OK, the information about lead and asbestos comes to you – and before you click away, I know this stuff might sound boring, but it’s actually pretty fascinating because you can see every dollar we’re saving. I’m Giddy. In the past, gut renovations would have relied on professional contractors to hire experts to do the necessary work. Typical GCs don’t offer budgets or DIY ideas. We don’t skimp on things like foundations or ask homeowners to DIY asbestos just because we have to guarantee long-term construction (especially for public projects). arch formFor example, the company is a high-end company and hired the best talent in Portland for a major renovation. That meant the most expensive subwoofer that guaranteed very high quality work that would last forever (but it certainly stacked up). It was great for this house (hard to swallow at times, but thankful it was done right and has been done in the past). Now, regarding the guest cottage, I don’t want to spend money on it unless I really need it. And I’m learning so much by managing projects myself (no GC). I get multiple quotes and ask experts what they recommend I tackle in-house instead of hiring someone. I was surprised by the answer regarding lead paint and asbestos. I will share it with you today.
Now, I have to give a disclaimer: obviously I’m no expert on household toxic substances, and the internet might recommend against doing these things yourself (by the way, what we’re DIYing is legal). Still, all the subs who toured our guest cottages gave us the exact same advice about where doing it ourselves would easily save money and be just as safe/secure as they would be if they did it. Therefore, this is all anecdotal and I do not take any legal responsibility. Because I’m not giving advice here, just telling you what I’ve learned and what we’re thinking of doing.
Asbestos – how much is there and how much does it cost?
The good news was that our house was so old that there was no insulation and there was usually a lot of asbestos in there. According to our inspection report, there may be asbestos present in the linoleum floor (on top of the original wood we want to refinish in the main room) and in the ductwork near the stove (approximately 12 feet). So it’s pretty minimal. But still, I would never have considered doing asbestos abatement myself (keep reading). We had three abatement companies come, conduct an investigation, and submit estimates.
Company A – John
The first company was $7,130. It costs about $4,000 to remove asbestos from the flooring, $2,250 for duct work, and significant prep and legal fees. I obviously didn’t like the quote, but I had never done anything like this before so I wasn’t sure if it was the market price. Thankfully, I was still able to get a quote.
Company B – Leon
The company asked if we wanted to test for asbestos and lead levels, and the lab tests cost $450 (I didn’t know the cost when I agreed, oops). Yes, it seems like a big deal, but he recommended it because he wasn’t sure what was under the linoleum. It turned out that the floor was negative for asbestos! can’t believe it. The cost to remove it in the duct was only $995. But there was asbestos around all the knob and tube wiring, which would cost $1,595 to remove, he said. But he was very clear that we can do this ourselves and most people don’t hire people for this (more on this below). However, building just the ducting costs $995.
Company C – Barry
At this point I knew the flooring was not asbestos so I just asked Barry for a quote for the ductwork. For the same work as Leon, they set me back $1,782 (although Leon charged $450 for research, so I guess they made some money from that).
Our decisions about asbestos abatement and what we can do to DIY it ourselves
I think it’s obvious that I went to Leon from Company B for $995 (I’ve already spent $450 on the test lab). And to save that $1,595, he showed me how to safely remove knobs and tubes that had asbestos encapsulated around them. He told me to wear full personal protective equipment (hazmat suits, masks, etc.), spray it with water from a spray bottle to stabilize it (reducing the chance of loose fibers and particles), clip it with clippers, and put it in a bag. Now, you need to consider where you can legally dump this, but he said this is very DIY-able and most people would do this themselves.
Next time to lead paint
More than just a joke, the fascinating and horrifying historical facts about lead paint. Banned in the late 70’s, most paints before then contained significant amounts of lead (which made them more durable); lead;It is poisonous in all its forms. But I think the reason they realized that it could be so toxic, especially to children’s developing brains, was because lead paint was oddly sweet, so kids were chewing on window frames and eating chipped paint from window frames that fell on the floor. what? ? ? ? However, it is widely accepted that most homes built before the 1970s probably have lead paint underneath the new paint, and that it is only dangerous if it is “disturbed” (i.e., flakes off), if the dust is inhaled, if the pieces are eaten, or if it gets directly into water or soil (which is why you don’t sandblast it off; it’s actually more dangerous). Again, I’m not giving advice here, just passing on my research (which took the deep internet and 6 or so contractors/experts I know with a wealth of knowledge and experience). Don’t worry, we’re mitigating it safely and legally.
Where is the lead?
The good news is that there isn’t a lot of paint in the house. Most rooms have wood paneling or just exposed beams. So it’s mostly the stairs and the second floor room (and the prop room floor). If it’s on a bunch of old drywall, I might just remove it all and replace it, but it’s all on good quality wood panels, so I didn’t demo it.
The first and only estimate for lead paint reduction
Company B (Id., Leon) provided some interesting insights. He says these very old homes may not be able to afford lead paint (at the time, it was a higher grade, more durable paint), and the paint may not have enough lead to cause concern. He had it tested in the lab (included in the same $450 fee as above) and found it contained twice the legal amount, which is actually not that much (the legal amount is 5000 ppm, but ours was 10,000 ppm, or parts per million). It’s pretty minimal. He also reminded me of something he had taught me on the internet. Lead is only really dangerous if it is ingested directly by breathing in the dust or flakes or by eating it. Leon said we could do this ourselves but gave us a quote anyway. He quoted $4,495 to stabilize and prime all the lead paint.
I asked Leon many times how he does it compared to the average DIY homeowner, and he said the process is exactly the same. Don your PPE, get ready, sand with a block sander to scrape away any loose paint to “stabilize” it, and then prime and encapsulate it. So you’ll be going through the exact same process. He would obviously be faster that way, but it’s not a highly skilled job and doesn’t require fancy tools. He honestly thought we should do it ourselves and save $4,495. I agree with Leon’s opinion ^^
Total cost of contracting out lead and asbestos
If we had hired an initial asbestos removal guy ($7,130), added knob and tube asbestos removal (he didn’t quote, but Leon did it for $1,595), then hired lead paint removal ($4,495) and an inspection fee of $450, the cost would have been outrageous. $13,670.
total cost we are paying
I just hired Leon to remove asbestos from my ductwork for $995 + lab fees already spent =. $1,445. We plan to (safely) do the lead paint stabilization and knob and tube mitigation ourselves. I’m so glad I got multiple quotes instead of going to the first company that assumed the flooring contained asbestos without testing. Of course, we may purchase supplies (PPE, spray bottles, scrapers, primers, etc.), but we hope this will be minimal. I also wouldn’t ask my team to help me with this just because it feels a little weird to expose them to known toxic substances, even if we were wearing PPE and were safe. There, they help film the intro, set up a time-lapse, and then take off (I mean, it’s a pretty boring thing to film).
The following is a quote from the Foundation. Very good news is back, thank you. We’re waiting for one more thing before we compare everything and show you what we’re doing.
If anyone has experience doing any of these projects themselves and can offer some tips, please let me know in the comments.
*Photo provided by caitlin green
Source: Emily Henderson – stylebyemilyhenderson.com
