Are Asbestos Inspections Required Before Demolition or Renovation?

Are you getting ready to demolish or renovate your home or business in Colorado? Buildings of any age are at risk for asbestos contamination, and there are some legal requirements for demolition or renovation you need to be aware of. Here’s what you need to know about asbestos inspections and whether they’re required for your project.

Demolition

In simplest terms, “demolition” encompasses wrecking or taking out any load-supporting component of a building. Whether you’re performing demolition, deconstruction or destructive salvage, you could be subject to state and federal regulations regarding asbestos even if there is no asbestos in the structure.

No matter the size or scope of your demolition project, the building needs to be inspected for asbestos. Your inspector needs to be Colorado certified. Choose your inspector carefully and look for a long track record of service so you can be assured of a job well done.

If asbestos is found on the premises, removal must be performed by a Colorado-certified general abatement contractor (GAC). If the asbestos contains friable materials (those that will easily crumble or flake) or materials that will become friable during demolition, removal must be performed according to Regulation No. 8, Part B.

Before demolition can commence, you need to submit a Demolition Notification Application Form to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE), even if no asbestos was found during inspection. You also need to submit payment of a notification fee. Both items must be completed within a 10 working-day period before demolition.

During the demolition process, you cannot recycle materials that are bonded or contaminated with asbestos. If your building contains non-friable asbestos tile or roofing materials, demolition must proceed in a way the prevents them from becoming friable. Crushing or pneumatic jacking of asbestos materials isn’t permitted. If you’re demolishing a structure by implosion or burning, all asbestos-containing materials must be completely removed before demolition begins.

Renovation

If you’re renovating a home or business, and the property was built before October 12, 1988, your building must be inspected for asbestos by a Colorado-certified asbestos building inspector. The architect or engineer of the structure also needs to submit signed documentation that the building contains no asbestos-containing materials.

If asbestos is found at the property, you need to keep disruption of the materials below trigger levels:

• For single-family residential dwellings, trigger levels are 50 linear feet for pipes, 32 square feet on all other surfaces or the volume of a 55-gallon drum.
• For public and commercial buildings, trigger levels are 260 linear feet for pipes, 160 square feet on all other surfaces or the volume of a 55-gallon drum.

If the volume of asbestos-containing materials to be disturbed in the renovation exceeds these triggers, you need to hire an asbestos abatement contractor to properly remove the materials.

In short, there are legal requirements for demolition or renovation when it comes to asbestos inspections. It is dangerous and illegal to disturb asbestos-containing materials, so protect the health and safety of your community by scheduling an asbestos inspection with HealthSafe Inspections, Inc. before performing any work on your property.

Categorised in: Asbestos Testing

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