Asbestos Removal
Renovation and demolition are where asbestos does its damage, because walls, floors and ceilings get cut, broken and swept up. A survey before the work identifies every suspect material in the area being disturbed, the lab results set out what has to come out first, and that removal is scheduled ahead of the general contractor. For a full teardown, regulators and permit offices often want the asbestos survey and removal done before the building comes down. Which agency is notified, and how far in advance, depends on the county and the type of building.
Asbestos that sits intact inside a wall, under a floor or above a ceiling does little harm. A renovation changes that in an afternoon. Walls are broken out, ceilings pulled down, floors torn up and pipes cut, and every material in the way is reduced to debris and swept up. If any of it contained asbestos, the dust is now in the house and on the crew. A survey before work starts turns that unknown into a list: these materials are clean, these are not, and these have to come out before anyone swings a hammer.
A pre-renovation survey looks at every material the planned work will disturb, not just the obvious ones. In a kitchen that can mean flooring layers, the adhesive under them, plaster or joint compound, ceiling texture, and the duct or pipe insulation behind the walls. For a full teardown it covers the whole building, roof to basement, including roofing, siding, window glazing and caulking. Each material is sampled and the results are set out by room, so the removal can be scoped precisely and the rest of the job can go ahead around it.
For commercial buildings and residential buildings of more than four units, regulators require an inspection before renovation or demolition, and every demolition of such a building must be notified even if no asbestos is found. In Allegheny County that is the Health Department under Article XXI, with a permit where 160 square feet or 260 linear feet of pipe insulation or more is involved. In Washington and Westmoreland counties it is PA DEP under the federal rule. A private house of four or fewer units is generally outside both, but municipal demolitions such as blight teardowns are treated as part of a larger project and are not.
Abatement goes first, and it is scheduled backwards from the date your general contractor or demolition crew needs the space. Once the material is out and the area has passed clearance, the next trade can start the same day. You keep the survey, lab results and clearance paperwork, which answer questions from inspectors and buyers later. Common items on these jobs are basement pipe insulation and old floor tile and mastic.
How long does it take? A survey is usually a day plus lab time. Removal ahead of a remodel or teardown is scheduled once the results show how much material there is.
These usually come up in the same conversation:
Samples of the suspect material, analysed by a lab. You cannot tell asbestos by looking, and nobody should quote removal before the result is in.
Learn More →White corrugated pipe wrap, plaster-like elbow fittings and boiler lagging from old steam and hot-water heating systems, removed under containment.
Learn More →9-inch vinyl-asbestos tile and the black adhesive under it, removed before new flooring goes down, so nobody sands or grinds it later.
Learn More →Free · No obligation
Tell us what you've found and where. We'll call back to set up testing.
We will call you shortly to set up testing. Need us sooner? (412) 725-2202
Something went wrong sending your request — please call (412) 725-2202 and we will take the details over the phone. Your answers are still filled in below.