asbestos - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

mikec · 07-25-2007, 04:07 PM

I've got 32 square of asbestos siding to take off. The haz-mat dumpster is good for 8 ton. I think i should be good, and not exceed this, but I thought it best to put it out there and see if anyone has any insight.

roofwiz74 · 07-25-2007, 05:51 PM

are you trained in removal?not only do you need a dumpster but all kinds of gear.If you break it and make it friable you are doing the worst there.by itself hanging on the wall it isn't dangerous.it's when you start to break it and release it into the air.
The best way to do it is to get it wet.no dust.we used to have a special roof cutter that sprayed it with water to keep it safe.might want to check it out.the class is only like 8 hrs.that is unless you are in the biz of removing it,then it'll take awhile longer.
if you start to break all that siding off and it's a windy day and it's dry and blowing dust everywhere you are gonna get in some trouble.that is if you get caught.

mikec · 07-25-2007, 06:01 PM

Thanks roofwiz
My wife is an enviromental scientist with an asbestos liscense. Believe me she's got me set up. In this state(CT) you have to break 3 shingles for it to be friable. I'm sure I'll break about 300. I have to line the ground with plastic, no friable matierial can touch soil. Then of course the mask, and plastic bags.

ModernStyle · 07-25-2007, 07:52 PM

Hire illegal aliens to hold the bags

reveivl · 07-25-2007, 07:55 PM

I tried asbestos remediation years ago, when the temperature was high. The hoops you gotta jump through....

The type of asbestos you're dealing with is one of the least (most contained) out there. That being said, you don't want to screw with the stuff.

Have you ever been to Fort Knox? The asbestos is loose on the ground there, it occurs naturally, you can bend down and literally pick the stuff up out of the rocks and crumble it and watch it blow away...

ModernStyle · 07-25-2007, 08:14 PM

I was painting an exterior in an older part of town last year and we watched 2 hillbillies taking asbestos shingle siding off of a house. No protective equipment, no bags to put it in, not even as much as a dust mask. They came down to where we were working covered in dust and asking if we had any cigarettes, nothing like a smoke after asbestos.

roofwiz74 · 07-25-2007, 08:55 PM

yeah the abestes coats your stuff and the carcinagins just go straight in.
on a side note,back in my day as a vol fire fighter,the first they did after being tuff and wearing no scba,was to fire up a smoke.take into mind these homes for the most part are all abestes materials built back in the day.I was the puss,I wore my stuff even when pulling ceilings.
It's bad stuff if you aren't careful.take care and be safe.just think it used to be safe to use lead for paint.I'm no advocate for anti government organizations,but you have got to wonder about a administration that would approve these things for mass production and use.did you know they used to seal cans of food with lead?scary.I'm glad I'm an organic man.I grow all my own food for the most part.next year I get my own beef.no antibiotics,hormones.....sry diff post.eat healthy.

Big Bob · 07-27-2007, 03:32 PM

Don't let the wife over Engr this thing.

Read your osha / and know what the local codes will require.

use only long term crews as your team... you don't need new guy crap on this.

Asbestos is great stuff as long as you don't break it up and try to smoke it.
ok just don't inhale, but what fun is that.

thom · 07-27-2007, 04:14 PM

Back when I was young we worked with this stuff, without protection. My good friend, heating contractor, died from it 2 years ago.

JustaFramer · 07-27-2007, 09:28 PM

As long a friable situation isn't created it's harmless. From what I hear concrete silica dust health problems are going to make asbesto look like cotton candy.

skyhook · 07-28-2007, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikec

I've got 32 square of asbestos siding to take off. The haz-mat dumpster is good for 8 ton. I think i should be good, and not exceed this, but I thought it best to put it out there and see if anyone has any insight.

I don't see it weighing much more than laminated comp shingles. In round numbers comp = 400# per square, 32 square = 6.4 tons.

mikec · 07-28-2007, 05:00 AM

Thank you skyhook.
Justa, you're right about the silica. When I worked in house at The Hartford insurance they were setting up the loss control lab with some very expensive equipment to test silica. The lab director told me that the insurance industry believes silica claims are going to take a big toll on them in the near future.
Fiberglass insulation will become regulated eventually too. My wife has been to a few seminars where she learned that fiberglass will be treated like asbestos in the near future. Imagine what that will be like in the remodeling world.