(1) I've got some damage to ceiling drywall that has some cracks, water damage, a couple of holes. It's old drywall, don't know how old. Does this stuff ever need to be completely replaced, or is patching the way to go? And either way, the insulation over whatever part is opened up has to be removed first, right?
(2) Our attic insulation is pathetic! What is up there is loose fill - rock wool, I'm quite sure. No vapor barrier. Anyway it is just a complete mess up there. There are cedar shakes up there and all kinds of dirt and junk that go back 50 years or more. The AC guy rated our attic insulation as "R2". I would like to go up there and get that stuff out of there and clean up as well as I can. It seems that the standard approach is just to cover the old junk up with loose fill. But here's what I'm thinking ... get some of those thick plastic "contractor's bags" from Home Depot, just go up there with a big dustpan, and start scooping away, fill up those bags and haul them out. The loose fill isn't very high (R2 rating) so I'm thinking this might be doable. And then if I can manage it, use a ShopVac to get up as much as I can. All of this wearing a proper mask and clothing.
(3) The AC ducting is sheet metal, big old rectangular ducts on top of the ceiling joists, leaky as can be. Not well wrapped either. Huge stuff that really obstructs movement in the attic. Our air distribution is awful. There is a lever up there to move a duct damper and I can't even budge it anymore. I'm thinking that it would be good to replace the ducts. Maybe they don't have to be so darned big anymore. It seems that rigid ducting is still preferred over flex duct?
(4) We've got old cloth-insulated wiring up there, no grounding. I'd like to replace that too.
(5) So what is the proper sequence - clean up, repair ceiling sheet rock, electrical, new duct work?
Thanks for advice to a novice.