We recently bought a small cottage built about 50 years ago. The siding is insulbrick, which we would like to cover or replace. Is there any reason we should remove it, or can we simple cover it with some other kind of siding? We have received conflicting advice from different people, some of whom say that insulbrick contains asbestos and should be removed for health reasons.
Answer:
Besides containing asbestos fibre, the insulbrick is also serving as a vapour barrier on the wrong side of any insulation you might have or add to the walls. It has to go. If you plan to use the cottage for more than two seasons, this is an ideal time to build out around windows and doors and add an inch and a half of rigid fribre insulation under your new siding.
