Johns Manville Insulation Removal & Replacement in San Antonio: What to Know First
Johns Manville insulation removal and replacement in San Antonio typically runs $1.50 to $3.25 per square foot depending on condition, contamination, and attic accessibility, with most jobs completed in one to two days. We’re Walt’s Insulation, an independent Johns Manville service provider, and we’ve been pulling old, failing, and contaminated insulation out of San Antonio attics since 2000. If you’re reading this because your Johns Manville insulation is wet, moldy, pest-damaged, or just not performing like it used to, call (866) 751-4428 and a live person will answer, day or night.
This page is for homeowners who already have Johns Manville products in their home and need them removed and replaced correctly, not patched over. You’ll find honest pricing, what actually fails in this climate, and why we handle Johns Manville jobs differently than a contractor who just shows up with a vacuum hose and a roll of whatever’s on the truck.
How Johns Manville Products Fail - and How We Fix Them
Johns Manville makes decent insulation, no argument there. But no product survives San Antonio’s attic conditions forever, and certain lines have failure patterns we see over and over. Here’s what we find on real jobs:
- JM ComfortTherm batts losing R-value from compression. ComfortTherm batts, especially the R-30 and R-38 faced versions, get compressed when homeowners or previous crews shove boxes, holiday decorations, or HVAC equipment on top of them. Compressed fiberglass loses a significant chunk of its R-value. In a San Antonio attic that hits 140°F in July, that’s not a small problem. We remove the flattened sections and replace with proper-depth material, usually Owens Corning or Knauf depending on the cavity.
- JM Attic Protector blown-in settling by 20-30% over a decade. Attic Protector loose-fill fiberglass looks fine at first glance, but San Antonio’s humidity cycles and attic heat cause it to settle. A homeowner who paid for R-38 in 2014 might have R-26 now. We measure actual depth and density before we quote anything. If it’s just settled, we top it off. If it’s contaminated, it comes out.
- JM Spider (blow-in blanket system) trapping rodent damage. Spider is a great noise-dampening product, but its adhesive web structure holds rodent droppings, urine, and nesting material in a way loose-fill doesn’t. We’ve pulled Spider out of crawl spaces and attics in neighborhoods from Alamo Heights to Helotes where the damage was invisible until removal started. That’s a full removal and sanitation job, not a patch.
- Faced batts with failed kraft paper vapor retarders in high-humidity attics. Older JM kraft-faced batts installed paper-down or with torn facings trap moisture against drywall. In San Antonio’s shoulder seasons, that means mold on the back of your ceiling. We remove the affected batts, address the air-sealing issue that caused the moisture in the first place, and reinstall unfaced or properly-faced material.
- Vermiculite contamination requiring professional abatement protocols. Some older San Antonio homes, particularly those built before 1980 around Terrell Hills and Monticello Park, contain vermiculite insulation that may include asbestos. If we find vermiculite, we stop and bring in a licensed abatement partner before any removal happens. This is not a DIY situation, and it’s not something a handyman with a shop vac should touch. Ever.
Our Johns Manville Insulation Removal & Replacement Process
Every Johns Manville job we do follows the same path, start to finish:
- 1
Walkthrough and measurement. We inspect the attic, identify which JM product is installed, measure depth and density, and document any moisture, pest, or mold issues. You get a written quote before any work starts, no vague “we’ll see when we get up there” pricing.
- 2
Containment setup. We seal off the work area, protect your floors and fixtures, and set up HEPA-filtered negative air machines where contamination requires it.
- 3
Removal. Commercial-grade vacuum equipment pulls out the old insulation. We don’t cut corners by leaving debris behind the baffles or stuffed around ductwork.
- 4
Air sealing and addressing root causes. Before any new material goes in, we seal gaps around top plates, can lights, plumbing penetrations, and the attic hatch. If moisture caused the failure, we fix the venting or exhaust issue so you’re not replacing insulation again in three years.
- 5
Reinstallation. We install the right product for the space: blown-in fiberglass, batts, spray foam, or a hybrid depending on your attic and budget. We work with Owens Corning, Knauf, Rockwool, CertainTeed, and GreenFiber in addition to Johns Manville.
- 6
Final inspection and cleanup. We leave your attic cleaner than we found it, walk you through what we did, and put the Done Right Promise behind every square foot.
What Johns Manville Insulation Removal & Replacement Costs in San Antonio
Here’s the honest math for San Antonio homes, based on jobs we’ve actually done:
| Scenario | Typical Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Attic removal only (1,200 sq ft, blown-in) | $1,800 – $2,900 | No contamination, standard access |
| Full removal + replacement (blown-in, R-38) | $3,500 – $6,200 | Includes air sealing |
| Contaminated insulation removal (pest/mold) | $2,400 – $4,500 | HEPA containment adds cost |
| Vermiculite removal (possible asbestos) | $4,000 – $10,000+ | Requires licensed abatement partner |
What moves the price: attic height and access, whether containment is needed, disposal fees (registered with the city of San Antonio as required), and whether you’re replacing like-for-like or upgrading to spray foam. We give exact quotes after inspection, not before seeing the attic. Estimates are free, and we offer a free second opinion on any written estimate you’ve gotten from another contractor. Call (866) 751-4428 to schedule yours.
Why San Antonio Homeowners Call Walt’s Insulation for Johns Manville Work
Look, there are a lot of ways to get insulation removed. The question is whether the company doing it will answer the phone six months later if something’s not right. We’re the one down the road. Walt Brenner started this business in 2000 after watching too many San Antonio homeowners get sold materials and methods that didn’t match South Texas heat, and he’s been the owner and the one accountable ever since. Every job gets the Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, we make it right. No runaround, no fine print.
Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, so you know who’s walking into your house. We answer the phone live 24/7, which matters when you’ve got a water stain spreading across your ceiling on a Sunday night. And while we’re pulling out Johns Manville on this job, we also work with Reflectix and the other major brands, which means the replacement we recommend is based on your house, not a sales quota.
We’re locally owned, owner-operated, with a published address and license number. Not a franchise. Not a call center. And seniors and veterans get 10% off, always.
FAQs
If your Johns Manville insulation has failed due to moisture, pest damage, compression, or settling, the warranty likely doesn’t apply anymore anyway. As an independent Johns Manville service provider, we don’t void warranties by removing product that’s already compromised. Once insulation is contaminated or compressed, removal is the repair.
Most standard San Antonio attic removals and replacements are completed in one to two days, depending on attic size, access difficulty, and whether contamination requires containment. If you need it done before summer sets in, call (866) 751-4428 and we’ll tell you our next available window.
Sometimes, yes, if the existing insulation is dry, clean, and just settled. Topping off is cheaper than full removal. But if there’s moisture, mold, rodent activity, or the old material is compressed and degraded, adding on top just buries the problem. We’ll tell you which applies to your attic, because we’ve seen both in thousands of San Antonio homes since 2000.
We handle vermiculite by immediately stopping work and bringing in a licensed abatement partner who specializes in asbestos-containing materials. We do not remove it ourselves, and we do not let it float around your house. This is the one area where you should never, ever cut corners.
Yes, we remove spray foam, fiberglass, cellulose, mineral wool, and reflective products like Reflectix. Spray foam removal is more labor-intensive, but we have the equipment and the patience to get it out without wrecking your roof decking or wiring.
Call (866) 751-4428 for a free estimate on Johns Manville insulation removal and replacement anywhere in the San Antonio area. We answer the phone live, talk to a real person, get a straight answer.
Written by Walt Brenner, Owner, Walt’s Insulation at Walt’s Insulation, serving San Antonio and nearby areas.