Attic Insulation and Cleaning costs?

[jeromedawg]

Hey all,

My father-in-law is looking to get his attic cleaned and the insulation changed as per a recent initiative in the LA area where there is a rebate being offered that covers 80% of the cost of the insulation install. They actually state 80% of the project cost OR $1/sq ft, whatever is less:
https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/ladwp/residential/r-savemoney/r-sm-rebatesandprograms/r-sm-rp-airp;jsessionid=p8DtfyQQC2sH1vpbQ6LS3mpnJZzTLw41hypBKNQyCf7SG0pFrnTQ!722487151?_afrLoop=1298134831403358&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=null#%40%3F_afrWindowId%3Dnull%26_afrLoop%3D1298134831403358%26_afrWindowMode%3D0%26_adf.ctrl-state%3Ddy8i58w2u_4


The home is 1771sq feet (not sure if that includes sq footage of the garage, which is not insulated) and was built in 1964. They haven't done a ton of work on it other than a recent bathroom remodel of both bathrooms as well as laminate flooring. Ceilings are popcorn (not sure if sealed but there could be asbestos exposure which is a side concern of mine).

In any case, was curious (for anyone who has used a contractor/company to do this) what the standard costs are and if this rebate sounds like something worthwhile for them to pursue. As fun as it sounds (sarcasm), we are not interested in DIYing any of this hahaha.

Side note: my FIL has been having issues with his asthma and believes it's related to multiple things - A) a major gas well leak in the area where there is an ongoing lawsuit seeking retribution for damages and B) the air quality in their house which he attributes to old insulation in the attic (not sure about this one... but I would think the asbestos, if present, would be a more probable cause if anything. Perhaps that and if their air ducts/vents are clogged and need to be cleaned?). But B) is sort of what's driving this desire to have the attic cleaned and insulation changed, in addition to the potential cost savings (there is definitely more of an extreme in hotter and colder weather where they live so maybe it would help a little... this is SoCal but in their area it can get to be over 100F in the summer and I think probably close to 40F when it's cooler)

[secondcor521]

I DIY'ed my own attic this past fall.  I spent $932 at Lowe's on JM blown in fiberglass insulation.  A one day blower rental was included for free, and I got a 40% discount for buying as much insulation as I did.  A friend of mine shared his pickup truck with me and we blew some in his attic as well.  That amount of money took me from an R-19 I think to about an R-60.

I don't know how much it would be to hire someone to do it.  It's a two person job - one person in the attic with the spraying end, and one person in the garage cutting open the bags and loading the hopper.  We did it all in one medium long day; my house probably took six hours to blow it all in.  It's not physically demanding work but you do get a bit sore climbing around up there if there isn't a nice walkway.  Maybe $400 or $500 in labor costs?

My house is 1758 square feet, but I didn't do the upstairs bedroom, which would subtract about 200 square feet from that total, so I did the above on about 1,558 square feet or so.

Usually when they quote square footage around here, they only include conditioned space, which typically excludes garages.  Not sure if that's typical where your FIL is.

Your FIL might also qualify for the federal residential energy tax credit if he hasn't taken too much of it before.  I'm getting 10% back on my cost, so $93 or so on my 2020 federal income tax return.  His state may also have energy credits or deductions.

[sonofsven]

This is a total WAG (but I am a general contractor), $3-4k ish.

* Wild Ass Guess

[zolotiyeruki]

Before plunging into the project, have you done any sort of air quality test?  It might be helpful to positively identify the source of the respiratory issues before spending lots of money on something that may not actually fix the problem.

[jeromedawg]

Before plunging into the project, have you done any sort of air quality test?  It might be helpful to positively identify the source of the respiratory issues before spending lots of money on something that may not actually fix the problem.

Any recommendations on a 'cheap' way to get an AQ test done? Are there tools that can be rented or obtained at low cost? Or is this something that you have to hire out and have someone come in to perform, and what does it cost?

EDIT: Is this something that you'd want to hire a person or inspector who specializes in environmental testing to do? Or is it better just to buy AQ testers, mold kits, radon kits, etc on Amazon and DIY?

[jeromedawg]

BTW, the official verbiage for the rebate amount determination is as follows:

11.3 The rebate amount available under the CRP is the
lesser of: (i) $1.00 per square foot of attic floor at qualifying dwellings, or (ii)
80% of qualifying insulation material and installation costs incurred at qualifying
dwellings.


So if we were to assume 1700sq feet and then estimate that the cost of removal/installation is $2.25/sq ft (https://localinsulationpros.com/how-to-budget-for-attic-cleaning-costs/#When_Should_Your_Attic_be_Cleaned - $1 for removal and $1.25 for installation. We might expect to see a quote/invoice close to this:

$1700 - insulation removal
$2125 - insulation install

The rebate would get you $1700 back in the cast of a $1.25/sq ft charge on installation so total cost in this case would end up being $2125, give or take any other line items.

[jeromedawg]

BTW: I reached out to multiple vendors on Yelp. One vendor has been extremely responsive (I think he's the owner/operator and it might be a 1-3 man operation at most). He has given quite detailed answers and also mentioned to watch out for companies pushing to remove existing insulation when it may not be necessary at all. He seems honest and straightforward, which I appreciate. I think we're going to have him come out to take a look. I have a feeling the existing insulation might just need to be replaced though if anything. One other thing to note is that my wife believes they had the roof replaced in 2013 - we have to confirm if it was actually a full on replacement but I would think, if they had it replaced, that insulation might have been discussed or possibly addressed at that point in time?