I researched attic reinsulation and found that foam insulation is the most energy efficient because it creates an air seal that blow-in and batting insulation do not. Although in order to do foam insulation in an attic, you have to create a clean surface. I spent my first weekend in my home being very itchy because I had to remove the old fiberglass insulation and a large nest. The insulation had obviously been there for a long time and the squirrel skeleton indicated that the nest had been too! I don't think I could have handled a recently dead squirrel and am extremely glad there were no live ones either! So there's looking on the bright side.
If you do choose to remove old insulation, make sure you wear long sleeves/gloves/mask and don't pack the bags full like I made the mistake of doing. Its too hard to get them out of the attic, and they're more likely to split and then you have to double bag them anyway. Just fill them 1/2 to 3/4 full and tie them tight.
The following Monday I realized that squatting in an attic for a weekend makes for a really good glut workout.
Here's a picture of my cleaned out attic
Using the spray foam insulation was actually pretty easy. I was lucky to have the perfect temperature day to do it (70 degrees) and my attic now looks like this:
Goodness girl, so is there anything you aren't willing to tackle. I am quite impressed!
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