Example Asbestos Removal Projects in Plymouth, Minnesota

Scope of work

One short visit from an MDH-certified inspector, three samples taken at the drill and bracket spots, lab results for every sample and a one-page report that marks each spot on a sketch of the room. Cutting out the positive patch is priced on its own.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1970s end-unit townhome in Plymouth want heat and cooling in the cold bedroom above the garage. Their installer will hang the indoor unit near the ceiling and bore one hole through the outside wall for the refrigerant lines.

The installer asks for the wall and both ceilings to be tested before anything is drilled. The ceilings come back clear. The wall’s joint compound does not, so a licensed crew cuts that small patch out wet first. At about 2 square feet, the patch is not more than 6 square feet of friable material, but MDH says that does not make it safe.

The goal

The goal is a warm bedroom over the garage, with the only positive patch gone before the wall is drilled.

Process

1. First visit Three samples, cut by an MDH-certified inspector at the installer’s pencil marks.
2. Lab An accredited lab reports on the bedroom wall and ceiling samples one by one.
3. Report The report lists the three samples, with the wall marked positive.
4. Then The small wall patch is cut out wet, and the heat pump goes up.

Planning right

• Have the installer mark the unit and the hole on the wall before the visit.
• A ceiling that tests clear can stay as it is.
• File the report with the townhome papers; it maps each sample spot.
• If the plan moves to another wall, that wall gets its own sample.

Scope of work

Samples of the texture and the rail wall, the MDH notice filed five days ahead, the loft and the open side over the family room sealed in plastic under negative air, a scaffold for the high end of the slope, the texture wetted and scraped into leak-tight bags, clearance air samples, a final clean and disposal. The new wall, door and paint are the builder’s work.

Project overview

In this example, one more bedroom is what a Wayzata family with a 1970s two-story needs. The loft over the family room is the easy answer: the builder will raise the low rail wall to the ceiling, frame a door and close the room in.

New framing has to meet the sloped ceiling, and the texture up there tests positive. A licensed crew hangs plastic across the open side so nothing falls into the family room, works the high end from a scaffold and leaves bare drywall for the builder.

The goal

The goal is a bare loft ceiling, so the new wall and door go in and the loft becomes a bedroom.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector takes texture from the slope and compound from the rail wall, then measures the ceiling.
2. Before work MDH gets the notice, and both the loft and the room below are cleared of furniture.
3. Day one Plastic up on the open side, the texture wetted and scraped from the low end up.
4. Day two The high end finished from the scaffold, air samples taken, and the plastic bagged.

Planning right

• Move family room furniture away from the loft side before day one.
• If the builder plans to open the family room ceiling below, sample it first.
• Framing the suite begins after the clearance results arrive.
• Ask for a skim coat quote with the framing, so the new room is smooth.

Scope of work

Separate samples for the tile and the glue, five days of notice to MDH, plastic over the walls and the patio door, each tile worked loose in one piece, the black glue softened with water and scraped to bare concrete, sealed bags with labels, a HEPA vacuum pass and a manifest for the load. The floor drain, tile and hot tub are other trades’ work.

Project overview

In this example, a Plymouth couple with a 1970s two-story wants a hot tub indoors, in the walkout rec room next to the patio door. Their plumber will saw a trench in the slab for a floor drain, and a waterproof tile floor goes over the rest.

The old 9-inch tile and its black adhesive both test positive, and the saw would cut straight through them. A licensed crew lifts the whole floor first, so the plumber starts on bare, clean concrete.

The goal

The goal is a bare slab with nothing positive left on it, ready for the drain and the new tile floor.

Process

1. First visit With the plumber’s chalk line on the floor, an MDH-certified inspector cuts tile, glue and paneling samples.
2. Before work MDH has the notice, and the rec room is cleared to the bare floor.
3. Day one Room and patio door sealed, the tile lifted in whole pieces.
4. Day two Adhesive taken up wet, the slab vacuumed, and the bags hauled.

Planning right

• Use the front door, not the patio door, until the plastic is down.
• Paneling that tested clear can stay on the walls.
• Plan the slab cut for after the floor is bare.
• Ask the plumber to check the slab once it is exposed.

Scope of work

A sample from the wrap, the elbows and the foam, notice to MDH five days out, a plastic tent around the overhead runs with a HEPA fan pulling air out, the wrap soaked and cut off in short lengths, every bag sealed and labeled, a final air test and a manifest for the trip to the landfill. The tankless heater and the new piping are the plumber’s work.

Project overview

In this example, a New Hope family with a 1960s rambler is replacing an old tank water heater with a tankless unit on the basement wall. The plumber will cut out the old runs overhead and pipe new lines to the new spot.

The white wrap on the old pipes and their elbows tests positive, while the foam added later around the softener does not. A licensed crew strips the old runs in a day, so the plumber cuts bare pipe.

The goal

The goal is bare pipe overhead, so the old tank comes out and the tankless heater goes in.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector takes the pipe wrap, an elbow and the foam for testing, tape measure out for the run lengths.
2. Before work Five days of MDH notice give the owners time to box up whatever sits on the shelving below the pipe runs.
3. Work day Plastic tents over the pipes near the water heater; wrap and fittings wetted and cut off; air sampled.
4. Then The plumber removes the tank and pipes in the tankless heater.

Planning right

• Plan a short hot-water outage for the day the plumber switches over.
• An elbow fitting can test differently from the straight pipe next to it.
• Clear a path from the stairs to the work area before the crew arrives.
• The plumber should see the air sample results before cutting any pipe.

Scope of work

A sample of the shingles and one of the paper, five days of MDH notice, a ground sheet across the driveway apron, every shingle misted and unnailed in one piece, the stack wrapped and labeled for the landfill with its manifest, and a last walk for chips. The header, the new door and the new siding belong to the builder.

Project overview

In this example, squeezing two cars through two narrow garage doors has worn thin for a Plymouth family in a 1960s rambler. Their builder will take out the post between them, set a longer header and hang one wide door.

That means opening the whole garage front, and its cement shingles test positive. The siding on the rest of the house is in good shape, so it stays. A licensed crew takes only the garage front down, one whole shingle at a time.

The goal

The goal is a bare garage front, so the post comes out and one wide door goes in.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector pulls a shingle and the paper behind it, then measures across both garage doors.
2. Before work MDH receives the notice; the cars stay on the street that day.
3. Work day Driveway sheeted, then each shingle wetted, unnailed and laid flat on the pile.
4. Then The wrapped stack is hauled, and the builder starts on the header.

Planning right

• Tell the neighbors the driveway will be sheeted for a day.
• Undamaged cement shingles on the other walls are left in place.
• Ask the builder whether the new siding will cover only the garage front.
• Keep the garage doors down while the wall is being stripped.

Scope of work

Samples from the walls, the floor and the ceiling, MDH told five days before work, the den and half bath sealed under negative air, the positive drywall cut out wet, the sheet vinyl lifted wet, leak-tight labeled bags, clearance air samples and disposal with its manifest. The framing, the shower and the finishes are the remodeler’s work.

Project overview

In this example, a Plymouth family is making room for a parent who cannot manage the stairs of their late-1970s split-level. The remodeler will take down the wall between the den and the half bath and build a bedroom with a full bath on the main floor.

The remodeler’s crew are employees, so the rooms are surveyed before anyone opens a wall. The den’s joint compound and the half-bath vinyl test positive. A licensed crew takes both out first, and the remodeler starts on bare studs and subfloor.

The goal

The goal is a den and half bath down to studs and subfloor, ready for a main-floor bedroom suite.

Process

1. First visit Den walls, half-bath vinyl and the hall ceiling are sampled by an MDH-certified inspector after the remodeler flags each wall coming out.
2. Before work MDH receives the notice, and the den and half bath are cleared out.
3. Day one Both rooms sealed, the den walls cut out wet.
4. Day two Half-bath vinyl soaked and pulled, clearance samples run, bags out with the manifest.

Planning right

• Mark every wall the remodeler will move or open before the visit.
• Keep the hall door to the work area closed and taped.
• A ceiling that tested clear can stay up.
• Give the survey to the remodeler with the plans, so the crew knows what was sampled and where.

Scope of work

A survey of the unit, notices to MDH and MPCA, negative air in the sealed unit with its hall door closed off, ceilings misted and scraped, kitchen and bath vinyl soaked and lifted, bags sealed and labeled, clearance sampling before anyone else walks in and a manifest for the haul. The new doors, shower and kitchen belong to the building’s contractor.

Project overview

In this example, the owner of a 96-unit apartment building from the 1970s in Plymouth is rebuilding a vacant ground-floor two-bedroom for a tenant who uses a wheelchair. Doorways get wider, the tub becomes a roll-in shower and the kitchen counter comes down.

Every ceiling and both vinyl floors come back positive. A 96-unit building is one MPCA covers, so it gets ten working days of notice, and MDH is notified too. A licensed crew clears the unit while the neighbors on both sides stay home.

The goal

The goal is a bare unit, ready for wider doors, a roll-in shower and a new kitchen, while the rest of the building goes on as usual.

Process

1. Survey Ceilings, walls and floors of the unit sampled by an MDH-certified inspector, a dozen spots in all.
2. Before work Notices filed with MDH and MPCA; the work dates are posted on the unit’s hall door.
3. Days one to three Unit sealed, ceilings scraped room by room, the sheet vinyl lifted.
4. Day four Clearance samples pass and the unit is handed to the contractor.

Planning right

• Tell the tenants beside and above the unit which days the crew is in.
• The unit’s hall door stays sealed, with a sign, until clearance.
• The survey belongs in the building file; it shows the next contractor where each sample was taken.
• Walls the survey sampled and found clear can be cut for the wider doors; a wall the new plan adds gets its own sample first.