Finding someone to remove loft insulation / clean up the loft

_Sam_

I've tried to search for a company that would be able to rid the loft of all existing insulation and clean/vacuum the loft hopefully without spreading dust and glass fibres in the house, but there doesn't seem to be many options out there, most companies specialise in installing insulation, whereas what Im looking for I guess is "professional" clean of the loft.

I'm worried to DIY because of glass fibres and the loft is fairly large as it is a bungalow, so I'm not sure how doable it is. At the same time as I can't find anything out there I'm wondering if it is a job people tend to do themselves (or tend not to do it in the first place lol!)

Once the loft is clean I'd be installing non-irritant insulation and boarding part of it for storage both of which I can DIY. We tend to use the loft a lot so I like to keep it clean and non-irritant.

Norman_Castle

DIY. Glass fibres can irritate but aren't excessively dangerous. Wear a good dust mask and possibly a paper suit.

Bendy_House

Any 'handyperson' should be able to do this.

Yes, it's horrible, but a mask, gloves and full overalls with head covering will give the required protection. 

The person would roll up each length tightly, and place each roll in a sealed H/D bin bag. Finishing off with a Henry.

But, really worth doing? I presume - in order to bring the insulation level up to current recommendations - you'll be fitting the floor on top of pedestals? In which case, if the current insulation is actually in ok condition, then I'd personally just add more (non-itchy) stuff on top. That would almost certainly be good enough.

If you insist on removing the existing first, you just need a handypeep. Just make sure that they understand your requirements as regards tidiness, and that they understand ditto for their own anti-itch protection.

They may want to choose a cool day for doing this...

Oh, and they also need to understand the need to keep the eaves gap clear so your loft remains ventilated - this is VERY important.

YBR

We went down the DIY path. The dust was just as bad as the glass fibres!
Full overalls, gloves, dust mask, glasses and a headscarf / bandanna will be wise.

The house was very cold for the week-or-so until we had re-insulated.

Murmansk

Our place was built in 1893 and there's a significant amount of dust and miscellaneous stuff going back 130 years from before the Clean Air Act - I'd hate to think what a job it would be to remove it or what kind of company you'd employ but it'd be expensive and horrible!

theoretica

You will need someone with a waste licences to take the old insulation away - so perhaps start there.  Industrial vacuums with HEPA filters can be hired if they don't have their own.

Norman_Castle

Murmansk said:

Our place was built in 1893 and there's a significant amount of dust and miscellaneous stuff going back 130 years from before the Clean Air Act - I'd hate to think what a job it would be to remove it or what kind of company you'd employ but it'd be expensive and horrible!

My lofts about 120 years old which I recently tidied before boarding. Two very large birds nests filled 8 bin bags, one had a house brick buried in the middle so obviously very large birds. Genuinely filthy work but not difficult. 

Woolsery

It must be do-able because I did it on a 4 bed bungalow at the age of 65! We were refurbishing/rewiring and rebuilding parts, so there was no insulation for almost 3 years and the difference was very noticeable.

From memory, I filled about a dozen dumpy bags with the stuff which was around 20 years old. I was able to re-home it all via Freegle to people whose landlords were too tight to give them any. Luckily I'd a big van, though one of the two recipients took the bags in short runs from a local car park in their Renault Kangoo.

The cost of direct disposal to a council tip was then £100 which was the minimum charge for trade waste. It will have increased ...probably by a lot!

Ganga

I cleaned our 2 bed semi loft myself ,the insulation looked like the stuff that came out of mattresses not rolled fibreglass . i bagged it all and took it to the local re-cycling centre ,the only problem was it was so hot in the loft i wore jeans and a tee shirt ,no mask and for days my arms were itching ,if i had any sense i would have worn overalls and a mask plus gloves .
I payed about £40 to a company who were doing this in conjuction with a gov grant , did a great job and the lads thanked my wife for having the loft cleaned out , fast forward about 6 weeks and the same company came knocking on doors asking if people wanted it done for free as the local gov were paying for it ,my wife asked the man if he wanted to come back and tell me as i was a work and would be over the moon 

_Sam_

Woolsery said:

From memory, I filled about a dozen dumpy bags with the stuff which was around 20 years old.

That's a lot If I'm going DIY route I'd be using black bin bags.... Have overalls, glasses and mask with screw-on filters, guess the best way to avoid dust and fibres in the house would be to seal myself up there (i.e. close the loft hatch behind me) with bin bags and vacuum cleaner start bagging and vacuuming until all is done, then transfer the bags out. 

Would Henry be able to pick up small fibres or is it better to hire. more powerful industrial vacuum with HEPA? 

_Sam_

Bendy_House said:

But, really worth doing? I presume - in order to bring the insulation level up to current recommendations - you'll be fitting the floor on top of pedestals? In which case, if the current insulation is actually in ok condition, then I'd personally just add more (non-itchy) stuff on top. That would almost certainly be good enough.

It's probably OCD but would rather get rid of it Would certainly want to ensure good ventilation in the loft, and thinking even if covered on a windy day the fibres might still fly around... In the old house I'd vacuum the loft from time to time and it's good to know it is only dust I have to deal with.