2000 Sf Of Ceiling...how To Remove Insulation?

carlspackler

I have a 2,000 sf remodel I'm going to do. The entire ceiling area is filled with blown in type insulation and the entire ceiling will need to come down. So what's the best way to remove the insulation before the ceiling comes down? Is there a tool or a service that can remove the insulation?

I can't see pulling the drywall down with insulation falling in my face.

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MarQ Remodeling (no website)

TonyD

A shovel and some garbage bags works for me.

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"...You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong..."
Abraham Lincoln

carlspackler

A shovel and bag for 2,000 sf of ceiling insulation? That would take me about a week. I was hoping there was a vacuum type solution.

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MarQ Remodeling (no website)

carlspackler

Looks like some of the insulation comapnies out there can come in and vacuum it out for a fee. That can't be cheap, but I really have no better alternative.

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MarQ Remodeling (no website)

Mr. D

i'm currently doing a re-model that i had the same situation. only 500 sq ft though. the vacuum guys were about 3 weeks out & $65 hr. who knows what kind of lackees they would have sent. so, we improvised. i bought a 12 inch sona tube or concrete form. duct taped a cardboard flange to it. knocked holes strategically in the ceiling then fastened the tube with screws to the ceiling. wrapped a garbage bag around the bottom. guy up top scraping the bays with a dust pan into the hole. filled 34 42 gal. bags in about 5 hours. now we have nice clean blown in ready to be re-used. the vacuum guys just wanted to toss it. tyvek suits and full face masks were also very helpful. we looked like the quarentine guys in that movie e.t.

Steve Unkie

I once used a reversable leaf blower to vacuum up the insulation. I used garbage bags instead of the zipper bag that came with the blower. It worked ok, but you have to vent the bag, it can't be airtight, so you have to deal with some insulation flying around.

Most times we walk around up in the attic, stomping the ceiling down, insulation and all. We then use snow shovels to fill garbage bags, messy but very fast.

Steve Unkie.

cmwacasey

It just happens that is exactly what I was doing today.like teeter says,I bit the bullet with my dust mask and goterdone.Just rip the sheetrock down and bag the insulation.Not a job for a guy that works in an office.

streetracer

I've seen truck mounted leaf vacs that would surely do the job. If you could just rent one of those for a Sunday...

Frankawitz

A few years back we had to remove a plaster ceiling with wood lath, you want to talk about fun, Oh Yeah just bunches We just pulled all the plaster off the wood lath bagged it up then we took down the wood lath and with it came the blown in crap mixed with the old time fiberglass from the 1940's they called it cotton batts. well after taking the 16 gallon shop vac to suck this stuff up we ended up with 35 40gallon garbage bags, which we pitched to the trash, we put in R-19 fiberglass batts, the only good thing is I found an old silent movie still for the U.S. Post Office showing it's brand new triple winged air plane to deliver the mail by air. The house was built in 1912 just before the war so the walls and ceilings never got there finish coats of plaster.