Getting new insulation into your attic is the easy part. Getting the heavy, degraded, urine-soaked 30-year-old material out without contaminating your entire living room requires extreme industrial engineering.
$1.50 - $2.50 / sq ft
This involves deploying a 23-horsepower gas-powered vacuum stationed outside in the driveway. A massive 6-inch corrugated hose is run straight up into the attic to safely suck up loose-fill fiberglass or dry cellulose completely out of the house.
$3.00+ / sq ft
If the attic has suffered a massive rat infestation leaving localized biohazards, or if a severe roof leak caused blown-in cellulose to turn into a dense, wet, concrete-like slab, technicians must often manually bag the material by hand before vacuuming.
The "Shop-Vac" Scam
Never hire a contractor who attempts an extraction using a residential shop-vac dragged upstairs into your hallway. Not only will the machine physically clog on standard batting strips, but the weak HEPA filtration will immediately blow microscopic fiberglass dust and dry rat feces directly into your central air supply. True extractions mandate an exterior, gas-powered engine.