Porter Insulation Products
P.O. Box 561 · 1047 Airport Road
Jefferson, GA 30549
Phone 800-999-0430 · Fax 706-367-1719
Since 1965, The South's Leading Poultry House Insulation Company
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Porter Insulation Products P.O. Box 561 · 1047 Airport Road Jefferson, GA 30549 Phone 800-999-0430 · Fax 706-367-1719 |
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Since 1965, The South's Leading Poultry House Insulation Company | ||
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HOME PAGE HISTORY INSULATION MATERIALS FIBERGLASS OR CELLULOSE? BUILDING MATERIALS CURRENT NEWS TRUCKING POLICY DIRECTIONS, HOURS & CONTACT INFO LINKS   National Insulation Contractors' Exchange |
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Fiberglass vs. Cellulose
This is a debate that has gone on since blown cellulose was introduced into the poultry housing market. 
 Our company began installing fiberglass in 1965 and continues using it to this day. Cellulose was introduced into the poultry house market in the mid-1970s in North Alabama. When it was installed properly, it did a good job. The problem with cellulose in the old days was it was usually NOT installed properly. Since growers did not check their attics, underblowing cellulose was a common practice in those days. The founder of our company, Dwight Porter, pushed against cellulose until he was faced with no other choice in 1990 due to competitors' cutting prices. This was due to the price difference between fiberglass and cellulose which ran an average of $2,000 per house in the early 1990s. 
 Using proper installation techniques, our company had good results with cellulose in the 1990s. Then in the late 1990s, most of the poultry companies started using tunnel ventilation which meant the houses became much tighter. The result was much more vibration on the ceilings. This resulted in the cellulose shifting out of the peak and sliding down the truss in many cases. It also caused the cellulose to settle much more than it had in previous years. We immediately started inspecting past jobs that we had installed. We also inspected competitiors' jobs. We even looked at different brands of cellulose to see if there were any differences. The result of these inspections was that all installers and all brands of cellulose were experienceing the same bad results. In 2000, our company sent letters to all the poultry companies in the Southeast informing them of the dangers of cellulose. We also sent this same letter to all the poultry house builders. We even made a video of what we were seeing, and Brantley Potter made a month-long trip visiting building supervisors throughout the Southeast to make them aware of the problem. 
 Once the poultry industry saw what was happening, some of the poultry companies changed their building specs to require fiberglass in roofs. Others gave the grower the option, but due to the price difference, most growers still choose cellulose if given a choice. While we will continue to offer cellulose in the years to come, we want everyone to understand that you get what you pay for. We believe that you are much better off to pay for fiberglass up front. If you choose the cheaper option of Cellulose, not only do you face the strong possibility that you will have to blow additional insulation down the road, you also must factor in how much more additional gas you will burn as a result of poor insulation The bottom line is BUYER BEWARE. |