Tested first when it's old · Toronto, GTA & Hamilton
Attic Insulation Removal and Replacement in Toronto
Old insulation out, the attic cleaned, new insulation in. If what is up there is loose, grey-brown and older than the 1990s, it is tested for asbestos before anyone disturbs it.
- Assessment free when you go ahead
- Lab tested
- WSIB covered
- Fully insured
Why the attic is tested before it's touched.
Vermiculite was sold as attic insulation across Ontario for decades, and much of it came from a mine whose ore carried asbestos. It looks like loose grey-brown granules with a glint to them. Disturbing it — even crawling through it to get to a light fixture — can put fibres in the air of the house below.
Old batts and blown-in insulation have problems of their own: rodents, a bath fan that has been venting into the attic for years, a roof that leaked once. Wet or soiled insulation does not insulate and it feeds mould. Adding new insulation on top of it buries the problem.
So the attic is looked at first, a sample goes to the lab when it needs to, and what comes out is bagged under containment rather than carried through the house.
How it works
How an attic job runs.
Look
How old the house is, what is up there, whether it is dry, where the bath fans and vents go, and whether anything has been living in it. That decides whether testing is needed at all.
Test if it could be vermiculite
A sample under controlled conditions, to an accredited lab. Until the result is back, the material is treated as if it contains asbestos.
Remove
Containment at the hatch, the old insulation bagged and taken out, the attic floor HEPA-vacuumed. A positive vermiculite result is Type 3 abatement, with clearance air testing before the containment comes down.
Fix what caused it
A bath fan vented out through the roof or wall instead of into the attic. Air sealing around the top of walls and fixtures. We tell you what we found; a roof repair is a roofer's job and we say so.
Insulate
Blown-in cellulose topped up to the depth that suits the house, with baffles at the eaves so the roof keeps breathing.
Record
What was there, what was tested, what came out, what went in. In writing, on your page.
$295 for the on-site assessment, and it comes off the price of the work when you go ahead with us. Conditions apply: the work has to come to $2,500 or more, and the deposit has to be paid within 30 days of approval. If the material tests clean there is nothing to remove, so the assessment stands on its own — which is usually the cheapest result there is. Laboratory charges are separate either way, because the lab invoices us whether or not the work goes ahead.
On the job
Our own work, as it was.
Questions
What people ask us.
Is vermiculite always asbestos?
No. Some of it is clean. But a large share of what went into Canadian attics came from one mine whose vermiculite carried asbestos, and the two look identical. Only a lab test tells you which you have, and until it does the material is treated as positive.
Can I just add new insulation on top of the old?
If the old insulation is dry, clean and not vermiculite, often yes, and we will say so. Not over vermiculite, not over anything wet, mouldy or rodent-soiled, and not until a bath fan venting into the attic has been fixed.
How long does it take?
Most attics are a day or two from removal to new insulation. A vermiculite result that comes back positive is a containment job with clearance testing, and takes longer; we tell you the plan before it starts.
There is mould in the attic. Is that a big job?
Usually it is a ventilation problem first: a bath or kitchen fan venting into the attic, or not enough air moving through it. The mould is removed properly, the cause is fixed, and only then is the attic re-insulated.
What does it cost?
It depends on what is up there, and that is settled by looking and, where needed, by the lab. Once we know which situation you are in, you get a fixed price in writing.
Related
Vermiculite
Loose grey-brown attic insulation, tested first and removed under containment.
Popcorn and stucco ceilings
The ceiling below the attic, from the same era, with the same question.
Service area
Where we work.
- Toronto
- Etobicoke
- Scarborough
- North York
- Mississauga
- Brampton
- Vaughan
- Markham
- Richmond Hill
- Oakville
- Burlington
- Hamilton
Answering now
Tell us what's up there.
A phone call settles most of it: how old the house is, what you can see from the hatch, and whether it is worth a test.
Call 416-474-3978