Hoover up old loft insulation…

Hoover up old loft insulation…We are having new loft insulation installed but before we can start our contractor has told me that we need to remove all of the old loose fill insulation as it very very old and compacted. He’s recommending that we hire an industrial hoover rather than trying to remove it by hand. Wonder if anyone can help with a couple of queries:

Is it really worth removing the old insulation? It’s only about 1 to 2 inches deep and appears to be made of newspaper/fibreglass so I don’t really want to try to remove it by hand!! – My first thought was to simply have the new rolls put down over the top of the old. (Lazy I know!) .

Could anyone recommend a type of industrial hoover? Or somewhere to hire one? I’d prefer something with a very very long hose so that we can have the hoover outside to cut down on the dust/fibreglass being pushed around the house. I’ve tried HSS but they said that they have nothing suitable.

Many thanks,

Alex.

BTW: Our local council (Croydon) /energy (SeeBoard) company are sponsoring >70% of the costs of this work…..so re-insulating a three bed semi is only costing us £125!!! Bargain if you ask me!!! – Once the work has completed I’ll update this post to let you know how they do.

alexm said:

He’s recommending that we hire an industrial hoover rather than trying to remove it by hand.Is it really worth removing the old insulation? It’s only about 1 to 2 inches deep and appears to be made of newspaper/fibreglass so I don’t really want to try to remove it by hand!! – My first thought was to simply have the new rolls put down over the top of the old.

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I would put new insulation on top but then it's not me that's doing it ! If the contractor asking you to remove it then you don't have much choice.

Could anyone recommend a type of industrial hoover?

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I can't see how any vacuum cleaner will pick loose paper without blocking it. When I did mine I've brought a Vac (orange type) and made up a extension hose onto it as it was cheaper than to hire it.

My old stuff was the fibreglass grey stuff and I removed it all by wearing a face mask and some thick gloves. I dont see the need for a hoover personally.

A garden vac/blower may do the trick.

A pair of those paper throwaway overalls will help too.

Not sure how much this is to hire ?

HSS most certainly do big vacs so I'm suprised they said they couldn't. You didn't tell them what you wanted it for per chance? If so I can see why they said they ain't got one. You might be interested in this which is cheap but powerful.