Asbestos removal and testing in Manhattan

Most Manhattan asbestos work starts with a renovation. You want to redo a kitchen, take up old parquet or open a wall, and the building, the architect or the Department of Buildings wants to know what’s in the materials first. That means an asbestos inspection, and if anything is found, licensed removal before the contractor can start.

We do both, and we know how Manhattan buildings run: the alteration agreement, the managing agent, the work hours, the freight elevator and the neighbors on the other side of the wall.

Why Manhattan jobs are different

• Board and managing agent approval. Most co-ops and condos want the asbestos scope, our insurance certificate and a schedule before work starts. We send the managing agent what they ask for, in the format they ask for it.
• COIs that name the right parties. Certificates of insurance naming the building, the board and the managing agent, issued fast so your start date doesn’t slip.
• Building work hours. We work to your building’s hours and book the freight elevator and service entrance in advance.
• Permits that need paperwork. A DOB alteration permit needs an asbestos investigation (ACP-5) first. When removal is more than a minor amount, it’s an asbestos project with its own filing and notices, and we handle that too.
• Neighbors close by. Sealed containment, negative air and independent air monitoring keep the work inside your apartment, and clearance testing confirms it before the rebuild starts.

What we find in Manhattan buildings

The age of the building tells us a lot about what to test.

• Prewar co-ops and walk-ups. Black mastic under parquet and herringbone floors, pipe and riser insulation, boiler room insulation, and plaster or joint compound that can contain asbestos. Lead paint is common under newer layers.
• Postwar apartment buildings (1945–1980). 9x9 vinyl floor tiles and their mastic, sheetrock joint compound, window caulking, and insulation in mechanical spaces.
• Office and commercial floors. Floor tile and mastic under carpet, ceiling tiles, and fireproofing in some towers, often found during a tenant fit-out.

Not every old material contains asbestos. Testing tells you exactly what needs removal, so you don’t pay to remove what doesn’t.

Neighborhoods we work in

All of Manhattan, including the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Midtown, Murray Hill, Kips Bay, Gramercy, Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Greenwich Village, the West Village, SoHo, Tribeca, the Financial District, Battery Park City, the Lower East Side, the East Village, Harlem, Morningside Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood and Roosevelt Island.

Every size of job