Asbestos Abatement

Asbestos abatement is the process of removing asbestos from your home. While asbestos siding is often the most visible source of asbestos in older homes, it’s important to note that asbestos was used in a wide range of products used in home construction in the past, including floor tile, pipe wrapping, shingles, roofing felt, insulation, drywall, and joint compound.

Asbestos abatement is typically performed by licensed, certified contractors who use specialized equipment to ensure that no asbestos fibers escape into the surrounding air or areas of your home. Airborne asbestos fibers are very small so it takes specialized equipment and procedures to ensure that no fibers are released into your home when asbestos is being removed. If the asbestos is confined to one area of your home, asbestos removal will also often involve sealing off that area from other parts of your home, in order to guarantee that no asbestos fibers escape.

Asbestos abatement is a very specialized service offered by a relatively small number of contractors. Due to the licensing, training, and specialized equipment involved (as well as disposal fees to properly dispose of any asbestos removed), it’s a relatively expensive service, and easily runs into the thousands of dollars for most jobs.

If you’re worried that your home may contain asbestos, the first step is testing for asbestos, as not all older homes contain asbestos. What may look exactly like asbestos siding could in fact be cement siding, as asbestos was an additive to cement and drywall and other products to make them more fire-retardant, making it impossible to tell simply from looking at it if it contains asbestos.