Example Asbestos Removal Projects in St. Louis Park

Scope of work

One visit by an MDH-certified inspector, about eight samples from everything the enclosure and the wider door will touch, a result for each from an accredited lab, and a report the builder can work from. Taking off the shingles around the new opening is a separate price.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1930s house in St. Louis Park want to close in their back porch and use it as a mudroom. Their builder will frame walls and windows around the porch and cut a wider doorway through the old outside wall of the kitchen.

An MDH-certified inspector samples the porch and the kitchen side of that wall before the builder prices the job. Only the cement shingles on the shared wall come back positive. Shingles in good shape are best left alone, so the plan keeps most of them in place behind the new mudroom finish and takes off only the ones around the doorway.

The goal

The goal is a builder’s bid based on lab results, with the one positive material already measured.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector takes samples from the porch, the shared wall and the kitchen.
2. Lab Each bagged sample goes to an accredited lab with its location noted.
3. Report A written report lists every material, its result and the spot it came from.
4. Then The builder plans the doorway cut, and the positive shingles there are priced on their own.

Planning right

• Show the inspector exactly where the new door and the porch walls will go.
• Siding under a porch roof is easy to miss, so ask for it by name.
• Old window putty gets its own sample.
• Give the builder a copy of the report before the bid.

Scope of work

Samples of each wrap type, the MDH notice filed five days ahead, the pipe run sealed in plastic under negative air, the wrap and fittings soaked and cut off in short lengths, sealed and labeled bags, clearance air samples and disposal with a manifest. New pipe insulation and the braces are separate.

Project overview

In this example, the north wall of a 1940s basement in Robbinsdale is bowing in. The foundation crew will bolt steel braces from the floor up to the joists, and the wrapped heating pipes run along those same joists.

The wrap and the elbows test positive, and the boiler stays. About 60 ft of pipe is well over the home threshold, so the work is licensed. The boiler is shut off and left to cool that morning, and the crew strips the run before the braces go up.

The goal

The goal is bare pipe along the wall, so the braces bolt up and the heat comes back on once the crew is gone.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector samples the wrap, the elbows and the boiler jacket; the run is measured.
2. Before work The notice goes to MDH, and the shelving along the wall is moved.
3. Work day The run sealed off, the wrap and fittings removed wet, the pipes wiped bare.
4. Same day The crew takes clearance air samples, then strips the plastic and loads the bags out.

Planning right

• Ask the foundation crew to mark each brace spot before the pipe work.
• Elbows and straight runs are sampled apart.
• Have the heating contractor reinsulate the bare pipe after the braces are in.
• Keep the air sample report with the foundation warranty papers.

Scope of work

We sample the fill and the wall plaster and file the MDH notice five days ahead. The knee-wall doors and both bedrooms are sealed in plastic, each attic space goes under negative air, and the vermiculite is bagged and sealed. Joists are vacuumed bare, clearance air samples are taken, and the waste leaves with a manifest. Building the dormer and adding insulation are separate jobs.

Project overview

In this example, a family with a 1940s story-and-a-half in St. Louis Park wants a real bathroom upstairs. Their builder will open the back slope of the roof for a dormer, which means cutting into the low attic spaces behind the knee walls.

The loose fill behind both knee walls and in the top attic tests positive. The plaster does not. A licensed crew empties all three spaces first, so the roof can be opened with no loose fill left to fall into the bedrooms.

The goal

The goal is empty attic spaces, so the roof opens for the dormer and the new bathroom framing starts clean.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector samples the fill and the plaster; each attic space is measured.
2. Before work Both upstairs bedrooms are cleared out while the five-day MDH notice runs.
3. Days one and two Knee-wall doors and rooms sealed, the fill bagged from each space.
4. Day three The joists vacuumed, clearance air samples, the bags hauled.

Planning right

• Clear stored boxes out of the knee-wall spaces before the visit.
• The small attic above the bedrooms is emptied with the other two spaces.
• Ask the builder to start the roof cut only after the air samples pass.
• New insulation goes in with the dormer framing.

Scope of work

Separate samples of the tile and the adhesive, then the MDH notice five days before work. Each patch gets its own plastic enclosure; the tile comes up in whole pieces and the adhesive is removed wet. Bags are sealed, the area is HEPA cleaned and the waste goes out with a manifest. Slab cutting, footings and the beam are other trades’ work.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1950s rambler in Golden Valley want one open room where the kitchen and living room now meet. A new beam will carry the load, and two posts under it need footings cut into the basement slab, right through the family room floor.

The lab finds asbestos in the tile and in the adhesive. That doesn’t mean the whole room comes up: the crew lifts two patches, about 70 sq ft in all, where the posts will stand, and leaves the rest of the family room floor alone.

The goal

The goal is two clean squares of concrete for the post footings, with every other tile left where it is.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector samples the tile and the adhesive; the builder marks both post spots.
2. Before work MDH gets its notice; the family room furniture is pushed clear of both post spots.
3. Work day Each patch sealed, the tile lifted, the adhesive taken off, the concrete wiped clean.
4. Then The builder saws the slab and pours the footings.

Planning right

• Have the builder mark each post spot with room to spare for the saw.
• Intact tile left in the room can be covered by a new floor later.
• Keep the family room door shut while the patches are open.
• The beam permit folder is a good home for the lab report.

Scope of work

Both ceilings sampled and the MDH notice filed five days before work. The living room is emptied, sealed and put under negative air, and the light fixture comes down. Then the texture is misted, scraped and sealed in bags, followed by clearance air samples, a final clean and disposal with a manifest. The wood plank ceiling is a separate job.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1970s split-level in St. Louis Park want warm wood planks on the living room ceiling. Their carpenter will nail and screw strips up through the old texture into every joist.

The living room texture tests positive, and the hall ceiling does not. A licensed crew scrapes the living room down to bare drywall first, so the carpenter has a clean surface to fasten to.

The goal

The goal is a bare living room ceiling, ready for the planks to go up.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector samples both ceilings and measures the living room.
2. Before work The living room is cleared to the walls during the MDH notice period.
3. Day one Room sealed, the fixture down, the texture wetted and scraped into bags.
4. Day two A final clean, clearance air samples, the plastic down.

Planning right

• Tell us where the carpenter plans new lights, so those spots are bare too.
• A ceiling redone in a later year can test unlike the rest.
• Book the carpenter for after the air samples pass.
• Keep the stair to the lower level clear for the bags.

Scope of work

Removal of both positive materials at the entry: the closet walls taken down wet and the tile lifted with its adhesive taken off wet, with the MDH notice, plastic and negative air, sealed and labeled bags, clearance air samples and disposal with a manifest. The survey, the framing patch and the new floor are separate.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1950s house in St. Louis Park are tired of opening the front door into a cramped corner. They want the coat closet gone, so the entry and the living room become one space with one new floor running through.

The joint compound on the closet walls and the black adhesive under the entry tile both test positive. The front of the house is sealed off, and a licensed crew takes down the closet and clears the entry floor before the carpenter patches the framing.

The goal

The goal is an open entry with bare framing and a clean subfloor, ready for the carpenter and the new floor.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector samples the closet walls, its ceiling, the tile and the adhesive.
2. Before work The notice goes to MDH, the closet is emptied, and you plan to use the back door for two days.
3. Day one The entry sealed, the closet walls taken down wet and bagged.
4. Day two The tile lifted, the adhesive taken off, a final clean, clearance air samples.

Planning right

• Empty the closet and the shelf above it before the crew comes.
• The tile and the adhesive under it are sampled apart.
• A light switch or outlet in a closet wall needs an electrician after the walls are down.
• Keep the air sample report with your remodel papers.

Scope of work

A survey of the room, the MDH and MPCA notices, the room sealed off from the lobby and hallway, the ceiling texture misted and scraped, the tile and adhesive taken up wet, sealed and labeled bags, air clearance before the room reopens, and the haul with its manifest. Lockers, lights and the new floor are separate.

Project overview

In this example, the owner of a 36-unit building from the 1960s in St. Louis Park wants a secure place for deliveries. The community room off the lobby will get parcel lockers, new lights wired through the ceiling and a new floor.

Lab results show asbestos in three places: the floor tile, its adhesive and the sprayed texture on the ceiling. With five or more units under one roof, the building needs the MPCA notice ten working days before work, filed together with the MDH notice. A licensed crew closes the room off from the lobby, and tenants keep coming and going through the main entry.

The goal

The goal is a bare room with a clean ceiling and floor, ready for lockers and lights.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector takes about 10 samples from the floor, ceiling, walls and sills.
2. Before work MDH and MPCA notified; a notice in the lobby tells tenants which days the room is closed.
3. Days one to three Room sealed, the ceiling texture scraped wet, then the tile and adhesive taken up.
4. Last day Clearance samples pass, and the electrician and locker installer can start.

Planning right

• Move parcels to a temporary spot in the lobby while the room is closed.
• Keep the room’s hallway door sealed and signed.
• The survey stays in the management office binder, listing each spot sampled and its lab result.
• Book the electrician for after air clearance.