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If you’ve ever stumbled across a mechanical insulation specification calling for asbestos wrap or sewn lagging cloth, you might have had the same reaction I did—something between shock and disbelief, followed by a desperate urge to check the calendar. Surely, it couldn’t still be 1974. Yet, here we are. Outdated insulation specifications are the ghosts of projects past, and they haunt more boilerplate language than most of us would like to admit.

Welcome to the Mechanical Insulation Time Capsule

There’s nothing wrong with history. In fact, I have a deep respect for the long evolution of our industry. But specifications are supposed to be living documents, not historical artifacts. And yet, in plant and facilities across the country, we’re still seeing specs that seem to have been pulled from a dusty three-ring binder labeled “Disco Era – Do Not Open.”

The problem is simple: Cut-and-paste culture has taken over the specification process. This might be one instance where recycling isn’t a good idea. Reusing firm specifications that haven’t been reviewed recently isn’t efficient. It is time consuming in the long run.

Boilerplate Blunders: The Greatest Hits

Here are a few real-life golden oldies that I (and my fellow insulation veterans) have spotted recently:

• Sewn Lagging Cloth: This practice went out of style sometime around the end of the Cold War. Unless you’re insulating a steamship in a maritime museum, this has no place in modern mechanical systems.
• Asbestos Insulation: Nothing says “retro spec” like an explicit call for materials that are illegal, hazardous, and guaranteed to get your project team some unwanted attention from health and safety regulators.
• Insulation Thicknesses from Another Era: When specs assume thermal performance requirements from days of yore, you’ve got a problem. Today’s energy codes demand more, and your specs should too.
• Products that No Longer Exist: I’ve seen products listed that the manufacturer hasn’t made in 60 years. The spec writer might as well have asked for a DeLorean with a flux capacitor.

The Real Cost of Outdated Specs

These resurrected zombie specifications don’t just make you look out of touch—they cost real time and money. Here’s how the horror movie usually plays out:

1. The insulation contractor reads the spec and immediately raises an eyebrow (or both).
2. The contractor contacts the mechanical contractor, who then reaches out to the general contractor or project manager, who calls the engineer, who digs up the spec writer.
3. The whole chain gets bogged down in back-and-forth clarifications, requests for information, and revisions.
4. Once the confusion is sorted, the correct materials are ordered—often with expedited shipping to avoid further delays and cost increases.
5. All of this slows down the project and adds unnecessary costs, and no one’s happy.

All this happens because someone copied and pasted the wrong paragraph from a project that predates Google.

Modern Solutions for Modern Systems

So, what’s the cure for this epidemic of outdated insulation specs? It’s easier than you think:

• Periodic Specification Reviews: Make it a regular habit to review your mechanical insulation specs at least every couple of years. Better yet, make friends with your insulation contractor or manufacturer rep—they live and breathe this stuff and can help keep you current. If you don’t know whom to call, make a new friend with the experts at any insulation manufacturer’s technical department. Visit www.insulation.org/directory to find one.
• Use Online Industry Resources: NIA offers a free insulation design guide and
  eight insulation calculators to do the work for you. Or scan material properties on the Spec Chart, search for manufacturers by standard, and learn tricky terms in the insulation science glossary terms, all at www.insulation.org/resources. Another useful guide is the North American Insulation Manufacturer Association’s (NAIMA’s) Guide to Insulating Chilled Water Piping Systems. Visit www.insulationinstitute.org to download the guide, use NAIMA’s free thickness calculator, 3E Plus®, or their new estimator software. These tools help everyone (specifiers, contractors, and engineers) get on the same page and prevent those “what year is this spec from?” moments.
• Leverage the North American Commercial & Industrial Insulation Standards Manual: This handy resource from Midwest Insulation Contractors Association (MICA), sometimes just called the MICA Manual, is like having a time machine set to “current best practices.” It contains standardized system plates that show insulation materials, installation methods, and accessory details that reflect today’s codes and technologies.

Why It Matters: It’s More than Just Insulation

Remember, insulation isn’t just a box to check—it’s a critical part of your building’s energy performance, safety, and long-term durability. When you use outdated specs, you’re not just creating confusion for the contractor—you’re potentially compromising the very systems you’re trying to protect. Plus, nobody wants to explain to a client why their brand new “high-performance” building is saddled with insulation technology that predates email.

A Plea from an Industry Veteran

I get it—spec writing isn’t glamorous. It’s not the part of the job anyone dreams about. But good plans and specs are the foundation of good projects. They set the tone for everything that follows. So, when you create the project documents for your next project, take a minute to make sure they do not accidentally call for materials that belong on display in a museum. In fact, you can reach out to NIA members and they will be happy to help you determine if there is a new design or product that will help the owner save money and energy while reducing carbon emissions.

At the end of the day, the only thing that should be retro on your jobsite is the playlist—not the insulation system.

Need Help? Don’t Reinvent the Wheel (or the Spec)

If you’re not sure where to start, the experts at NIA are happy to help. We’ve got members who love nothing more than reviewing boilerplate language and helping you bring it into the 21st century. Find out more at www.insulation.org/membershipdirectory. In this business, the only thing scarier than bad insulation is bad insulation specifications.