Asbestos Removal Cost & Quotes
For an Asbestos Removal quote there are many variables to take into account. A reputable firm such as Hazmat has many things to balance when building an asbestos quote.
They are trying to keep within your budget, keep the asbestos removal safe, be competitive and ensure they make zero mistakes in the process. They are no mistakes or second chances in the asbestos industry. There are many examples of botched Asbestos jobs, we have been called in to fix many of these.
We have given a typical Class B removal one day job as an example. An asbestos removal for Class B would entail an asbestos fibre cement sheet cladding on a garage, house or soffit as an example. The below is what a reputable company would work through.
*Staff
Every site must have an assigned accredited “Asbestos Supervisor” assigned to the job.
This supervisor has been approved by Worksafe NZ in terms of experience, as well as holding additional CPC Supervisor qualifications. In addition an Asbestos company must only use asbestos removalists which have completed their CPC removalist course and are issued with correct Personal Protection Equipment. This includes an asbestos face fitted P3 mask assigned to the specific person, steelcap boots & appropriate fitting coveralls, filters, booties and gloves.
In addition HazMat ensures that within every team we have at least one current workplace first aider. In addition every worker is working toward their own continuing performance development achieving building sitesafe passports, working with heights, confined spaces, goldcard supervisors & more. This type of ongoing training ensures a trouble free and smooth job onsite. Ask any reputable asbestos removal company for evidence of their Worksafe Asbestos Removal Licence, Facefit testing Statements for their workers and evidence of their CPC training at a minimum.
*Consumables
Even for a straight forward one day job, it is not uncommon for an Asbestos worker to have a complete change of PPE 3 x throughout the day. This allows for any drinks or food breaks or damage. This has a cost per worker of around $70 per worker, per day. This may includes coveralls, booties, gloves, alcohol wipes, primary and sometimes secondary filters, cleansing wipes, Towels and Tak rags. In addition at least $400 to $500 worth of tapes and polythene is not uncommon to go through on a Class B simple asbestos garage removal.
*Hazardous Waste
The weight and physical size / amount of Asbestos which needs to be taken and disposed of to hazardous Landfill.
This is a costly exercise for an asbestos removalist firm as every skerit of asbestos must be double bagged or double lined with two layers of 200 micron polythene as a minimum. It is not uncommon for a hazardous removal tip /dumping cost from asbestos cladding for a single garage to be around $700 +GST including transport costs. This is just for the rubbish!
*The Paperwork
An asbestos removal quote generally takes around 2-3 hours to prepare properly to ensure you have covered off all the eventualities. Every Asbestos removal also must have a specific Asbestos Removal Control Plan (ARCP). This ARCP describes the physical works which will be undertaken (using what tools) and how they will be done safely and with what controls in place (e.g. fencing/barriers/signage) This is usually written up by the manager in conjunction with the asbestos supervisor weeks prior to the job starting. Allow 2 hours.
Every worksite also requires a Site Specific Safety Plan. (SSSP) again, this is drawn up by the manager and supervisor and is looking for any risk or hazard specific to this site which may make this job dangerous. Of course we have a standard checklist to work through BUT there are always additional hazards as every site is different.
HazMat are looking for anything that may cause harm to our workers/members of the public or occupants etc. This SSSP can take up to 2 hours including an additional 30 minutes onsite the morning prior, to check and make sure if anything has changed, so the risks need to be reassessed in conjunction with the ARCP/SSSP.
WorkSafe Notification must be processed a minimum of 5 working days prior to a removal starting.
This is a formal online notification which gives worksafe all the necessary information to ensure they are comfortable with HazMat performing this removal job. To pull the information together for this and to submit usually takes 1-2 hours.
Onsite forms ARCP/SSSP/Onsite Induction/Sign-in forms/Emergency Evacuation /Toolbox Meeting must be discussed/worked through and signed prior to workers starting onsite. Allow at least 30-45 minutes.
Asbestos Setup and Setdown at completion of a job:
Generally speaking for a one day job usually 40% of our time will be spent setting up the area with safety barriers, laying polythene to protect flooring, running our safety brief/meeting, setting up our three stage decontamination tent as well as set-down of the above said items safely and disposing of appropriately at the end of a day. This is all part of dealing with such a hazardous toxic substance such as Asbestos.
The Sign off – Third Party Asbestos Clearance Certificate:
Once an Asbestos removal is complete by HazMat we engage with a third party assessment company.
They are independently qualified by Worksafe NZ to be able to assess our removal and give an impartial clearance to ensure we have achieved a job well done. This is your validation that the area is safe again for occupation.
Cost for this is between $350 to $500.
So you still may be wondering how much does an Asbestos removal cost?
In the case of an average Asbestos cladding garage removal we have performed in Wellington from $3600 through to $6500.
The variables which bring the cost up are height, access, distance from neighbours, an already clean worksite/area, whether a complete demo or partial is required, cladding material, whether there is insulation to remove, anything already stored in the shed, electrical considerations, any additional hazards onsite and urgency of the job to be done.
With the variables highlighted above it is tough to give ballparks as every job is different.
However the great news is HazMat offers free asbestos removal quotes in the greater Wellington (Lower North Island) and Canterbury areas.
So for testing, expert advice and free removal quotes be sure to contact HazMat first.