Just finished getting estimates for the attic and learned a lot

I had a very similar wake-up call when I was looking at my 1,800 square foot ranch last year. One of those big-box installers quoted me $12,000 just to blow in some Owens Corning AttiCat on top of what I already had. They didn't even mention air sealing the top plates or the recessed lights, which is where the real work happens. Like you, I found that they bloated the numbers by assuming they'd need to build a whole new catwalk just to access the far corners. I ended up buying the bags myself from a local supply house and renting the blower for a weekend. It cost me less than $1,500 in materials to hit R-60. The biggest pain wasn't the fiberglass; it was the prep work—crawling around with cans of Great Stuff foam to seal up the wire penetrations. If you're willing to handle the "dirty" parts like clearing that OSB yourself, you're saving thousands in labor that these companies charge at a premium just becuase they don't want to do it. Definitely keep an eye on the baffles too. A lot of those high-priced quotes skip over proper ventilation at the soffits, which can lead to mold issues down the road. Getting those measurements right is the only way to keep them honest about how many bags of material are actually going into your joists.

I ended up going the DIY route on my 2,100 square foot colonial because those quotes felt so bloated, but the process gave me a lot more respect for the labor involved. While the square footage numbers might be off in your case, I realized the real cost for me wasn't the blowing of the insulation itself—it was the prep. I spent four weekends hunched over in the eaves with a foam gun and several cases of Great Stuff just to seal the top plates and wire penetrations before the first bag of cellulose even arrived.

I decided to skip the fiberglass and went with Greenfiber cellulose instead. It’s a messier job, but the density handles air infiltration much better in our colder climate. If you're clearing the area yourself, definitely don't skip the baffled vents for your soffits. I almost forgot those, and without them, your R50 depth will just block all your airflow and lead to moisture issues down the line. It is a grueling job to do right, even if the math on the materials only comes out to a few thousand dollars at the supply house.

I ran into the same padding on my quote for 'prep work.' They wanted four grand just to box out my recessed lights and chimney. I skipped the proffesional crew and spent a Saturday morning building my own dams out of scrap plywood and some leftover fire-rated caulk. It was a messy few hours, but it saved me enought to upgrade to a higher R-value with the money I saved on labor. If you've alredy got the OSB out, you’re past the hardest part. Just make sure you grab a headlamp and check your chimney clearances yourself before the blower starts—those guys ussually just spray over everthing if you aren't watching.

Twenty-five grand for 2,500 square feet is pure theft. For R-50, you're looking at roughly 100 bags of Johns Manville Climate Pro if you're hitting that 15-inch depth. Even with a 20% markup on materials, that contractor was trying to buy a new truck on your dime. Since you're handling the OSB removal, make sure you don't overlook the chimney flashing. I always use 3M Fire Barrier 1000-NS around the masonry before blowing anything in. Are you planning to stick with fiberglass, or have you looked at the borate-treated cellulose like GreenFiber 765LD? It’s much better for sound dampening and pests if you're alredy clearing the deck anyway.