Tacoma Asbestos Removal arranges asbestos testing and surveys in Tacoma, WA before any wall, ceiling or floor is opened. An AHERA-accredited building inspector walks the work area, groups materials that look and behave alike into homogeneous areas, takes bulk samples of each and sends them to a lab for polarized light microscopy. The written survey that comes back decides what has to be removed, how much of it there is, and which notices follow.
In Tacoma the report also feeds the demolition permit, since the City requires every demolition applicant to have an AHERA survey done before work starts. We set up surveys for remodels and teardowns in Tacoma and surrounding communities, including University Place and Puyallup.
A renovation survey covers the materials a project will disturb, not the whole house. Replacing a bathroom floor means sampling the floor layers and perhaps the wall behind the vanity, not the attic. PSCAA requires an AHERA building inspector for any renovation other than an owner-occupied single-family home, and only that inspector can declare a suspect material asbestos-free. A summary goes to everyone who may touch the material and a copy stays on site.
Before a demolition, the survey extends to the entire structure, including exterior materials such as siding, roofing and caulking. PSCAA requires an AHERA inspector here even for an owner-occupied house, because no owner exception applies to demolition. The results feed both the PSCAA Asbestos/Demolition Notification and the City of Tacoma permit, and decide what must be abated before the building comes down.
PSCAA makes one exception to the inspector requirement: the owner of a single-family home who lives there may do the survey for a remodel personally, following the agency’s Asbestos Survey Guidance on sampling. It stops at that case. Rentals, condominiums and mixed-use buildings are excluded, so is demolishing the same house, and a positive result still brings the normal work-practice and disposal rules.
Many questions start with one material, such as a sheetrock wall or a ceiling texture. One lab result tells you whether that sample held more than 1% asbestos, but it is not a survey: it says nothing about the other layers, the quantities or the rest of the work area. Because PSCAA asks for a survey of the suspect materials in the work area, a lone sample usually becomes part of a fuller survey once the project takes shape.
A useful survey is written for the project, not filed away. Before removal is scheduled it should settle the following.
Positive results need measurements, because the numbers set the paperwork. PSCAA’s thresholds are 10 linear feet of friable pipe insulation and 48 square feet of other friable material per structure per calendar year; above them a notification is filed before removal, and larger jobs carry a 10-day wait. Washington L&I separately requires notice before asbestos projects over 48 square feet or 10 linear feet.
A survey covers only the materials and areas it describes. An older report still helps when what it sampled matches today’s work, but a project that grows, say a kitchen that now loses a wall or a second floor layer, needs the new materials surveyed. If material the survey missed turns up mid-job, PSCAA can waive its waiting period, but the notice is still filed.
Not every suspect material has to be sampled. Under PSCAA’s rules a material can be presumed to contain asbestos and handled that way without an inspector’s evaluation, which can make sense when removal is planned anyway. Proving a material is not asbestos is the step that takes an AHERA inspector, except in an owner-occupied single-family remodel.
Survey results lead to the next decision: plaster and drywall removal for wall layers that tested positive, or pre-demolition asbestos abatement when the whole building is coming down. Tacoma Asbestos Removal can scope either from the same report.
Is this a remodel or a teardown, and what will it open up: a floor, a wall, a ceiling, or the entire building? The address and a line about the plans are enough to start. We'll get back to you soon with an estimate or any questions we have. Estimates are free and there's no obligation.
Call (253) 322-1760