Example Asbestos Removal Projects in Apple Valley, Minnesota

Scope of work

An MDH-certified inspector’s visit, four samples taken where the plumber meant to drill or cut, a lab result per sample and a brief report. Taking down the positive ceiling texture would be priced separately; in this example the line is rerouted instead.

Project overview

In this example, a long power outage convinces an Apple Valley couple to add a standby generator to their 1970s house. The plumber’s first plan runs the new gas line across the finished basement ceiling and out through the rim joist.

An MDH-certified inspector goes over that path first and samples it in four places. Only the sprayed texture on the basement ceiling is positive. The plumber moves the route into the unfinished utility room, where the ceiling is bare joists, so the texture is never touched.

The goal

The goal is a working generator with the gas line in open framing and the textured basement ceiling left as it was.

Process

1. First visit The plumber shows an MDH-certified inspector each planned hole, and four samples go to the lab.
2. A few days later The report comes back: one positive ceiling, three clear materials.
3. Next The plumber redraws the route through the utility room and the open joists.
4. Then The gas line and the generator go in with no ceiling cut.

Planning right

• Have the installer mark every hole on the route before the inspector arrives.
• Sometimes a different route avoids a positive material, so ask about one before you book removal.
• An intact textured ceiling that nobody will cut can stay as it is.
• Keep the report with your house records; it lists what was tested and the spot each sample came from.

Scope of work

Sampling of the texture, notice to MDH at least five days before the crew starts, plastic over the walls, floor and stair opening with a HEPA unit, the ceiling light unhooked, the texture misted and scraped off, the debris bagged, clearance air samples and the manifest. Cutting out the wet drywall, the patch and the paint are not part of this price.

Project overview

In this example, an ice dam backs water under the shingles of a 1970s Rosemount split-level, and a brown ring spreads across the textured living room ceiling. The roofer is fixing the leak. The drywaller now wants to cut out the soft section, and the owners would rather have one flat ceiling than a smooth patch in a field of texture.

An MDH-certified inspector samples the texture at the stain and at the opposite wall, and both come back positive. About 220 sq ft is well over the state limit, so a licensed crew takes the whole ceiling down to bare drywall before anyone cuts into it.

The goal

The goal is a bare, dry ceiling the drywaller can cut, patch and skim into one flat surface.

Process

1. First visit Next to the water stain and again across the room, an MDH-certified inspector scrapes texture into sample bags.
2. Before work With MDH notified, the family carries the couch, shelves and rug downstairs.
3. Day one Plastic goes up, the light comes down and the crew scrapes the damp texture.
4. Day two Final HEPA wipe-down and air test; then the plastic is bagged and driven off under the manifest.

Planning right

• Let the roof repair finish before the ceiling work, so a new leak doesn’t stain fresh drywall.
• Don’t poke or scrape the stained spot to check it; leave it for the inspector.
• If the hallway ceiling has the same texture, it needs its own sample before it is touched.
• Give the drywaller the air sample results before the wet section is cut out.

Scope of work

Separate results for tile and mastic, MDH told five days before work, plastic over the doorways, tiles pried up in one piece, the adhesive dampened and scraped to the subfloor, every bag labeled, a HEPA vacuuming and a manifest for the landfill. The stove and hearth removal and the new floor are priced by others.

Project overview

In this example, nobody has lit the wood stove in a 1970s Empire rambler’s family room for years. The stove, its chimney pipe and the brick hearth are coming out, and the owners want one new floor wall to wall instead of tile with a bare patch where the hearth stood.

An MDH-certified inspector samples the tile, the black mastic and the mortar under the hearth bricks. The tile and mastic are positive and the mortar is clear, so a licensed crew lifts about 240 sq ft of tile and takes the mastic up wet.

The goal

The goal is a clean subfloor from wall to wall, so the new floor runs through the room in one piece.

Process

1. First visit Tile, mastic and the mortar under the hearth go to the lab from an MDH-certified inspector.
2. Before work The notice goes to MDH, and the stove crew finishes taking out the hearth.
3. Day one Room sealed, tiles lifted whole, the mastic softened and scraped up wet.
4. Day two The subfloor vacuumed and wiped, the bags hauled with the manifest.

Planning right

• Have the hearth taken out before the floor crew comes, so the whole floor comes up at once.
• Tile that runs under a built-in cabinet or a wall stays in place unless it will be disturbed.
• Let the flooring installer see the bare subfloor before ordering material.
• Keep the stove pipe opening covered until the roofer or chimney crew closes it.

Scope of work

Separate samples of wrap and tape, five days of notice to MDH, a plastic enclosure around the furnace end with a HEPA unit, the wrap soaked and cut into short lengths, each piece bagged and labeled, a clearance air test and the disposal manifest. The furnace move and the new trunk line belong to the heating contractor.

Project overview

In this example, a basement finish in a 1970s Apple Valley rambler is stuck on one problem: the furnace sits in the middle of the floor. Their heating contractor will move the furnace to a corner and build a new trunk line, which means cutting apart the old ducts near the furnace.

The white wrap on the trunk and the tape on its seams test positive. With about 60 sq ft of wrap on that stretch of duct, a licensed crew strips it before the heating crew arrives.

The goal

The goal is bare ductwork at the furnace end, so the move goes ahead and the basement can be framed.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector tests the trunk wrap, seam tape and boots, and the trunk length is taped out.
2. Before work MDH gets the notice; the heating contractor pencils in the following week.
3. Day one That end of the basement sealed, the wrap and tape wetted and cut away.
4. Day two Clearance air test, a HEPA wipe-down, and the bags leave on the truck.

Planning right

• Book the heating contractor once the air sample date is set.
• Plan the work for a day when the furnace can be off.
• Ducts that stay behind and keep their wrap should be left closed and undisturbed.
• The heating crew should see the clearance results before they start cutting.

Scope of work

Testing of every layer on the outside walls, notice to MDH five days before work, sheeting over the beds and along the foundation, shingles soaked, pried off whole and passed down, stacks wrapped tight, a daily sweep of the lawn and the haul with a manifest. The new siding and trim come from the siding crew.

Project overview

In this example, a summer hailstorm cracks and punches holes in the cement shingles on two sides of a 1960s rambler in Apple Valley. Patching would leave odd rows, so the owners decide to re-side the whole house.

An MDH-certified inspector confirms the shingles contain asbestos. A licensed crew takes them off one wall at a time, keeping the broken pieces wet and wrapped, and the siding crew follows on the walls that are done.

The goal

The goal is bare, sound sheathing on every wall, ready for new siding that matches all the way around.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector takes a broken shingle, a piece of building paper and some window putty.
2. Before work With MDH notified, the new siding installer pencils in a start right after our crew.
3. Days one to four One wall at a time: plastic down, shingles off, stacks wrapped.
4. Day five The last wall, a pick-up of every chip in the yard, and the haul.

Planning right

• Leave broken shingle pieces where they fell until the crew bags them.
• Move patio furniture, grills and planters away from the walls.
• Kids and dogs should stay on the far side of the house while a wall is being stripped.
• Book the siding crew for the walls as each one is finished.

Scope of work

After the MDH notice, every cement shingle comes off the attached garage wall by hand in one piece, gets wrapped and taped, and leaves with a manifest; plastic around the slab catches chips. The inspection and the new siding have their own prices.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1970s Apple Valley house want new siding on the attached one-car garage, which still wears its original gray cement shingles.

An MDH-certified inspector finds asbestos only in the cement shingle siding. A licensed crew strips it before the siders arrive, so the new siding goes onto bare sheathing.

The goal

The goal is a garage with bare, sound sheathing on every wall, ready for new siding.

Process

1. First visit Siding, roof shingles, window glazing and the floor patch: an MDH-certified inspector samples the garage and writes it up.
2. Paperwork The licensed crew sends the notice to MDH at least five days before work.
3. Removal day Shingles wetted, unnailed, lowered and wrapped; the slab edge picked clean.
4. Then The siders hang the new siding on the bare sheathing.

Planning right

• Keep the inspector’s report and the waste manifest together.
• Empty the garage before the inspection, so every wall can be reached.
• Ask the inspector to look at the roof as well, even when it looks newer than the siding.
• Book the siders for the day after the shingles and the debris are gone.

Scope of work

Lab results for each wall and floor layer, MDH notified five days out, the kitchen closed in plastic with a HEPA unit, the pantry walls and the vinyl both kept damp as they come out, the debris bagged and labeled, a clearance air test and the manifest. Framing, cabinets and flooring stay with the remodeler.

Project overview

In this example, a bigger kitchen without an addition is the plan for a 1970s split-level in Apple Valley. The walk-in pantry closet next to the kitchen will come out, and its floor space will join the kitchen under one new floor.

The taping compound on the pantry walls and the backing of the kitchen sheet vinyl both test positive. A licensed crew seals the kitchen, takes the pantry walls down and lifts the vinyl before the remodeler starts framing.

The goal

The goal is one open, cleared room with a bare subfloor, so the new cabinets and floor fill the old pantry space.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector samples the walls and the floor layers the remodel will touch.
2. Before work The notice goes to MDH, and the kitchen is emptied with the fridge and range moved out.
3. Days one and two Pantry walls down, then the sheet vinyl and its backing lifted wet.
4. Day three HEPA cleaning, then air tests; the plastic stays until they pass.

Planning right

• Set up a spare kitchen corner elsewhere in the house for the remodel weeks.
• Sample any second floor layer under the vinyl, since it can be a different material.
• Leave the walls that stay standing closed unless the remodel will open them.
• Give the remodeler the air sample results before the framers start.