Ash insulation in loft - what to do with it?

[jamoo]

I live in an early 1900s house which has quite a large loft. I've got some 100mm insulation and my plan was to lay this down and then board over it. The problem is, theres a thick layer of ash (about 50mm deep in places) in between the joists. If I lay the insulation on top of it, it'll come up above the tops of the joists meaning that I'd have to squash it down quite a lot if I wanted to board over it. Also the ash gets everywhere and you need to wear overalls to go up there, which isn't much use. Any ideas on what I should do? Can I / should I get rid of the ash, and if so how? I've tried hoovering it up but even with a large rented vacuum I didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Any advice?

 

[jamoo]

...I'm bumping this up again; any ideas? No-one?

 

[JohnD]

sweep up the ash (dustpan and brush) put in plastic sacks, tape shut and lower away

hire an industial vac for the remainder

you may find it rather heavy.

if it is fine it may be clogging the vac filter and destroying suction

in mine I use disposable paper bags which protect the main filter from clogging with dust

wear a good respirator

 

[jamoo]

Hi JohnD,

Thanks for the advice. I've got a respirator, a dustpan and brush and - hopefully - enough patience! So next question: SHOULD I get rid of the ash? My thinking is that it makes the attic space unusable, because the slightest disturbance creates tons of dust. However, someone else has told me that the ash is there as 'deadening' or something. Could this be the case? Is the ash there for an important reason?

Thanks
James

 

[JohnD]

my guess is that it is an old-fashiond attempt at heat and/or sound insulation.

however you can achieve better heat insulation with modern fbregass or other materials

if you have a lot of overhead noise (e.g. near an airport) you can use a denser mineral wool, and any loft flooring will also help. it will also be much cleaner, and might be lighter.

 

[^woody^]

Is this really ash? More likley to be vermiculite insulation.

Leave it there and go over it. Just spread it out to an even depth and compress the insualtion over it

 

[JohnD]

didn't think of that

How about a photo?

 

[jamoo]

...I've just looked up vermiculite online. Most of the pictures show a grey-ish material looking a bit like fine gravel or cat litter. I don't think the stuff in my attic is the same: it is very fine indeed, like dust or soot, and dark grey or black in colour. But I'm a little worried that if it is vermiculite it could contain asbestos. I'll try to post a photo tomorrow; I don't think it looks like any of the photos of vermiculite i've seen online but any second opinions would be useful. Thanks

 

[jamoo]

Hello again

Here is an image of the stuff in my attic that I want to get rid of:

Untitled

• jamoo
• 8 Sep 2008
• 1

The image on the left shows the ash - or whatever it is - in situ between the joists. This is directly on top of the plaster and lath ceiling below. The image on the right is some that I scooped out and photographed on a piece of paper so it can be more clearly seen. The lumps on the left, I think, are chunks of plaster that have broken off from the lathing.

Now, most of the pictures I've seen of vermiculite online show a greyer, coarser substance than that, e.g the image shown in this link:

http://www.dspinspections.com/images/vermiculite_1.jpg

Personally I don't think this looks the same as the stuff in my attic, but I'd if anyone has a second opinion I'd be very grateful. If there's a chance it could be dangerous (i.e. asbestos) I don't want to take any chances.

Thanks
James

 

[JohnD]

if your house is old, the tiles unfelted, and it is in area that used to have coal fires or factories, then it might just be the accumulated soot, dust and grit of years.

I've had it, it can get quite thick.

 

[mattylad]

Crappy job, dustpan, brush, rubble bags, long hours sweeping.
lots of baths.

Just imagine the mess that you would have if you ever had a leak & the ceiling came down!


I had a similar mess but I think it was all just dust & muck, I swept between every joist till it was all clean before laying insulation.

Cant remember why, I moved shortly after

 

[jamoo]

...well that's what I reckon. My tiles actually are felted - now. But it's not the original slate roof; it's been re-done I'd say within the past 20 or so years (with a good few of the slates still being in the roof void!). I was just concerned about reading that vermiculite could contain asbestos, as I've already been doing quite a lot of work in there (mostly with a respirator though).

Well, if anyone DOES think that the pics above look like vermiculite, please let me know! Otherwise I think I'll just press on with the grim task of trying to sweep it all up...

Cheers
James