Asbestos removal: To DIY or hire a professional?
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Read about how a Victorian country home owner found asbestos in his cement walls and then investigated whether to DIY or hire a professional to remove the asbestos, and also how much it cost.
John found asbestos in the cement sheeting of his country Victorian home, and understandably wanted to get rid of it safely. Although asbestos doesn't create a health risk unless the material is deteriorated and producing dust, he was planning a larger renovation that would inevitably create lots of asbestos dust for him and his family to breathe in. He initially thought about doing it himself because he thought that it would cost a lot to remove the asbestos but found out that it was actually going to be more risk and effort to remove it himself.
This is why he hired a professional
- Some states won't let you do bigger jobs yourself - so he figured if there were laws against it they were probably there for his protection!
- You need a respirator, protective clothing, plastic sheeting and a vacuum cleaner you don't mind throwing out afterwards - all which are costs you don't incur when you hire a professional, plus you don't have to go buy all the requirements.
- You need to be able to wrap up and safely transport the material to a qualified and certified dump - which he didn't have easy access to.
- It's hard work - breathing through a respirator, doing physical labour in protective clothing and not being able to eat or drink while doing the job all add to the absolute horror of doing the job. You can't even use power tools to make the job easier as they create too much dust to contain.
- You can't remove asbestos in any volume by yourself - it's not a one person job. John didn't have anyone's help which might have meant that the job wasn't complete overnight and he and his family may have needed to find alternative accommodation.
In the end, John paid $1800 to remove 40 square metres of asbestos sheeting, which included a compliance certificate and the 20 m2 affected area. It took 1/2 a day for the company to do it, and they removed the asbestos, vacuumed thoroughly and PWV sprayed the walls. His view was that it was money well spent.
The Department of Human Services Victoria recommends that you call a professional company to remove your asbestos, but they do offer a guide to removing the asbestos as safely as possible which you can find online here.
Asbestos Quotes
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