Example Asbestos Removal Projects in Minnetonka

Scope of work

This price covers the inspector’s trip, four samples taken where the electrician’s tape runs, an accredited lab result for every one, and a report that marks each sample spot on a floor plan. Removing the ceiling texture is not part of this price.

Project overview

In this example, a family in a 1970s split-level in Minnetonka has bought an electric car. The electrician’s first plan runs the new cable from the lower-level panel across the family room ceiling and through the wall into the garage.

Before anyone drills, an MDH-certified inspector takes four samples along that path. Only the family room ceiling texture comes back positive. The electrician changes the route up the garage wall, through spaces the samples covered, so the textured ceiling is never cut.

The goal

The goal is a working charger in the garage, with the cable run only through spaces the samples covered.

Process

1. First visit With the electrician’s tape marks as a map, an MDH-certified inspector cuts four small samples.
2. At the lab The four samples go to an accredited lab and come back with one result apiece.
3. A few days later The report comes back with one positive result, in the family room ceiling.
4. Then The electrician draws a new route that stays out of that ceiling and books the install.

Planning right

• Have the electrician mark the whole cable route before the samples are taken.
• Texture on top and taping mud beneath are separate materials, which is why they are tested separately.
• Keep the report. It shows what was sampled and where if you plan more work later.
• Taking a positive ceiling down later is licensed work, priced on its own.

Scope of work

We sample the four ceilings, send MDH five days of notice and wall the upstairs off behind plastic with a HEPA unit running. Lights and alarms come down, the texture is dampened and scraped into bags, and the floor is vacuumed before air tests. The bags leave on a manifest. The air exchanger, its ducts and the ceiling finish are extra.

Project overview

In this example, a couple with a 1970s two-story house in Minnetonka is adding an air exchanger to bring fresh air into the bedrooms. The heating contractor will run small ducts through the attic and cut a grille into each bedroom ceiling and one into the hall.

Every textured ceiling upstairs tests positive. Rather than cut four holes through it, the owners have the texture taken down first. A licensed crew seals the upstairs off at the top of the stairs, keeps the texture damp and scrapes the ceilings down to bare drywall.

The goal

The goal is bare upstairs ceilings, so the grilles go in cleanly and the new finish goes on smooth.

Process

1. First visit Grille spots taped on each ceiling, then an MDH-certified inspector samples every room and one seam.
2. Before work MDH gets the notice; beds, dressers and closets upstairs are moved out.
3. Days one and two Three bedrooms and the hall go under plastic, and the wetted ceiling texture comes down into bags.
4. Day three Clearance air tests, a wipe-down, then the sheeting rolled up and carried out.

Planning right

• Mark where each grille will go before the samples are taken.
• Plan to sleep downstairs or away while the upstairs is closed off.
• Ceiling patching waits until the air sample results are back.
• The heating contractor cuts the grilles once the ceilings are bare.

Scope of work

Separate results for the squares and the glue, then five days of notice to MDH. Inside a sheeted bedroom the crew bags the carpet and pad, pries up the squares by hand and scrapes the glue wet until bare wood shows. A HEPA vacuum goes over the boards, and the bags leave on a manifest. The plumbing and the new bathroom are extra.

Project overview

In this example, a Minnetonka couple in a 1960s rambler wants a bathroom off their bedroom. The plumber will cut the subfloor for a new drain and toilet, and the old carpet hides 9-inch tile.

Both the tile and the mastic come back positive. A licensed crew takes the whole bedroom floor down to the subfloor, not just the corner for the bathroom, since the owners want one new floor across both spaces.

The goal

The goal is a bare subfloor, so the plumber can cut and the new bathroom can be framed.

Process

1. First visit Inside the bedroom closet, an MDH-certified inspector cuts out one square with its glue.
2. Before work Bed, dresser and closet contents leave the primary bedroom after the MDH notice goes in.
3. Day one Room sealed, the carpet out, the tile lifted.
4. Day two Glue scraped off wet, boards HEPA-vacuumed, bags out to the truck.

Planning right

• Ask the inspector to sample inside a closet, where the small patch will not show.
• If the hall carpet may hide the same tile, have it sampled on the same visit.
• The plumber can mark the drain and the new wall lines on the bare subfloor.
• Give the bathroom remodeler a copy of the disposal manifest.

Scope of work

Fill samples from two bays and one of the plaster, five days of notice to MDH, plastic over the bedroom ceilings and the hatch, a HEPA unit drawing air out of the attic, every bay vacuumed down to the lath, bags sealed and labeled, a last round of air samples and a manifest for the load. The plaster repair and new insulation are extra.

Project overview

In this example, a bedroom ceiling in a 1930s house in Excelsior has started to sag. The plaster contractor wants to work from the attic, setting new fasteners and adhesive where the plaster has let go of the wood behind it, so the old ceiling can stay.

The fill between the joists tests positive, and the plaster itself is clear. A licensed crew vacuums the whole attic floor first. The plaster contractor then works on open joists, and the owners add new insulation once the ceiling is secure.

The goal

The goal is to reach the back of the sagging plaster from above, through clean joist bays, and insulate after.

Process

1. First visit From the hatch, an MDH-certified inspector bags fill samples, then chips the bedroom plaster; the joists are counted.
2. Before work The notice goes to MDH, and the plaster contractor sets a start date after the removal.
3. Days one and two Bedrooms under the attic draped, then a HEPA hose works bay by bay.
4. Day three Last bays brushed out, clearance air tested, sheeting and bags loaded out.

Planning right

• Nobody goes up the hatch, for storage or anything else, until removal ends.
• Keep the bedroom under the sag empty until the ceiling is secured.
• New insulation goes in after the plaster repair, not before.
• File the clearance air results next to the plaster contractor’s invoice.

Scope of work

Shingle and caulk results first, and MDH hears about the job five days ahead. Sheeting is spread under each peak, and from ladders and a lift the crew wets every shingle, pulls its nails and lowers it in one piece to be wrapped. The lawn is checked for chips, and the bundles go out on a manifest. The new siding and trim are extra.

Project overview

In this example, a 1950s rambler in Minnetonka is getting a new look on its two gable ends, the triangles of wall under the roof peaks. The siding contractor will put up board and batten there, which needs flat sheathing behind it.

The shingles test positive. Only the gables come off, and the lower walls keep their siding. A licensed crew works one gable a day, wetting each shingle and lifting it off whole so it does not break on the way down.

The goal

The goal is two bare gables, ready for sheathing and the new siding, with the rest of the house untouched.

Process

1. First visit From a ladder, an MDH-certified inspector cuts a shingle corner and some vent caulk at each peak.
2. Before work MDH is notified, and the planting beds below both peaks get tarps.
3. Day one Plastic down, the first gable wetted and its shingles taken off and wrapped.
4. Day two The second gable done the same way, the yard picked clean and the bundles hauled.

Planning right

• Move planters and outdoor furniture away from both gable walls before the crew comes.
• Sound shingles on the lower walls can stay where they are.
• Caulk around a vent or window gets its own sample.
• Plan the siding crew for the week after the bundles leave.

Scope of work

Everything the survey marked positive in the house comes out: tape and wrap on the ducts, roughly 700 sq ft of basement squares with their glue and about 120 sq ft of bathroom sheet vinyl. The price takes in the MDH notice, sealed bags, air tests, manifests and one packet of records for the county. Survey and demolition are billed apart.

Project overview

In this example, a family in Deephaven plans a new house on the lot where their 1950s house now stands. The house comes down, but the detached garage, built years later, stays and will serve the new house.

An MDH-certified inspector surveys both buildings. Nothing sampled in the garage tests positive, so the crew leaves it alone. In the house, the duct wrap, the basement tile and the bathroom vinyl come out at least two days before demolition. Hennepin County inspects before the house comes down and asks for the survey, the abatement receipts and the disposal manifests.

The goal

The goal is an empty house that holds no positive material, a single packet for the county, and a garage still standing when the new house goes up.

Process

1. First visit House and detached garage are both walked by an MDH-certified inspector, whose survey maps and measures every positive.
2. Before work The notice goes to MDH, and the demolition date is set at least two days after the last removal day.
3. Removal days Ducts, basement floor and bathroom floor done inside sealed work areas.
4. Last step Hennepin County’s inspector gets the survey with its report, our receipts and every manifest.

Planning right

• Have the garage sampled on the same visit, so one report covers both buildings.
• One folder for the county visit: survey, report, receipts, manifests.
• Tell the demolition crew in writing that the garage stays.
• Leave at least two days between the last removal day and demolition.

Scope of work

We go over the inspector’s findings, send notice to both MDH and MPCA and close the suite off from the corridor with plastic and a HEPA unit. The texture is dampened, scraped and bagged, and the suite stays shut until clearance air tests pass. A manifest follows the load. New lights, the ceiling finish and decorating are separate.

Project overview

In this example, the association of a 1970s condominium building in Minnetonka is updating its guest suite, two bedrooms and a sitting room that residents book when family visits. The plan calls for new ceiling lights and smooth ceilings.

The texture in every room tests positive, while the floor tile and the wall seams do not. With well over four units under one roof, the building needs an MPCA notice ten working days before work, sent with the MDH notice. A licensed crew seals the suite off from the hall and takes the texture down while the rest of the building carries on as usual.

The goal

The goal is a guest suite with bare ceilings, ready for new lights, while residents come and go as usual.

Process

1. First visit With the suite empty of guests, an MDH-certified inspector takes eight samples across ceilings, floor and walls.
2. Before work MDH and MPCA notified; the association holds guest bookings and posts the work dates.
3. Days one to three Suite sealed, the texture misted and scraped, the bags taken out through the service door.
4. Last day Clearance air results pass; the sheeting comes down, and the suite key goes to the electrician.

Planning right

• Post the work dates in the lobby and by the elevators.
• Keep the suite door sealed and signed until clearance.
• Keep the report in the association’s files. It records which materials were sampled and where for anyone planning later work.
• Line up the electrician and the ceiling painter once the suite passes air clearance.