was more of a building felt that was placed in the stud bays. (draftstop ?) Appeared to be made of shredded cedar bark.
Paul
Sounds like homasote, also known as "sound board". I've seen it used by many homeowners to cover the undersides of floor joists, especially in crawl spaces, in an effort to keep out critters and drafts. It is cheap and lightweight which is why I think so many folks used it. Couldn't be a worse product for that use. I'd just rake it up and toss in the compost pile. It's just cellulose fibers and some sort of resin to bind it together.