Inselbric Asphalt Siding
This giant apartment building in Newport, NH is covered with Inselbric panels. It's possible they were installed before 1940. This wall faces south and the sun has damaged some of the surface. But the other three sides of the building look brand new! Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Inselbric Asphalt Panel Siding
Inselbric is a discontinued siding product. You can no longer buy it. It was made in a similar manner as today's asphalt shingles. Click to see pictures of a house in Cincinnati, OH, that has withstood the test of time.
The product name is often misspelled. A few other common misspellings are:
- Insulbrick
- Inselbrick
- Insulbric
It's important to realize this fascinating product still protects tens of thousands of homes, sheds, barns and business all over the USA and possibly Canada.
It must be remembered it first came to market in October of 1931 and soon dominated the marketplace because it was easy to install, attractive, and was truly maintenance-free. Gone were the days of scraping peeling alkyd paint from wood siding.
Here's the official US Patent and Trademark Office record of the Inselbric trademark.
For this reason, homeowners and businessmen bought millions of square feet of this magic material.
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Interlocking Asphalt-Saturated Wood Fiber Panels
This asphalt siding is an ingenious product. It's about 1/2-inch thick wood fiber panels with interlocking male and female grooves an tongues.
Here's a closeup shot of the side of an Inselbric panel. You can see it's about 1/2-inch thick. Note the asphalt and ceramic granules. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Another key point is it goes together exactly like traditional hardwood flooring interlocks. This interlock feature stopped wind-driven rain from harming the structure.
A point often overlooked is the wood fibers were saturated with hot asphalt and colored mineral granules were carefully placed on the panels. This asphalt made it waterproof.
Using lost technology it could be made to look like brick, stone or even wood.
Inselbric Styles and Types
There were five primary styles:
- 3D-INSELUM
- INSELSTONE
- INSELSYDE
- INSELBRIC
- INSELWOOD
By far the most popular was the INSELBRIC and INSELSTONE.
Aluminum Siding Kicked It To The Curb
Most building products have their day in the sun. Sunset for this magic siding product happened in the 1960s. Aluminum siding took the marketplace by storm and the returning veterans from WWII didn't want their new houses covered with the material they grew up with.
The demand for all the Insel products dropped off quickly and it was all over.
I wish I could go back in time to see how they distributed the colored ceramic granules as they made the INSELSTONE panels. The 3D effect created by the shadow lines is unbelievable.
Here's an advertisement for Inselbric from a May 1954 edition of LIFE magazine. The product was pushed aside in the 1960s by the insane aluminum siding craze. Inselbric had a great 30-year run. Copyright LIFE magazine - Fair Use Doctrine usage
This is a detached one-car garage covered with INSELSTONE. There's a good chance this material was put on in the 1930s based on its location on Parade Road in Laconia, NH. The material up away from the splatter zone is in brand new condition. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
This is a close up of the INSELSTONE on the Parade Road garage. Pay attention to the striking detail that create shadows as if the panel is 3D. Wouldn't you love to see the manufacturing process that so carefully scattered the colored ceramic granules? I know I would. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Here's some of the magic material on a tired home in Meredith, NH on Dow Road. This is a unique photo because the small entryway is covered in the brick pattern yet the main house is covered with a different asphalt siding product. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
You are making me wish that someone would start manufacturing the stuff again.
It's great material. The INSELSTONE is especially attractive. I'm trying to locate a photo that shows the stunning detail and shadows they created with the colored granules. Magic......
Hi Tim - I too always thought the name was in SUL brick because it had a certain amount of insulating properties. It was great stuff! The century home I had had been re-sided with it over ship lap siding.
It looks ok until you have a fire ,in my decades in my fire dept .I've seen several burn and fast
Albert,
Absolutely! The panels are wood fiber saturated with asphalt. You bet they'll burn.
But so will wood siding, vinyl siding and any other flammable material.
If a house fire is lapping out the windows and doors that much to ignite the outside siding, then it won't take much for the structure to be a total loss.
this leaves me Stoned . if cost effective
build it again . the insultone looked good .
I have this on my old home in Kingsville and I love it. What I have is the Insulwood. I recently repainted the exterior and it brought out the wood grain. I believe that is what helps to keep the house insulated. I wish they still made it or something comparable. Seems to last a really long time.
Does is have asbestos in it. Just purchased an older home and discovered this stuff under the siding.
Where can I get something that looks like insul-brick in Toronto Canada?
Did you ever find out if it is asbestos?
Why? Does it matter? If there is asbestos in it, it's encapsulated, silly!
This is also called “Gasoline Siding” by many firefighters due to it’s high flammability and rapid fire spread in structure fires. More problematic is much of it has been covered over by more modern materials.
Any particular info regarding asbestos that may have been included in the product(s) ?
Assume it's in there!
Do you know of anyone that may have a private reserve of the INSELBRICK for a historic preservation project in Colorado
I'm getting ready to start a remodel on an old home in Tennessee and I may try to save the siding. It's covered by vinyl siding now. We shall see!
My Grandparent's house in Virginia had this siding and I always wondered what it was called. Thank you for this informative site!
Can I buy this or not? This is unclear, I am interested in re-siding my house with the brick look.
I was born in 1044, we moved to a old small home on a small farm, the house was sided with inselbrick I never spelt it this way because of the sound of the word. And yes it was used extensively throughout Canada,. Thanks for this great article, Merritt Kirby Camden East Ontario Canada, p.s., I thought of it when I investigated a ad for Genstone.
How can Inselbrick sidng be repaired ?
Is there a substitute or similar product?
Howe about a repairing compound ?
We are mulling over the removal of our asphalt siding in VT, but after reading this, I'm having second thoughts. There are places on the house where the asphalt is badly damaged, and other places where it's in good shape. I took off some of the lower tiles where water had splashed up and rotted the wood underneath. I did find rotted wood, but only in one tiny section. The rest of the wood siding was fine. If there were a way of finding replacement tiles, we would consider keeping the siding, and repairing the "ugly" sections. Your article was certainly very interesting and helps us see this siding in a whole new way.
need insulbrick too fix in front of house
I have this stuff on my house in Vermont, and it is falling apart. What is the best way of dealing with it? Do I have someone removed it all, and then paint the wood underneath? I took some of the worst parts of, and the clapboards are in good shape.
How to repair holes in asphalt siding
Thanks from Butte MT