I've always been curiousI guess what sparked my interested was seeing immitation carbon fiber (a dark gray plastic panel checked) hahaThanks in advance
From what I have seen, blown cellulose insulation is just as effective as fiberglassAs long as they both have the same R factor, they will both work the sameBut, cellulose is usually made of recycled products and is itself recyclable.
Cellulose is the cheapest way to go but it settles you loose density in a short period of timeOwens Pink is betterR-15 for wallsBeen there ,done thatAnd normally new construction walls are battedReal old homes with uninsulated walls are blown with celluloseI think you need to quiz your contractor.
To expand a little bit on Bolide's answerHave you ever seen how a loom makes fabric? You gather a bunch of fibers together into a yarn, and then you stretch a number of those yarns parallel to each otherThose yarns are called the warpThen, you take a separate length of yarn, called the weft, and pass it over and under the warp yarnsYou can go over 1, under 1, over 1, under 1 Or you can go over 1, under 3 Or over 3, under 2The pattern you use determines the look, feel, and strength of the resulting fabricAn over 1, under 1 pattern produces the checkerboard pattern you're describingCarbon fiber can be used in the same wayManufacturers produce long yarns, which are just gathered up strings of very skinny carbon fibersThen they can weave them together in various patterns depending on the application, but the over 1, under 1 pattern is very commonLots of carbon fiber applications use sheets that are produced by this weaving process (aka textile carbon fiber)One of the big advantages is that, because you have fibers going in two directions, it tends not to fall apart while you're working with itIt's also easy to adapt it to surfaces that are curved in two directions (like a sphere, as opposed to a cylinder, which is only curved in one direction), because it shears easilyAnd after it's cured, a single layer has strength in two directionsBut there are plenty of other applications of carbon fiber that use fibers oriented in a single direction, and those don't have the checkerboard patternLook closely at a carbon fiber scuba tank, for example, and you'll probably see that the fibers are all oriented parallel to one anotherThis is because it's pretty easy to make cylindrical structures by spinning them and winding a yarn of fiber around them, just like a spool of threadI hope that helps!
