DIY Attic insulation removal and airseal with homemade vacuum

I didn’t really want to do this project and was ready to pay someone a lot of $ to do it but as with most contractors they never would call me back. Plus I’m the type of person who really wants something done right. So I went to YouTube to figure out a way to do it myself.

There were only a few videos on this method of insulation vacuum by a DIY’er. Lots of contractors use $4000 14hp vacuums but I figured there was a cheaper way.

The heart of the system is the Harbor Freight dust collector, this fan is a 2hp BEAST and could easily suck out anything from 100’ of pipe. I elected to mount the fan up in the attic because of physics and wanting the maximal suction. I really don’t think it matters where it is. This thing works amazingly well. I also do woodworking so it will be placed in my shop after all this is done.

I did occasionally get some clogs that were easily removed by “popping” my hand off and on the drain pipe end. A couple of times it was so clogged that I would remove the drain pipe from the fan and “pop” it on and off. This was super dangerous without the guard as you have a hole open right to the fan.

Having plaster ceilings I did collect a lot of plaster pieces, basically little rocks that would accumulate in the drain pipe and I have to use gravity to get them out after 2-3 hrs of sucking. Not really that big of a deal.

All in all I spent probably 6-8 hours actually sucking it all out and a few hours doing prep and setup.

The air sealing, HVAC, wiring and blowing in of the new insulation took a few weeks to complete (after work etc). Lots of work.

I didn’t get into the details of blowing in of insulation in this video as there are lots available on that.

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List of things I bought:

Harbor Freight 2HP dust collector: $176 (after 20% off)

100’ of 4” drain pipe from hardware store: $73

Great Stuff Pro (Gaps & Cracks, Fireblock) 12 cans + gun and cleaner: $139 (on eBay, used about 6 cans)

Radiant barrier from HD: $100 (plus bought a pneumatic stapler from HF for $20, used over 2000 staples!)

Heavy duty wire screen for gable vents

All new ductwork: about $325

I already had a huge 40x40 tarp for my “dumpster” and used clamps and 2x4’s to frame it into a big bathtub. Over the top I had 3 sheets sewn together to make a large breathable top that I attached with a 2x4 and clamps. I rigged up 25’ of rigid PVC drainpipe from the attic to the top of the dumpster (this worked great, very low friction of stuff flowing down).

I ended up putting all the old insulation in contractor trash bags and the city picked them up (about 30 of them).

[davehicks]

My wife & I followed were inspired by this video and followed precisely as you showed to clean out the attic in our very old house. The insulation was all wood shavings and there was quite a lot of bat guano. The machine worked perfectly and what could have taken us weeks or months to do manually was completed in just a few days. Thanks !!

[LithicStudios]

Just got a quote for $4500 to vacuum my 1200 sq. ft. attic space - blown-in cellulose insulation. Ridiculous. So here I am, thanks for the innovative ideas.

[freshhopped]

I’ve watched this a dozen times. Thank you for sharing your ingenuity. Side note: extra care should be taken when sealing around fireplaces or hot lights. There’s special foam for that.

[CForged]

That looks very gratifying! Getting that toxic crap out of there

[frankhartley]

Thank you. I just did mine over night. Only thing different I use was 4 inch dryer vent pipe. Thank you again

[bruceclark]

After seeing this video, I am going to borrow my brother's dust collector and DIY like crazy up there. Inspiring. Thanks, Rich.

[douglasroberts]

Thanks for sharing. I have to do this to my attic this year.

[etteluuap]

Thanks for the GREAT! video. I 've rec'd 2 estimates for my 3/2 house in the Bay Area both around $5K (slightly higher) and I can 't pay that. This gives me hope I can get the job done on a semi DIY (I'm a woman and almost 70 so I really don't think I can do some of these things alone) but I have a good idea of how it needs to be done, some clever solutions (tarp-tub) and can oversee things I can't do on my own. I really appreciate having the name of the tools and where to buy them. Also appreciate reading some the comments - good to know about the nails and helmet trick :)

[markanderson]

Rich, i'm impressed all you done. Really nice professional job.

[davidbridges]

Well done RW. Gave me hope for a daunting $$$ project that I can now manage myself.

[sothathappened]

this was extremely helpful! Thank you. I'm going to give it a try this week.

[InsulationMachines]

Impressive! A lot of work went into that.

[susanfrombflo]

Excellent DIY! I'm air sealing now so I appreciate the inspiration and ingenuity. Great that it was a family project too!

[GustavoSellsOC]

Great video. I added a radiant barrier to my rafters and am tempted to take out old insulation and seal. I would advise to anyone to also use goggles. The dust gets in your eyes.

[BearSesameLLCAllentown]

Genius! Add magnets and a clean out with magnets before the motor fan blades!

[psygnale]

DUDE!!!

I just started clearing the original blown-in up in my in-laws attic (house built in 1971, soffits have been missing for probably most of that time, at LEAST 35 years worth of critter poop, feathers etc...).

Took me 2 hours to "sweep" about 50-60 square feet into contractor grade trash bags and haul them out of the attic and down another flight of stairs. Only 1250 sq/ft to go...

P. I. T. A.

Just came across this vid and I'm headed to Harbor Freight/HD this weekend.

You. Are. The. Man.

[callmebigpapa]

Great video thanks for sharing, just like the kids at the end I wear a bike helmet when in the attic for you guessed it the roofing nails that stick thru the decking!!!

[ncmoutaintj]

I just got a quote for $2400 to do my small 1400sf ranch. Thanks for this video, I need a dust collector for my workshop anyway. Looks like I’ll be headed to HF!

[captainkittles]

This video is very helpful, thank you very much for posting

[nathanblu]

Thanks a lot. I’ve been looking for a machine to do this for weeks