Example Asbestos Removal Projects in Shoreline

Scope of work

The inspector's visit, about ten samples with each spot patched, lab fees and a written report that clears the ceiling and walls and marks the floor. Taking out the floor tile is priced separately.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1960s house in Shoreline plan to turn the basement rec room into a bedroom. The room has glue-up ceiling tiles, wood paneling and old floor tile, and any of them could hold asbestos, so the owners ask for a survey before the first tile comes down.

The floor tile and its black glue test positive. The ceiling tiles, the paneling and the glue behind it are clear, so they come down without the asbestos steps, and only the floor is handled as an asbestos job.

The goal

The goal is a clear answer on every finish in the rec room, with only the floor needing asbestos steps.

Process

1. Before the visit Photos of the rec room, the stairs and the furnace closet, so each finish is sampled once.
2. Visit About 10 samples from the ceiling, the walls, the floor and the stair wall, each spot patched.
3. A few days later Lab results and a written report that clears the ceiling and walls and marks the floor.
4. Then The floor is priced and removed before the framing starts.

Planning right

• A clear result clears that material only, not the one next to it.
• Paneling can hide plaster or wallboard, so the wall behind it is sampled too.
• Give the framer and the electrician the report before they start.
• Anything the plan leaves closed can stay as it is.

Scope of work

A lab test of the texture, a notice to the clean air agency, both rooms sealed with plastic, the cabinets, counters and stove covered, the light fixtures taken down, the texture soaked and scraped into sealed bags, a HEPA vacuum and wet wipe, and disposal. A skim coat, lights and paint are extra.

Project overview

In this example, the ceiling over the kitchen in a 1970s Lake Forest Park house is yellow and sticky with decades of cooking grease. Wiping it only smears the texture, so the owners plan new ceilings and lights over the kitchen and the dining room and ask for a test first.

The texture tests positive. The two rooms add up to about 230 sq ft, so a notice goes in first. The grease and the old paint come off with the texture, and the cabinets and the stove stay in place under plastic.

The goal

The goal is clean, bare ceilings over the kitchen and the dining room, ready for new lights.

Process

1. First visit A sample of the texture taken away from the stove; both rooms measured.
2. Before work Notice filed; small items cleared and the cabinets, counters and stove covered.
3. Day one Plastic over both rooms, then the greasy texture is wetted down and scraped into bags.
4. Day two Walls and cabinets wiped, the plastic folded inward and bagged.

Planning right

• Covering the cabinets and the stove keeps the work area smaller than moving them out.
• Scrubbing grease off the texture breaks it up, so leave it alone until the test is back.
• Plan the new ceiling and the lights together so the electrician comes once.
• Decide the finish before work starts.

Scope of work

Separate samples of the tile and the glue in each room, the positive rooms sealed with plastic and a filtered air unit, the tile worked up piece by piece, the black glue scraped off wet, sealed and labeled bags, a HEPA vacuum and disposal. The clear room is ordinary renovation work. The new plank floor is extra.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1950s house in Shoreline want one vinyl plank floor through the hall and two front bedrooms. Carpet comes up at the corners of all three rooms and shows vinyl tile in each, but the tiles do not look alike.

The 9-inch tile and its black glue in the hall and the first bedroom test positive. The 12-inch tile in the second bedroom is clear. Only the positive rooms get the sealed, wet removal, and the installer then lays the planks through all three.

The goal

The goal is clean, bare floors in the hall and both bedrooms, with only the positive rooms handled as an asbestos job.

Process

1. First visit Tile and glue sampled room by room, with the floor area measured.
2. Day one Hall and first bedroom sealed, the tile worked up piece by piece into labeled containers.
3. Day two The glue scraped wet, the floors vacuumed and wiped; the second bedroom's tile lifted as ordinary waste.
4. Then The installer lays underlayment and planks through all three rooms.

Planning right

• Two tiles that look alike can test differently, so each room is sampled on its own.
• Old glue is scraped wet and never ground down to level the floor.
• Tile lifted whole needs no notice to the clean air agency.
• Mark the positive rooms on the lab report for the installer.

Scope of work

Samples of the shingles, the roofing and the felt, a notice to the clean air agency, sheeting over the roof edge and the ground, the shingles wetted and pried off whole, wrapped, a HEPA vacuum of the roof edge and ground, and the haul to an authorized site. The new roof, flashing and siding are extra.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1940s house in Shoreline are replacing the roof. The roofer needs the gray shingles on the dormer walls out of the way where the roof meets them, so the new flashing sits against a bare wall. The owners ask for samples of the shingles and the roofing first.

The shingles test positive and count as friable. The roofing is clear. About 220 sq ft of shingles comes off, so a notice goes in first. The shingles are kept wet and lifted off whole, and the roofer works against bare walls.

The goal

The goal is bare dormer walls and a clean roof edge, so the new roof can go on in one visit.

Process

1. First visit Samples of the shingles, the roofing and the felt at the roof edge; the dormer walls measured.
2. Before work Notice filed; sheeting laid over the roof edge and the ground and the gutters covered.
3. Day one Each dormer wall is wetted, then the shingles are pried off whole and wrapped as they come down.
4. Day two The roof edge, gutters and ground vacuumed, the sheeting rolled up and the load hauled out.

Planning right

• Book the roofer after the shingles are off, not before.
• Pick a dry stretch for both jobs, since open walls and an open roof do not mix.
• Fragments on the roof are collected damp and bagged with the rest.
• New siding on the dormer walls is a separate choice and may need its own permit.

Scope of work

Every positive material out before demolition, about 900 sq ft of ceiling texture and about 350 sq ft of sheet vinyl and glue, one room at a time behind plastic, with labeled bags, an air check and a haul out of Snohomish County to an authorized site. The survey and the wrecking are not included.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1960s split-level in Edmonds are replacing it with a new house. Edmonds is in Snohomish County, but the same clean air agency covers it.

The sprayed ceilings and the vinyl floors test positive. They are cleared one room at a time after the 10-day wait. No landfill or transfer station in Snohomish County is authorized for asbestos, so every load leaves the county for an authorized site.

The goal

The goal is a hillside house with its positive ceilings and floors cleared and hauled out of the county, ready for the wrecking crew.

Process

1. Survey About 26 samples from the house and the garage, with the ceilings and vinyl floors measured in the report.
2. Notices The removal notice and the demolition notice are filed with the clean air agency, and the 10 days start.
3. Removal Rooms are cleared one at a time, ceilings first and the vinyl floors after.
4. Hauling An air check, then the last loads leave the county with their shipment records.

Planning right

• Cedar Hills takes only King County waste, so it is closed to Edmonds loads.
• Republic Services in Seattle takes loads from any city or county. Olympic View Transfer Station in Bremerton takes them by appointment.
• Book the haul early, since each site sets its own paperwork.
• Ask Edmonds' permit office what the demolition application needs.

Scope of work

A survey of the kitchens and laundry, a notice to L&I, a sealed work area with a filtered air unit around one kitchen at a time, a certified crew, the tile lifted whole and the glue scraped wet into sealed bags, an air check before each kitchen is released, and disposal. The plumbing and new floors are extra.

Project overview

In this example, the owner of a 1960s courtyard building in Shoreline has to replace a cast-iron drain stack that serves the five ground-floor kitchens. The plumbers must open the kitchen floors, and the owner of a rented building cannot sample it personally, so an accredited inspector surveys the kitchens first.

The 9-inch tile and its glue test positive in all five kitchens. A certified crew lifts the tile whole and scrapes the glue wet, one kitchen at a time, so only one household is without its kitchen on any day.

The goal

The goal is five bare, clean kitchen floors, finished one household at a time before the plumbers open the floors.

Process

1. Survey About 12 samples from the five kitchens and the laundry; a written report with the kitchen floors measured.
2. Before work L&I is notified, and tenants get a schedule showing which kitchen closes each day.
3. Days one to five One kitchen a day sealed; tile lifted whole, glue scraped wet, bags sealed.
4. Last day Air check, final clean, and each kitchen released to the plumbers.

Planning right

• Tell tenants early so they can plan meals and a spot for the fridge.
• Amounts count toward the building's yearly total, so each kitchen is measured.
• The owner holds the waste shipment records.
• The same tile may run under the cabinets, so ask the inspector what the plumbing plan will disturb.