Example Asbestos Removal Projects in Seattle

Scope of work

The inspector's visit, about 14 samples with each spot patched, the lab bill and a written report that measures every positive material in feet and square feet. Taking out the duct wrap and the vinyl is a separate price.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1920s Craftsman house plan to lift it, pour a new foundation and turn the basement into a finished floor. The furnace, the ducts and the basement walls will all be disturbed, so the owners ask for a survey before they hire the foundation crew.

The corrugated wrap on the furnace ducts and the sheet vinyl on the laundry floor test positive. The plaster, the kitchen floor and the window putty are clear, so the removal list is short and the crew knows what to leave closed.

The goal

The goal is a short list of what the lift and the new lower floor will disturb, with the duct wrap and the laundry vinyl cleared first.

Process

1. Before the visit The plans and photos shared, so the inspector samples only what the lift and the new lower floor will touch.
2. Visit The inspector works through the basement first, then the main floor and the windows, labeling every bag.
3. A few days later Results arrive with a report that gives the duct wrap and the laundry vinyl in feet and square feet.
4. Then The positive materials are priced and removed before the furnace comes out and the lift begins.

Planning right

• The report measures every positive material, which is what the foundation crew needs to bid.
• Duct wrap counts toward the 48 square feet that call for a notice, so the survey measures it.
• Sampling the plaster upstairs settles a question that otherwise stays a guess.
• Rooms the lift will not touch can stay as they are.

Scope of work

A lab test of the texture and a notice to the clean air agency with its 10-day wait, then each room in turn: emptied, sealed, fixtures and smoke alarms taken down, texture wetted and scraped into bags, surfaces vacuumed and wiped. Disposal is included. A skim coat and paint are extra.

Project overview

In this example, the owner of a 1970s condo wants ceiling fans in both bedrooms. When the electrician cuts the first hole for a fan box, bits of ceiling texture fall on the bed. The owner stops the work and asks for a test.

The texture tests positive in every room. A condo owner has no do-it-yourself option, so certified workers under a certified supervisor take it down one room at a time, and the building manager hears the dates in advance.

The goal

The goal is bare ceilings in every room, with the fan boxes going in after the texture is gone.

Process

1. First visit A sample from each ceiling and the rooms measured; the electrician asked to hold the fan boxes.
2. Before work Notice filed and the 10-day wait observed; the building manager told the dates, and the hallway and elevator covered for hauling out the bags.
3. Days one to four After the 10 days, each day one room is sealed and cleared, the texture going straight into bags.
4. Last day Final clean, the plastic folded inward and bagged, and the electrician back for the fans.

Planning right

• Tell the electrician to stop before any ceiling hole is cut.
• Ask the building manager about work hours and elevator use before the crew books its days.
• Fan boxes go in after the ceiling is bare, not before.
• File the lab report with the condo papers, since a future buyer or the board may ask to see it.

Scope of work

Separate samples of the tile, the glue and the paper, both rooms sealed with plastic and a filtered air unit, the tile worked up piece by piece, the black glue scraped off the boards wet, sealed and labeled bags, a HEPA vacuum and disposal. The new floor and any board repair are extra.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1920s Craftsman house find original fir boards under the old dining room and hall tile and hope to refinish them. The tile and the black glue test positive, so the floor comes up inside a sealed room before anyone brings in a sander.

The tile lifts whole and the glue is scraped wet. A thin film stays in the grain, and sanding it is not allowed, so the owners lay the new floor over the boards instead of refinishing them.

The goal

The goal is a bare, clean fir floor in the dining room and hall, ready for underlayment.

Process

1. First visit Samples of the tile, the glue and the paper; the two rooms measured.
2. Day one Rooms sealed and the filtered air unit started, the tile worked up piece by piece into labeled containers.
3. Day two Wet scraping of the glue off the boards, then a vacuum, a wipe and the plastic bagged.
4. Then The installer lays underlayment and the new floor over the cleaned boards.

Planning right

• Never sand or grind old glue, even to save the original boards.
• Check the boards for gaps and loose nails before the new floor is ordered.
• Tile lifted whole needs no notice to the clean air agency, but the glue and the waste still follow the removal rules.
• Seattle waste cannot go to Cedar Hills, so the bagged tile goes to Republic Services on 3rd Avenue South.

Scope of work

Samples of every wrapped surface, a notice to the clean air agency, the basement sealed around the furnace with a filtered air unit, the wrap soaked and cut off in short sections, sealed and labeled bags, a HEPA vacuum of the flue and pipes, an air check and disposal. The new furnace, flue and insulation are extra.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1940s house in White Center are replacing the old furnace and the water heater. The heating contractor and the plumber will cut the flue and the pipes, so the owners ask for samples of every wrapped surface in the basement first.

The paper wrap on the flue and the white wrap on the hot-water pipes test positive. Together they run about 50 ft, well past the 10 linear feet that call for a notice, so the notice goes in and the wrap comes off before the crews start.

The goal

The goal is a clean flue and clean pipes, with the old wrap gone before the new furnace goes in.

Process

1. First visit Samples of the flue wrap, the pipe wrap and the furnace jacket; every wrapped run measured in feet.
2. Before work Notice filed; the area around the furnace emptied and the basement sealed with plastic.
3. Removal day Wrap soaked and cut off in short sections, sealed in bags, the flue and pipes wiped and vacuumed.
4. Then An air check, and the heating contractor starts in a clean basement.

Planning right

• Pipe wrap is counted in linear feet, and 10 feet or more calls for a notice.
• The heat is off for the day, so book the work in a mild week.
• Wrap that is whole and untouched can stay, but not on pipes that are about to be cut.
• Waste from White Center goes to an authorized disposal site with a shipment record.

Scope of work

Clearing about 650 sq ft of floor tile and glue and about 60 ft of pipe wrap before demolition, a room at a time behind plastic, with labeled bags, an air check and the haul to an authorized site. The survey and the wrecking are not included.

Project overview

In this example, a builder buys an empty 1920s house in Seattle that was split into an upstairs and a downstairs apartment in the 1950s, and plans townhouses on the lot. A demolition permit in Seattle needs the asbestos survey settled first, so the survey comes first, and two kitchens and two baths mean twice the floors to sample.

Tile in both kitchens and baths, in the shared hall and on the stair landing tests positive, and so does the wrap on the basement hot-water pipes. The plaster walls are clear. Everything positive comes out room by room once the notices are in.

The goal

The goal is an empty house with no tile or pipe wrap left in it, ready for the wrecking crew.

Process

1. Survey Both apartments, the shared hall and the basement are sampled, and the report measures every positive material.
2. Notices Notices for the removal and the demolition go in, and the clock starts on the 10 days.
3. Removal Tile comes up apartment by apartment, then the hall and landing, then the basement pipes.
4. Handover Air check done, the last loads hauled, and the house released for demolition.

Planning right

• Rooms that look alike can differ, so the second kitchen is sampled as carefully as the first.
• Republic Services asks for a copy of the notice before it takes the load.
• File the notices early, since the 10 days run from them.
• Give the demolition contractor a copy of the survey.

Scope of work

Two days on site for the inspector, about 36 samples with each spot patched, lab fees and a written report that gives each positive material by floor and unit in square feet. Removal is quoted after the report.

Project overview

In this example, a buyer is under contract on a 1960s apartment building in Tukwila and plans new windows, kitchens and corridor finishes. Rental buildings get no owner-occupant shortcut, so the buyer hires an accredited inspector while the sale is still open.

The sprayed ceilings in the corridors and stairs test positive, and so does the sheet vinyl in two of the four sampled kitchens. The report gives the buyer measured amounts to plan the renovation budget before closing.

The goal

The goal is to know what sits in every common area and four sample units before the sale closes.

Process

1. Day one Samples from the corridors, stairs, laundry room and entry on all three floors.
2. Day two Samples from four units chosen to cover the kitchens, baths and the oldest finishes.
3. A week later The report lists each positive material floor by floor, with amounts.
4. Then The buyer prices the removal and the renovation from the report before the sale closes.

Planning right

• Four sampled units show what the rest probably hold, but a unit remodeled later is sampled on its own.
• A survey covers the materials it sampled and nothing else, so share the renovation plan up front.
• Amounts decide the notices, so every hall and landing is measured.
• Ask the seller for any earlier reports and compare them with the new one.