Insulation Guest Column: Quality Control and Proper Performance
There is a whole generation of people who were not around when — and may not understand why — FTC Home Insulation Rule 460 came into being.
Recently, a man came into our offices seeking employment as an installer. He said he had been working for “Company X,” and that he had made the owner a pile of money using the latest formulation of “El Fluffo” loose-fill insulation. He further stated that if the job called for 30 bags per the label, he could get the inches with about one-half that number of bags. I listened to him and informed him that according to FTC Rule 460 (Home Insulation Rule), he had been breaking the law, and could get himself and his employer fined $10,000 per occurrence. I then sent him on his way.
This got me thinking. There is a whole generation of people who were not around when — and may not understand why — FTC Home Insulation Rule 460 came into being. Many of our current Insulation Contractors Association of America (ICAA) members remember when this rule was adopted. Some were very aggressively involved in testifying before congressional committees to give much-needed expert information that was critical to FTC Rule 460 becoming a reality in a form that would be beneficial to both consumers and the insulation industry. But approximately 20 years have passed since Rule 460 came into existence. Perhaps we need to reflect on the basic reasons why it was needed in the first place.