You’ve worked all your life diligently investing and saving up for your dream home, and after working with your real estate broker for almost a year, that dream is about to become a reality. You found 1968, 1500-square-foot rambler with three bedrooms and one bathroom; not exactly your dream home, but you plan to demolish the building and use architects’ plans to build exactly the house you want. But before taking your bulldozer out, you will need to obtain permits, and the city will require an asbestos survey report before anything moves.
The Federal Government banned asbestos in certain products in 1978, so the use of asbestos is still allowed under certain circumstances. The chances are that your 1968 rambler has lots of asbestos-containing materials that will need to be tested before they are destroyed since asbestos is hazardous when it is disturbed and becomes airborne. You could expose yourself and others to asbestos fiber levels that could cause cancer. The EPA suggests no safe levels of asbestos exposure, meaning that much caution is needed when handling this material. It would be best to let a professional deal with the testing for your safety.
You may try to save some money by doing the work yourself, but unless you are well trained in the discipline, you are prone to make mistakes that can be costly. Also, most contractors will not work on your project, and the city will not approve your demolition permit without an asbestos survey report by a certified AHERA consultant. You may be able to get away without one, but it’s not worth the trouble it could bring, including fines and legal liabilities.
Asbestos testing lab
The samples you or the consultant gather from the survey will have to be examined by an asbestos testing lab for the presence, type, and percentage of asbestos. Most building materials that contain asbestos will have chrysotile asbestos fibers. The laboratory will need to be certified to work with asbestos and will test the material under Phase Contrast Microscopy.
Asbestos testing near me
To find an asbestos consultant in your locale, you should look for a list of certified firms through your local building department’s website. They should have a roster of all the licensed professionals in your area. Call a few and get some bids, but it would be advisable to work with firms involved in consulting and abatement. The abatement work, which is removing asbestos-containing material, would be considered a conflict of interest. If you want competent asbestos inspectors to perform your asbestos survey and testing, contact the experts at 5 Microns Inc. Our inspectors are AHERA certified and have the skill and experience to do the job right. We don’t perform the abatement work, but we can point you in the right direction if needed. Our business hours are Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM and Saturday from 9 AM to 3:30 PM. Please don’t hesitate to call us with any questions. We can also offer a full report the next day and lab testing services. Call 425-440-8787 Now!
