What does an asbestos and lead paint survey change before demolition starts

Nothing about an old popcorn ceiling or a sheet of sixty year old vinyl flooring looks dangerous, which is the problem. The running record demolition redding ben bijnsdorp holds shows that most delays on older jobs in Redding, CA come from material that was never tested, not from the demolition itself. A survey before the tear down turns an unknown into a schedule.

Which materials get sampled?

Texture sprayed on ceilings, joint compound, vinyl flooring and the black mastic under it, duct wrap, pipe insulation, roofing felt and window glazing are the usual suspects in a house built before the late 1980s. Plaster and lath walls sometimes have asbestos in the finish coat. A certified inspector takes small samples from each material, and a lab reports back in a few days.

What about lead paint?

Paint on a house built before 1978 is presumed to contain lead until a test says otherwise. Trim, window sashes and old doors are the most common spots because they were painted thick, many times. Sanding, scraping or breaking lead paint puts fine dust in the air, so the crew follows a lead-safe procedure with plastic, wet cleanup and a high efficiency vacuum.

What happens when a sample comes back positive?

Work stops in that area. A licensed abatement contractor removes the material, seals it and hauls it away, and the area is cleared by air testing before demolition resumes. A demolition crew does not take out regulated asbestos material itself. A small area of floor mastic can mean a few days of delay, and a whole ceiling of texture can mean longer.

How does that change the order of work?

Abatement goes first, then the demolition, then the rough trades. Rooms that test clean can often continue while an abated room is closed off, as long as the containment and air handling are separated. A drywall wall that is clean can come out with a reciprocating saw on the same day a neighboring room is under containment, if the plan separates them.

Why test before the work begins?

Because a test after the first swing is too late. Dust from a broken wall has already spread through the house, and the cleanup becomes a regulated project. Houses around Downtown Redding and the neighborhoods that grew up along the Sacramento River in the middle of the last century are exactly the age where this comes up. A short survey keeps the whole job on one calendar.