Asbestos Removal Cost - How Expensive Is It?
Asbestos is a hazardous material seen in a great number of materials like electrical insulation, ceiling tiles, floor tiles, sprayed-on plaster for sound-proofing or ornamental walls or ceilings, and many others. Asbestos dust particles are extremely small and once airborne might be inhaled into the lungs. When the body's immune system cells try to break down the dust particles stuck inside the lung tissue the immune system cells die. Scar tissue grows all over the lifeless cells and can continue to increase for lots of years after being exposed. Ultimately there may be sufficient scar tissue that will cause the lungs to cease functioning completely. As lethal as asbestos fibers and lung cancer can be, signs and symptoms might not become visible for as much as 40 to 60 years after being exposed.
If you are ready to begin remodeling your house or fixing objects that could contain hazardous asbestos, such as asbestos ceiling tile, floor tiles, or electrical insulation, there are a few points that you have to be conscious of. Asbestos, when left undisturbed, will ordinarily not create airborne particles or fibers. The danger comes when toxic asbestos materials are disturbed, permitting the small dust particles to become released into the air where they are often breathed. By no means try and remove or repair these toxic materials without extreme care. It is typically best to get a professional abatement service to remove these dangerous substances.
Asbestos removal cost can vary broadly based on your specific circumstances, but it is not inexpensive. Some abatement services could have a minimum charge as excessive as $2.000 or higher, even for little jobs. Others will charge as a lot as $400 or higher for a little quantity of asbestos ceiling removal or to remove insulation around a 10-foot part of pipe.
If your house contains asbestos in the ceilings, flooring, partitions, roof, and pipes a whole removal might be as high as $2 for each square foot. Full removal in a 1,500 square foot home may exceed $30,000. However, that is an extreme price. Normally, a 2,000 square foot home will only cost about $500 to $1,000 for removal as the toxic materials will be contained as an alternative to being removed or may only be present in a few spots.
To keep prices to a minimum you should first have an independent inspector carry out an inspection. The inspector will have the ability to tell you if there is any asbestos in your home, where it is situated, and if it can cause a potential health issue. This inspection could perhaps help you eliminate some unnecessary removal work which is able to decrease the asbestos removal cost. There could also be materials that can be contained as an alternative to being removed, effectively decreasing your outlay.
When contracting out the work it is advisable to hire 2 different services; one to perform the inspections and another to do the actual physical job or removal work. The inspector will do their inspection prior to the work being started and then once again after the work is done. If the identical firm performs both the inspections and the removing there may very well be a conflict of interest.
The follow-up inspection must be in writing and should involve lab evaluation of collected samples. It must also include frequent visits to your home while the work is being carried out to ensure that every part is being performed by the book. Also, make sure that your abatement service provides you with a written statement stating that every one of the required procedures were followed in accordance with the state regulations.
Make sure the work space is cordoned off completely from the rest of the house through the removal process. It must also be marked as "dangerous" to stop people from getting into the zone where harmful fibers might be inhaled.
It is possible to save money by carrying out the removal by yourself, but it might be extremely dangerous. Previous to doing the job by yourself it's best to check with your local and state health departments to determine if they offer any training opportunities.
Source: Joshua A. Harding
