Ceiling Insulation Removal – How to Deal With the Different Types of Insultion

Removing Insulation that's been sitting in your ceiling cavity for over 20 years and replacing with new high quality material can dramatically increase the effectiveness of the heating and cooling products used in your home. This has the effect of:

1) Saving you money on power bills, especially in climates which suffer from extremes of temperature

2) Helping to reduce your households carbon emissions

3) Giving you more control over the temperature in House

4) Creating a more even temperature throughout the day, no more being too hot in the day and too cold at night.

The type of insulation in the roof greatly affects the measures needed to remove the insulation and replace it with new material.

If your house is over 30 year old then Its best to have an expert get up there and check it out for you. The reason for this is the risk of their being Asbestos related products still in the roof. It will also give you an idea of how much it will cost to get the insulation professionally removed. Although the job can be done by hand, its generally better to get a professional on the job. Anyone who's ever spent any time inside the confines of a roof cavity will know what I'm talking about here. The dangers are high and if you've never done this kind of work before then you risk a very good chance of putting you foot through the gyp-rock and breaking the ceiling, turning what should have been a cheap DIY job into an expensive fix-up. At least if something goes wrong with a company, they are insured and will get the repair work done free of charge for you.

The 3 major types of Insulation Removal you are likely to encounter in the roof space are:

1) Fiberglass – Although not officially classed as a hazardous substance, fiberglass is surrounded by health claims that the tiny fibers can cause the same ill health effects as Asbestos in some individuals. If you are not wearing the correct safety gear, the tiny fibers will break-off and lodge themselves into your skin and cause itching and irritation, especially around the face and eyes.

2) Cellulose – Recent house-fires around Australia due to badly installed cellulose insulation have prompted many to undergo the removal process of their existing insulation and replace it with batts. Although cellulose poses very little risk if correctly installed, if it is left to sit over down-lights or ceiling transformers without adequate protection, it can overhead and cause a fire. Removal of cellulose requires a large trailer mounted vacuum and is always a job best left to the experts.

3) Asbestos – The health risks of Asbestos are well documented so I'll not go into this too much here. Needless to say, if you have any suspicions that the insulation in your roof could be linked to Asbestos then its best to get a professional out to look at it right away. Left undisturbed in the ceiling cavity, Asbestos causes few risk to building occupants, however, overtime if any building work is carried out in the house that may disturb or cause the insulation to potentially infiltrate the lived in section of the house, you should immediately call in insulation removal specialists who can dispose of the material safely and effectively.

Although there are many variants of these three basic types of insulation they will all fit into one of the above categories.

Essentially if you have insulation that's over thirty years old or could be posing a potential health or fire risk to the occupants of the building then you should think seriously about getting it removed and replaced with modern, non-toxic insulation material. I'll go over some of the best forms of this in my next article.