Asbestos in the Raw

Asbestos is a mined substance commonly found in all sorts of building materials.  In the meantime it was used since the days of the ancient Greeks for its many fire resistant and its ability to be used as cloth. It has gone in and out of vogue. There had been suspicion about asbestos and health problems. It was not clinically associated with serious medical problems until the late 1920′s, when workers in the mines began to fall ill with lung disease, cancer and death at a young age, that asbestos became a known health hazard.

Here in Boise Levco brings samples to Materials Testing Incorporated to be tested. According to them they are the only lab in the region that does asbestos analysis using a special microscope and procedures that currently do this work.

Asbestos wrapped hot water pipes

Like Lead based paint, asbestos was pulled from the market in 1977 by the EPA; however existing stock piles were allowed to be used up so there may be new installations as late as 1986.

There are many building materials we come across when remodeling here in Boise Idaho that contained asbestos. The problem is that it breaks down into such minute dust particle that even HEPA vacuums can’t catch it all. Wet wiping is a better method of containing dust created during removal.

This list from the EPA website is very complete

• STEAM PIPES, BOILERS, and FURNACE DUCTS insulated with an asbestos blanket or asbestos paper tape. These materials may release asbestos fibers if damaged, repaired, or removed improperly.
• RESILIENT FLOOR TILES (vinyl asbestos, asphalt, and rubber), the backing on VINYL SHEET FLOORING, and ADHESIVES used for installing floor tile. Sanding tiles can release fibers. So may scraping or sanding the backing of sheet flooring during removal.
• CEMENT SHEET, MILLBOARD, and PAPER used as insulation around furnaces and wood burning stoves. Repairing or removing appliances may release asbestos fibers. So may cutting, tearing, sanding, drilling or sawing insulation.
• DOOR GASKETS in furnaces, wood stoves, and coal stoves. Worn seals can release asbestos fibers during use.
• SOUNDPROOFING OR DECORATIVE MATERIAL sprayed on walls and ceilings. Loose, crumbly, or water-damaged material may release fibers. So will sanding, drilling or scraping the material.
• PATCHING AND JOINT COMPOUNDS for walls and ceilings, and TEXTURED PAINTS. Sanding, scraping, or drilling these surfaces may release asbestos.
  

  Asbestos wrapped ducts

• ASBESTOS CEMENT ROOFING, SHINGLES, and SIDING. These products are not likely to release asbestos fibers unless sawed, drilled or cut.
• ARTIFICIAL ASHES AND EMBERS sold for use in gas-fired fireplaces. Also, other older household products such as FIREPROOF GLOVES, STOVE-TOP PADS, IRONING BOARD COVERS, and certain HAIRDRYERS.
• AUTOMOBILE BRAKE PADS AND LININGS, CLUTCH FACINGS, and GASKETS.

Vermiculite ore that looks like little pellets of light weight mica and was mined in Libby Montana from 1919 to 1990. It was sold under the brand name Zonolite and was used in 70% of all homes insulated with Vermiculite. Attics were stocked full of it for insulation properties and fire resistance. Unfortunately, nearly all of the Zonolite mined in the Libby Montana area was mixed with/contaminated with asbestos, which was plentiful in the region. Incidentally, we have seen this product in Boise.

As hazardous as it is, when left alone or encapsulated or contained (say with paint) and not disturbed, asbestos it is not hazardous at all. The difference is that is is not aerosolized or turned into dust, also known as being friable.

As far as federal regulations are concerned, there are strict regulations for municipal, commercial & federal projects. There are Asbestos Professionals that do abatement, however there is no mandate for residential applications from the EPA at least.

EPA federal registry part 40 CFR 61 sub part M excerpt:

Facility means any institutional, commercial, public, industrial, or residential structure, installation, or building (including any structure, installation, or building containing condominiums or individual dwelling units operated as a residential cooperative, but excluding residential buildings having four or fewer dwelling units); any ship; and any active or inactive waste disposal site. For purposes of this definition, any building, structure, or installation that contains a loft used as a dwelling is not considered a residential structure, installation, or building. Any structure, installation or building that was previously subject to this sub-part is not excluded, regardless of its current use or function.

OSHA sees things differently, They are not concerned with the environment parse, only employees, here is the link to their regulations This is a class 1 Toxic substance and needs to be dealt with accordingly. Essentially if a contractor is going to be performing this work on a residential remodeling project, they need to do similar protection as Lead Safe Work Practices.

Common sense suggests that when doing removal or disturbing asbestos impregnated materials that proper respiratory protection is required. Preventing friable (airborne) materials is the best way to handle removal.

Wetting the entire surface and removing it in a dust free way immediately, then double bagging it, is our technique. We have removed Asbestos roofing in this way and double lined the dump truck. There are also special disposal techniques as well as disclosure forms at the Ada County Landfill that must be followed. As I like to say ” Fees & Forms” That being said this is no joke and something we take very seriously.

In the event you want to remove asbestos yourself check into proper safety techniques. Always consider a professional abatement company to protect the health of everyone involved. Just because you can’t see the darn stuff doesn’t mean it can’t reach out and touch you.

For this excavation project we used a mini excavator, wheel barrels, and some man power to remove 55 yards of dirt.

Read all about it at our Laumann project blog

Truck Repairs

To access the downstairs, Levco needed to add stairs right where a large original foundation wall was. Our plan was to use the concrete chain saw to make the cuts ourselves. Diane assessed the situation and it became clear that a gas powered device used inside no matter how much ventilation is used is dangerous.

Cutting Concrete

We contacted A-Core our specialty sub contractor that used truck mounted hydraulic saw to do the dirty work. After a brief interruption for truck repairs the job was completed and the stairs were installed.

New Stairs

Gaining access to the basement meant no more ladders and time to clean up the place.

Cutting stucco

Lead paint was located by pre testing and during the demolition phase much of the stucco that had lead paint on it required removal. This was our first experience with stucco removal in a lead safe way.To accomplish this task we initially trained our new employees about LSWP and provided all the necessary protective clothing and safety equipment.

Work site protection

As per the RRP rule, we cordoned off the work area too. We discovered that there is no body of knowledge out there yet on best practices on how to do this efficiently yet. We tried our best as you can see to protect the ground and recoup the water.We worked in two man teams and sprayed water to keep the dust down. Cutting stucco with a diamond blade and peeling it down worked the best for us. Keep in mind that this was done during freezing conditions and you can begin to appreciate the complexity of the project. We also used LSWP when removing tile in the bathroom. and several of the leaded windows. Tile although fairly encapsulated can cause lead dust when the tiles are pulverized and we did not want to take any chances. Doing dust free demolition is not and easy task but is paramount to the safety of the employees the owners and the environment

Saw cut

I am working behind the scenes now with NARI and the EPA on a national and local level to share the knowledge professional remodelers are learning about best management practices on how to accomplish LSWP in efficiently and practically. Lets face, contractors are all in this boat together and pioneering techniques to accomplish the same goal.

tearing out the old

The Claw

This phase started almost immediately after we determined what was slated to be salvaged for reuse. Protection of the floors was accomplished with taped down Masonite and Duct Tape. It was determined early on that since the scope of work included so much of the home that removing all of the lath and plaster was going to save time and money in the long run. With a flat roof there was an unknown amount of insulation in the ceiling and energy efficiency will be a serious concern. 70 yards of debris were generated and lots of the wood was taken to recycling as well as 900 lbs of metal. Four of the team worked for a week removing debris.

Dust protection masks

Dust of any kind is not healthy to breath so eye protection and dust protection were used regularly. Once exposed, several framing deficiencies were found and fixed.We also eliminated all of the plumbing and found multiple hazardous electrical issues much of which was caused by alterations done by an earlier remodel. The entire electrical system was removed as well. Often starting over is the safest and most efficient way to go. Once the palate was clean we could begin to rebuild. Confirming the locations of components that were hidden allowed for several minor plan modifications, none of which added cost to the project for the owners. Occasionally we find buried treasures or old artifacts that give a glimpse into the builders or the previous owners, unfortunately nothing cool was found on this project. Sometimes we do what I call a surgical demolition by “removing as little a s possible but as much as necessary” Every case is a little different. In this instance, no serious hidden deficiencies or defects were found.

Kitchen South wall

As any Professional Remodeler knows, proper pre renovation documentation is vital to show prospective clients, and remind the owners what the project looked like prior to starting the job. Otherwise when the big tour happens at the end, no one has any idea what you started with

Kitchen North wall

(This has happened on more than one occasion I am sad to say). As we say, a picture paints a thousand words. You can see this was a cramped situation. We are fortunate enough to have the home to ourselves allowing us to work on all aspects at the same time. We also have the

The only bathroom

luxury of having the ability to turn off utilities. This seems like the harshest winter in recent history which added another element of courage.Occasionally we need to do our work and have the home back to being occupied nightly.