Example Asbestos Removal Projects in Blaine

Scope of work

An MDH-certified inspector’s visit, four samples cut from the wall behind the old backsplash, a lab result for each one from an accredited lab, and a report that marks where the positive compound runs. The licensed removal of that strip is quoted separately.

Project overview

In this example, a Blaine couple with a 1970s rambler is replacing laminate countertops with stone. Their old backsplash is ceramic tile glued straight to the wall, so pulling it will rip the wall surface along the counters.

Before its installers touch the tile, the countertop company asks for lab results. An MDH-certified inspector samples four materials on that wall, and only the joint compound is positive. After the five-day notice, a licensed crew cuts out that strip, and the rest of the kitchen is left alone.

The goal

The goal is a wall the countertop installers can open on day one, with results in hand before the old tile moves.

Process

1. First visit Four samples along the backsplash, taken by an MDH-certified inspector and bagged one by one.
2. Lab results A result for every sample, plus a wall sketch showing the positive strip.
3. About a week later With the MDH notice filed, the licensed crew takes the strip out under plastic.
4. Countertop day Old tops and tile come off, and the stone goes in.

Planning right

• Point out where the installers plan to pry, cut or drill.
• Tile adhesive and grout can differ from the wall behind them, which is why each was sampled.
• Hand the lab report to the countertop company with your order.
• Nobody should pry at the positive wall before the crew is done.

Scope of work

Each tape and wrap sampled; notice to MDH five days before work; plastic and negative air around the furnace; tape soaked and pulled off in short strips; everything into sealed, labeled bags; clearance air and a waste manifest. The humidifier and its bypass are the HVAC contractor’s work.

Project overview

In this example, a family in a 1970s two-story in Blaine wants a whole-house humidifier. Their HVAC contractor will mount it on the supply plenum and run a short bypass duct to the return, which means cutting two openings next to the furnace.

Both spots are covered in old white seam tape, and the lab finds asbestos in it. A licensed crew removes the tape from the plenum and the nearby return seams in one morning, and the HVAC contractor cuts into clean sheet metal the next day.

The goal

The goal is clean metal where the humidifier and its bypass connect, with the old tape gone from that corner of the basement.

Process

1. First visit The HVAC contractor outlines where the humidifier and its bypass cut in, and an MDH-certified inspector samples the tape and wrap there.
2. Five days ahead MDH gets the notice, and the storage near the furnace is cleared.
3. Removal morning Furnace corner under plastic; the old tape soaked, stripped off and bagged.
4. Next day Clearance air passes, and the humidifier goes on.

Planning right

• Have both openings marked on the ducts before anyone samples.
• Tape on the branch runs can differ from tape at the furnace, so sample both if both will be cut.
• Expect the furnace to be off during removal.
• File the clearance report with the humidifier paperwork.

Scope of work

Texture and board sampled; MDH notified five days before; the bedroom cleared and wrapped with a HEPA machine running; the light and smoke alarm down; texture soaked and scraped into sealed bags; HEPA vacuuming, clearance air and the waste manifest. Sound insulation and drywall are the remodeler’s work.

Project overview

In this example, a teenager sleeps in the lower-level bedroom of a 1970s split-entry in Mounds View, straight below the kitchen. Footsteps and the dishwasher carry right through, so the remodeler plans to open the ceiling, stuff the joist bays with sound insulation and put up new board.

Only the texture tests positive; the drywall and tape behind it do not. A licensed crew soaks and scrapes the texture first, and the remodeler pulls the bare boards afterward.

The goal

The goal is bare ceiling board the remodeler can pull, so the sound insulation and new drywall follow right away.

Process

1. First visit Standing in the lower-level bedroom, an MDH-certified inspector takes the texture and the ceiling board for testing and measures overhead.
2. Five days ahead MDH has the notice; the bedroom and its closet are cleared out.
3. Day one Plastic and negative air, then the texture soaked and scraped.
4. Day two HEPA vacuuming and clearance air, then the plastic is bagged.

Planning right

• The remodeler starts only after clearance passes.
• If the family room or stair ceilings will be opened later, sample them on the same visit.
• Keep that room’s registers shut while the plastic is up.
• The light and the smoke alarm go back up once the new drywall is on.

Scope of work

Separate samples of tile and glue; MDH notice five days before; the family room sealed in plastic; carpet and pad rolled and bagged; tile lifted and glue taken off wet down to the slab; HEPA vacuuming, clearance air and a waste manifest. Vinyl plank is extra.

Project overview

In this example, a family has just bought a 1960s rambler in Spring Lake Park, and the previous owner’s pets left the basement carpet badly stained. They peel back one corner before ripping it out, find old 9-inch tile and black glue, and stop right there.

Tile and glue both test positive. The carpet stays down until the licensed crew comes, and then carpet, pad, tile and glue all leave from one sealed room. What’s left is bare concrete, ready for the new floor.

The goal

The goal is a clean slab with the stained carpet gone, ready for vinyl plank.

Process

1. First visit Where the stained carpet has peeled back, an MDH-certified inspector cuts tile and glue samples, then sizes up the family room.
2. Five days ahead MDH is notified; furniture and boxes go upstairs.
3. Day one Plastic up, carpet and pad bagged, tile lifted.
4. Day two Glue off wet, slab vacuumed, clearance air, then the haul.

Planning right

• After that first peek, leave the carpet alone; it comes up with the tile.
• The same tile may run into the closet or onto the stair landing, so check both.
• If the slab still smells, ask the flooring installer about a sealer.
• File the waste manifest with your closing papers.

Scope of work

Shingle and paper sampled; notice to MDH five days before; ground cover along both walls; shingles kept wet and lifted off whole; broken bits picked out of the flower bed; bundles wrapped, labeled and hauled with a manifest. New siding is extra.

Project overview

In this example, a car backing down the driveway catches the front corner of the garage on a 1960s rambler in Blaine. A dozen or so cement shingles crack, and chunks land in the flower bed.

The lab confirms asbestos in the shingles. So the new siding will match, the owners and their siding contractor decide to redo the whole garage front and the side wall at that corner. A licensed crew wets the shingles, lifts them off in one piece each and clears the broken bits from the bed, while the rest of the house keeps its siding.

The goal

The goal is a bare garage corner, ready for new siding that matches.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector samples a cracked shingle and the paper under it, then both walls are measured.
2. Five days ahead MDH is notified; cars and trash bins move to the street.
3. Work day Ground covered, shingles wetted and lifted whole, every piece wrapped.
4. Before leaving Bed and driveway checked for chips; bundles go out with the manifest.

Planning right

• Leave broken pieces where they landed; the crew picks them up wet.
• Keep the overhead garage door down during removal.
• Shingles elsewhere on the house can stay if they are intact.
• Let the siding contractor measure once the wall is bare.

Scope of work

Removal of what the survey found positive: the sheet vinyl lifted wet and the wall section cut out and bagged. Includes the MDH notice, both rooms under plastic and negative air, sealed labeled bags, clearance air and a waste manifest. Survey, remodel and flooring are separate.

Project overview

In this example, a 1970s split-entry in Blaine has its kitchen on the street side, and the owners want it facing the backyard. The remodel shifts cabinets and sink into the dining room, removes most of the wall in between and runs one new floor across both rooms.

Asbestos turns up in the kitchen sheet vinyl and in the joint compound on that wall. A licensed crew seals both rooms, takes up the vinyl and removes the wall section, and the remodeler begins on bare subfloor and open studs.

The goal

The goal is bare subfloor and open studs in both rooms, so the new kitchen can go in where the dining table stood.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector samples the floor, wall, ceiling and windows after the remodeler marks the wall.
2. Five days ahead MDH gets the notice while the family empties the kitchen cabinets.
3. Day one Plastic over both rooms; vinyl soaked and lifted.
4. Day two Wall section out in bagged pieces; clearance air; haul.

Planning right

• Plan where you will cook while both rooms are closed.
• Sheet vinyl backing crumbles, so leave the floor alone until the crew arrives.
• Ask for samples from every wall the remodel opens, not just the one coming down.
• Give the remodeler a copy of the survey.

Scope of work

Everything positive in the survey comes out: roughly 300 sq ft of ceiling texture, 500 sq ft of basement tile, 120 sq ft of kitchen vinyl and the duct wrap at the furnace. The MDH notice, sealed labeled bags, clearance air and the waste manifests are included; the survey, the demolition and the new home are not.

Project overview

In this example, a Blaine couple has ordered a factory-built home for the lot their 1950s house sits on. The old house and its basement must be gone before the new foundation goes in, which means a city demolition permit.

Blaine asks for an asbestos survey by a licensed inspector before anyone applies, and the MPCA demolition form goes to MPCA and gets uploaded with the application. The survey finds more than the minimum, so a licensed crew files the MDH notice and takes out the texture, tile, vinyl and duct wrap first. The last bag is out at least two days before the excavator shows up.

The goal

The goal is a house emptied of every positive material, so demolition stays on schedule and the new foundation follows.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector works through the house from basement to roof, sampling as they go.
2. Permit application Survey and MPCA form uploaded with the city application; notice to MDH.
3. Removal days Each area sealed in turn while ceilings, floors and duct wrap come out.
4. Before demolition Clearance air, manifests filed, then two or more days before the wrecking date.

Planning right

• Schedule the survey first, since the city application can’t go in without it.
• A demolition permit in Blaine usually comes with a cleanup escrow, refunded after the final inspection.
• Put the survey, the MPCA form and the manifests in one folder.
• Tell the demolition contractor when the last bag leaves.