DIY attic insulation removal

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RJ1982
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Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2013 9:58 am

DIY attic insulation removal

Post by RJ1982 »

I'm looking to remove the blown-in fiberglass insulation from my 1,500 square foot attic in the Kansas City area. The house is 30 years old and the insulation is quite dusty/dirty (probably original). I'm wondering if I should DIY this project or hire it out.

On the one hand, I'm handy and I've done some other home improvement projects myself. I'm also on a tight budget. On the other hand, I've heard that attic insulation removal can be a dirty and difficult job, and I don't want to mess it up.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

-RJ
Globalviewer58
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by Globalviewer58 »

Not an answer but thought inspiration - Do you have quotes from professionals to do the work? What benefit do you expect from removal?
fyrfyter8
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by fyrfyter8 »

I have done my 1200sqft house. It is doable but IMO for the hardcore DIYer. I used my wood shop dust collector connected to huge insulation bags available on Amazon. Also bought a cheap long suction hose from Amazon. It was cellulose and 100 year old mineral wool insulation. I tested for asbestos 1st. The bags were as long as a 30yard dumpster and it filled the dumpster up. DW ran the dust collector and pushed insulation to the end of the bags. Prob took half a day. Use a good respirator not the typical white masks.

We then did DIY spray foam to create an air seal and blew insulation to R60.

Probably saved a few thousand dollars.

If u want to see pics, ping me and I can share some.
Topic Author
RJ1982
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by RJ1982 »

Globalviewer58 wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 1:14 pm Not an answer but thought inspiration - Do you have quotes from professionals to do the work? What benefit do you expect from removal?
We got quoted about $4 thousand to remove the insulation. This seems like an awful lot of money for a day (or two) worth of fairly unskilled work, which is why I am considering DIY'ing it.
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windaar
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by windaar »

What is the reason for removal? Just put new on top of it.
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bradinsky
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by bradinsky »

FWIW, you can rent an insulation removal vacuum at places like Sunbelt. Disgusting job that I would pay someone to do.
carolinaman
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by carolinaman »

bradinsky wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 8:54 am FWIW, you can rent an insulation removal vacuum at places like Sunbelt. Disgusting job that I would pay someone to do.
+1. I totally agree. I would not want to breath all that insulation dust which might result in respiratory issues. Well worth paying someone to do.
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Watty
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by Watty »

RJ1982 wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 8:04 pm
Globalviewer58 wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 1:14 pm Not an answer but thought inspiration - Do you have quotes from professionals to do the work? What benefit do you expect from removal?
We got quoted about $4 thousand to remove the insulation. This seems like an awful lot of money for a day (or two) worth of fairly unskilled work, which is why I am considering DIY'ing it.
Keep in mind that if you do it you will also have equipment rentals, supplies, dumpster costs, etc. A wild guess would be that if you do it yourself it might still cost you something like $1,000 so figure that out and subtract it from the cost of hiring someone to do it for you. The net actual cost might be more like $3,000.

There is also a non-zero chance that if you do it yourself that you will do something like step through a ceiling or damage electrical, plumbing for ductwork. If you hire someone to do it then they should take care of any damage like that so that is also worth something.

Sometimes it can help to turn the question around.

Having done DIY projects with fiberglass insulation in the past I would not be the least bit interested in doing this project for a neighbor if they asked me to do it for them for $3,000.

A lot depends on your financial situation and sometimes you may not have a real choice(been there done that) but if paying for it would not be a real hardship then I would pay to have someone else do this project.
snic
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by snic »

Keep in mind that some (many? all?) jurisdictions will charge extra for disposal of fiberglass insulation as it's a hazard. When I replaced my attic insulation a few years back, I was quoted an extra $1000 or so for disposal. In my case it was batts, not blown-in, so I had them do the air sealing, then pile the blown-in on top of the old batts. Even if it's old and degraded, it's still providing some insulation value, so as long as you put as much on top of it as you had planned to replace it with, you're doing better in terms of total R value for the money.

Now, if you're planning to do spray foam, it's a different story.
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Alfonsia
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by Alfonsia »

Also consider in your area if you have risk of plague or hantavirus. It's quite likely you would have had rodents in your attic in a 30 yr old house.
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illumination
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by illumination »

Insulation will insulate, even when it's dirty. Maybe even better than new "clean" insulation (that will also be filthy in a few years) If you're on a tight budget, what is the reasoning for doing this?

It's not a job I would do myself, but $4000 for a job like that sounds sky high to me for just removal. I'd get other quotes. If you do it yourself, wear something like a real respirator and safety goggles.
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jabberwockOG
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by jabberwockOG »

First few years after I retired, and before the plague, I helped built several HFH houses volunteering hundreds of hours of my time. I was always happy work on just about any home construction task (framing, paint, siding, installing windows, trim work, installing closet racks, landscape, etc.), but I always refused to touch any fiberglass insulation work.

Nasty stuff, it can damage your health if you are not extremely careful. Working with it for more than a few minutes, it somehow gets into every crevice of your clothing, into your ears, your socks/shoes/pockets, it's particularly nasty the insulation is old and dirty.

If you are going to do spray foam which creates an entirely different attic environment, you need to make VERY sure that all fiberglass fibers/dust are removed from that space to make it safe conditioned space. Walking around up there in the future without a respirator requires that every single shred of dust be removed.

Get 2-3 quotes and pay somebody else to do it.
Last edited by jabberwockOG on Sat Sep 30, 2023 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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unclescrooge
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by unclescrooge »

RJ1982 wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 8:04 pm
Globalviewer58 wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 1:14 pm Not an answer but thought inspiration - Do you have quotes from professionals to do the work? What benefit do you expect from removal?
We got quoted about $4 thousand to remove the insulation. This seems like an awful lot of money for a day (or two) worth of fairly unskilled work, which is why I am considering DIY'ing it.
Get more quotes.

I paid $2500 to remove 2,500 sqft and seal 45 light cans in Los Angeles, which is a HCOL city.

I also paid to have batts installed and negotiated 25% off their final quote.

Based on the potential health issue alone, I would outsource this.

The workers wore hazmat suits, respirators, sealed up the other rooms with plastic and left the house spotless.
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FrugalInvestor
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by FrugalInvestor »

I would definitely get more quotes and I would also definitely hire out the work. I've worked with a lot of insulation in my years - but not removal. It's miserable stuff.
Have a plan, stay the course and simplify. Then ignore the noise!
biscuit5
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by biscuit5 »

unclescrooge wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 5:56 pmI also paid to have batts installed and negotiated 25% off their final quote....
curious, why batts and not blown in? due to longevity of batts and no degradation?
billaster
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by billaster »

Why do you want to remove it? Dirt and dust don't hurt the insulation. If you want more insulation, just blown new over the old -- then it will look clean again!
seawolf21
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by seawolf21 »

carolinaman wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 9:31 am
bradinsky wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 8:54 am FWIW, you can rent an insulation removal vacuum at places like Sunbelt. Disgusting job that I would pay someone to do.
+1. I totally agree. I would not want to breath all that insulation dust which might result in respiratory issues. Well worth paying someone to do.
+1

Job is simple but you really should out source the health risk to professionals.
WhyNotUs
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by WhyNotUs »

you will want a respirator, full body suit, head lamp and portable light. You can rent the equipment to suck it up. If you are going to blow in the new insulation yourself, then the coverage is the same with a different rental equipment. Blowing it in is a more pleasant job than sucking it out IMO.

P.S. both area a two person job to work efficiently and safely.
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twh
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by twh »

The main problem with doing it without proper equipment is that fiberglass will be all over the house by the time you are done. It will be a light dusting everywhere. If you attempt this, you have to wear proper equipment and that's more than an N95 mask, even the better 3M ones from Home Depot.
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CAsage
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by CAsage »

Also a diehard DIY - we are cheap. I would consider it if the attic access is reasonable. Tape off all the other rooms to limit dust, and air seal before you install new insulation. I personally installed an extra layer of batt insulation over 95% of our attic, left the cruddy, dusty old stuff there just because it was too hard to visualize removing it. The access on the outer edges was always hands/knees, so crawling on top of joists or lying flat on my belly on small moveable plywood sheets. Nothing like the satisfaction of a groddy job well done!
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Benbo
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by Benbo »

$4k seems high, I just paid around $1k to remove batts in a 1600 sq/ft house. I'm in SoCal, so VHCOL. I'd recommend getting another quote, have them quote both the removal and the re-application - maybe that will save some. And to confirm what everyone else is saying, it's a dirty, nasty, uncomfortable job - hire it out.
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unclescrooge
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Re: DIY attic insulation removal

Post by unclescrooge »

biscuit5 wrote: Thu Oct 05, 2023 9:17 pm
unclescrooge wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 5:56 pmI also paid to have batts installed and negotiated 25% off their final quote....
curious, why batts and not blown in? due to longevity of batts and no degradation?
Longevity. I also read somewhere that blown in insulation losses it for retardant properties after 10 years or so.
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