Example Asbestos Removal Projects in Brooklyn Park

Scope of work

One visit by an MDH-certified inspector, four samples from the wall and the floor where the door goes, accredited lab results and a short report the carpenter can keep with the job. Lifting the positive vinyl at the doorway is quoted on its own.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1970s split-entry house in Brooklyn Park are building a deck off the kitchen. Their carpenter will widen the window opening down to the floor for a sliding door, which cuts through the wall finish and the edge of the old kitchen floor.

An MDH-certified inspector takes four samples from those spots. The wall comes back negative, and so does the adhesive, but the felt backing on the sheet vinyl tests positive. A licensed crew lifts about 20 sq ft of vinyl along that wall before the saw comes out, and the rest of the kitchen floor stays down.

The goal

The goal is a door opening cut through materials the lab has already checked, with the one positive strip gone first.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector takes four samples and marks each spot on a sketch of the kitchen.
2. A few days later The lab report lists all four results, with the vinyl backing the only positive.
3. Next After the five-day notice, a licensed crew takes up the vinyl along the door wall.
4. Then The carpenter cuts the wall and sets the door.

Planning right

• Tape the outline of the new door on the wall before the inspector comes.
• The vinyl and the glue under it can test differently, so each gets its own sample.
• The report records which materials were sampled and where, which helps if the kitchen is redone later.
• Only the floor along the door wall comes up; the rest can stay under the table.

Scope of work

Samples of each tape and wrap, the MDH notice five days ahead, plastic and negative air around the exposed duct runs, the tape and wrap soaked and cut away, leak-tight labeled bags, an air check before the plastic comes down and the haul with its manifest. The duct cleaning and new sealing are done by the duct cleaner afterward.

Project overview

In this example, the family in a 1960s split-level in Brooklyn Park books a duct cleaning. Before the brushes and vacuum go in, they ask about the white paper tape wrapped around the seams of the ducts in the lower level, and the wrap on the box above the furnace.

Both test positive. The foil tape from the newer furnace install does not. A licensed crew works the exposed runs under plastic, keeps the tape wet and takes it off, so the duct cleaner starts on bare metal and can seal the seams with new mastic.

The goal

The goal is duct seams with nothing positive left on them, so the cleaning and new sealing go ahead without a stop.

Process

1. First visit In the lower level, an MDH-certified inspector cuts small samples from each tape and the plenum wrap, then measures the exposed ducts.
2. Before work MDH receives the five-day notice; the thermostat is turned down so the furnace stays off on the work day.
3. Work day Plastic up around the runs, the tape and wrap removed wet, the metal wiped.
4. After An air check, the bags hauled, and the duct cleaner booked for the following week.

Planning right

• Tell the duct cleaner about the tape results before they quote.
• Ducts hidden behind finished ceilings stay closed unless that ceiling is coming down.
• Store anything near the furnace room somewhere else for the day.
• Staple the lab report to the furnace manual so the next service tech sees it.

Scope of work

Testing covers the fill and the felt under the shingles, and the MDH notice goes in five days ahead. From the rooms below, the crew covers the hatch and every ceiling light box; up top, the attic runs under negative air while the vermiculite is vacuumed into sealed, labeled bags. The joists get cleaned, the air is checked, and the bags are hauled with a manifest. Roofing and new insulation are quoted by others.

Project overview

In this example, a roofer looks at a 1950s house in Crystal and finds several roof boards that need to be replaced. Once those boards come off, dust and debris fall straight into the attic, and the attic floor is covered in loose, pebbly fill.

The fill tests positive and the felt does not. A licensed crew empties the attic before the tear-off, so the roofers can pull boards without stirring up the vermiculite, and the owners can add new insulation once the new roof is on.

The goal

The goal is an empty attic under a new roof deck, ready for fresh insulation.

Process

1. First visit Up through the hatch, an MDH-certified inspector takes fill and roofing samples and measures the attic floor.
2. Before work While the MDH notice period runs, the owners clear out the closets below the attic hatch.
3. Days one and two Ceilings covered below, the attic under negative air, the fill bagged.
4. Day three Joists cleaned, an air check, and the roofer gets the start date.

Planning right

• Book the roofer for after the air check, not before.
• Keep the attic hatch shut and taped until the crew arrives.
• Ask the roofer which boards will come off, so the crew can start there.
• Plan the new insulation once the roof is closed in.

Scope of work

Samples of the vinyl, the adhesive and the wall, the MDH notice five days ahead, plastic at the kitchen and at the back door, the vinyl wetted and rolled up in sections, leak-tight labeled bags, a HEPA clean of the subfloor and disposal with its manifest. The plumbing, the vent and the new floor are other trades.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 1950s house in Brooklyn Center are tired of carrying laundry down the basement stairs. Their plumber will run water and a drain to the back hall by the kitchen, and the old patterned sheet vinyl in that hall has to come up first.

The vinyl comes back positive. The adhesive under it and the wall for the dryer vent come back clear. The hall is about 90 sq ft, and a licensed crew finishes it in one day.

The goal

The goal is a bare subfloor in the back hall, so the plumbing and the new laundry go in on time.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector checks three spots in the back hall while the plumber pencils in where the washer pipes will run.
2. Before work During the notice period the family agrees the crew will come and go by the back door.
3. Work day The hall sealed off, the vinyl lifted wet, the subfloor cleaned.
4. Then The plumber runs the lines, and the new floor goes down.

Planning right

• Use the front door on the work day; the back hall is closed.
• Leave the kitchen floor alone unless it was sampled too.
• Ask the plumber to start once the crew has packed up.
• Tuck the lab report in with the deed and appliance manuals.

Scope of work

One texture sample per room plus one of the joint compound, then the MDH notice five days before the crew arrives. Rooms are emptied and put under plastic and negative air; lights and smoke alarms come down. Damp texture is scraped into leak-tight bags, the air is checked, the rooms get a final clean, and the waste goes out under a manifest. Retaping, skim coat and paint belong to the drywall finisher.

Project overview

In this example, cracks have opened along the drywall seams on the ceilings of a 1970s house in Brooklyn Park. A drywall finisher can cut out the old tape and retape the joints, but only once the popcorn texture on top is gone.

The texture tests positive in six rooms. The joint compound under it does not. A licensed crew works two or three rooms at a time, keeps the texture damp and scrapes it to bare drywall, and the finisher starts the week after.

The goal

The goal is six bare ceilings with the cracked seams exposed, ready to be retaped and finished smooth.

Process

1. First visit Room by room, an MDH-certified inspector takes ceiling samples and one from a cracked seam, and notes the square footage.
2. Before work MDH is notified; beds, dressers and living room furniture move out ahead of day one.
3. Days one to three The crew starts with the bedrooms, moves to the hall, and ends in the living and dining rooms, sealing each area separately.
4. Day four The air is tested, every surface wiped, and the bagged plastic carried out to the truck.

Planning right

• Move beds and dressers out of the bedrooms before day one.
• Smooth kitchen and bathroom ceilings are left out unless their samples say otherwise.
• Book the finisher once the air check results are in.
• Photos of the cracks help the finisher plan the retaping.

Scope of work

Removal of the positive soffit drywall and the sheet vinyl after the old cabinets are out, with the MDH notice, plastic and negative air in the kitchen, materials wetted before they are cut or lifted, leak-tight labeled bags, an air check and the haul with its manifest. The survey, the cabinets and the new floor are separate.

Project overview

In this example, a family is remodeling the kitchen of a 1970s two-story house in Brooklyn Park. The new cabinets run all the way to the ceiling, so the boxed-in soffits above the old ones have to come down, along with the sheet vinyl floor.

The joint compound on the soffits and the vinyl both test positive. The flat ceiling and the walls do not. Once the old cabinets are out, a licensed crew seals the kitchen, takes down the soffits and lifts the floor in two days, and the remodeler picks up from there.

The goal

The goal is a kitchen with no soffits and a bare subfloor, ready for taller cabinets and a new floor.

Process

1. First visit An MDH-certified inspector samples the soffits, ceiling, walls and floor; the report lists each result.
2. Before work The notice goes to MDH, and the remodeler takes out the old cabinets.
3. Day one With the kitchen under plastic, the crew wets the soffits, cuts them apart and bags the pieces.
4. Day two The sheet vinyl lifted, an air check, and the room handed back.

Planning right

• Set up a temporary kitchen in another room for the week.
• Ducts or wires inside the soffits are planned with the remodeler before day one.
• The walls behind the cabinets tested clear and can stay.
• Hand the air check report to the remodeler with the survey.

Scope of work

We survey the room and send both the MDH and MPCA notices. Plastic closes it off from the lobby and the hallway, and negative air runs while the ceiling texture is misted and scraped and the kitchenette vinyl comes up wet. Everything goes into leak-tight labeled bags, air clearance comes before residents get the room back, and the waste leaves with a manifest. New lights, flooring and paint are other contractors’ work.

Project overview

In this example, the manager of a 48-unit apartment building from the 1970s in Brooklyn Park wants to reopen the ground-floor community room. The plan is new ceiling lights, a new floor and fresh paint, and residents keep using the lobby and the mailboxes the whole time.

The survey finds asbestos in the ceiling texture and the kitchenette vinyl. With more than four units in the building, the MPCA notice goes in ten working days ahead, along with the MDH notice. A licensed crew seals the room, does the work in three days and leaves it ready for the electrician.

The goal

The goal is a community room with a bare ceiling and floor, ready for new lights and flooring, while the building stays open.

Process

1. First visit Roughly 8 samples come from the community room’s ceiling, walls and floors, all taken by an MDH-certified inspector.
2. Before work Both agencies get their notices, and a sign by the mailboxes lists the closed dates for residents.
3. Days one and two Room sealed, the ceiling texture scraped and bagged, the vinyl lifted.
4. Day three With clearance results back, the manager passes the room key to the electrician.

Planning right

• Cancel room bookings for the work week and the week after.
• Residents still use the lobby; only the community room doors are taped shut with warning signs.
• Hand a copy of the survey to the property manager; it maps every material sampled in the room.
• Line up the electrician and the flooring crew for after air clearance.