Asbestos Siding Removal in Reading, PA
AbateGuard Asbestos Removal takes off cement asbestos siding from Reading homes and disposes of it legally, without breaking it up on site. We handle the notification paperwork, the containment on the ground, and the landfill manifest. Call (610) 673-3720 to get the exterior measured and priced.
Asbestos siding removal is the controlled detachment and disposal of asbestos-cement shingles from a building exterior. Panels are removed whole with nails pulled rather than cut or snapped, then wrapped, manifested and landfilled. The service suits homeowners in Reading, PA re-siding, replacing windows or selling a property.
Asbestos-cement siding, often called Transite shingle, was nailed onto thousands of Berks County houses between the 1920s and the late 1970s. Intact, weathered shingles on a wall are not an active hazard. The problem starts when someone drills, snaps, power-washes or pry-bars them off during a re-siding job, because breaking the cement matrix releases fibers into the yard and the air around the work.
This service exists for the moment you decide to change the exterior. Contractors installing vinyl, fiber cement or insulation will usually refuse to work over or around asbestos shingle, and window replacement, soffit repair and even a simple exterior electrical run all require disturbing the same material. Removing it properly clears the path, removes a disclosure item from a future sale, and keeps broken shingle out of the soil beside the foundation.
AbateGuard works to Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and EPA NESHAP requirements for asbestos-cement exterior material. Our crews are licensed and trained, the shingles come off whole rather than demolished, and every load leaves with a waste manifest you keep. We give a written scope and a square-foot price before work begins, coordinate with your siding installer so the wall is not left open, and clean the perimeter ground rather than leaving fragments behind for you to rake up.
What Our Asbestos Siding Removal Service Covers
Work begins with a site walk and measurement of the exterior in square feet, including gable ends, dormers and any porch skirting. If the material has not been confirmed, a sample goes to an accredited lab; asbestos-cement siding typically runs 10 to 15 percent chrysotile. We then file the required state notification and, where the job triggers it, allow the waiting period before mobilizing.
Asbestos siding is handled as an exterior, non-friable job, which means the controls are different from indoor abatement. Ground cover of 6-mil poly is laid out beneath the work face and weighted, shrubs and AC condensers are covered, and windows are closed. Crews wear respirators and disposable suits. The shingles are wetted with amended water to suppress dust, then each nail is cut or pulled with a shingle ripper so the panel releases whole. Nothing is snapped over a knee, dropped from height or run through a saw. Panels are carried down, not thrown, and stacked into lined, labeled disposal bags or a lined dumpster.
What is included: notification filing, engineering controls and containment, wetting, whole-panel removal, nail and fragment recovery, felt or building paper removal where it is contaminated, bagging, transport to a landfill permitted for asbestos waste, and the signed waste manifest. Visual clearance of the ground and a written completion package are part of the price. Air monitoring is available and is sometimes requested by lenders or commercial owners.
Timeline for a typical Reading rowhome or small single-family runs one to two working days for 1,000 to 1,500 square feet. Larger two-and-a-half story homes with dormers and detached garages take three to four days. Add lead time for lab turnaround and state notification, usually about a week from your go-ahead. Weather matters: high wind halts exterior removal, and we schedule around it rather than working through it.
Benefits of Professional Asbestos Siding Removal
Panels Come Off Whole
The single biggest factor in fiber release is breakage. Our crews pull or cut nails and lift each shingle intact instead of prying and snapping. That keeps dust down, keeps fragments out of your lawn and soil, and keeps the disposal volume and cost predictable.
Notification And Manifest Handled
Pennsylvania notification filing, labeled containers, a licensed asbestos landfill and the signed waste manifest are all part of the job. You receive the paperwork trail, which is what a buyer, insurer or municipal inspector will ask for later.
Priced By The Square Foot
You get a measured written scope with a square-foot rate, disposal included, before anything is touched. Dormers, gables and garage walls are counted up front so the invoice matches the quote unless you add scope yourself.
Re-Siding Stays On Schedule
We coordinate with your siding or window contractor so the wall sheathing is not left exposed to weather between trades. Removal, clearance and the new install are sequenced so you are not paying two crews to wait on each other.
Yard And Landscaping Protected
Poly ground cover, covered shrubs and protected mechanical units mean the work face is the only area affected. At the end we recover loose nails and shingle fragments from the perimeter soil and mulch beds rather than leaving them for you.
Licensed, Trained Crews
Every technician on an AbateGuard exterior job is trained to Pennsylvania and EPA standards for asbestos-containing material, works in respiratory protection, and follows a written work plan. Insurance certificates are provided on request before mobilization.
How Our Asbestos Siding Removal Process Works
Measure And Confirm
We walk the exterior, measure every elevation in square feet, note access constraints like second-story dormers or tight alley setbacks, and sample the shingle if lab confirmation is not already on file.
Written Scope And Notification
You receive a fixed square-foot quote covering removal, disposal and paperwork. On acceptance we file the required state notification and schedule the crew around the notification period and the weather forecast.
Site Setup
Poly ground cover is laid and weighted along the work face, landscaping and mechanicals are covered, windows are closed, and warning signage marks the work area. Crews suit up and don respiratory protection.
Wetted Whole-Panel Removal
Shingles are misted with amended water, nails are cut or pulled, and each panel is lifted off intact and carried down. Contaminated felt and building paper are removed with it. No sawing, snapping or dropping.
Containment And Disposal
Panels are stacked into labeled, lined bags or a lined dumpster, sealed, and transported to a landfill permitted to accept asbestos waste. The signed manifest comes back to you.
Clearance And Handoff
We complete a visual inspection of the wall and the surrounding ground, recover nails and fragments, remove poly, and deliver the completion package. The sheathing is then ready for your siding installer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about asbestos siding removal
Asbestos siding removal is priced per square foot of wall area, and most Reading homes fall in a range that covers removal, containment, transport and landfill disposal. A small rowhome elevation costs far less than a two-and-a-half story home with dormers and a detached garage. Call (610) 673-3720 for a measured written quote.
Siding over asbestos-cement shingle is sometimes possible but usually creates problems later. Furring strips require hundreds of fasteners driven through the material, and any future window, wiring or repair work re-exposes it. Removal also eliminates the disclosure item when you sell. Your siding contractor may decline to install over it at all.
Pennsylvania requires notification to the Department of Labor and Industry for asbestos abatement projects above set thresholds, and AbateGuard files it as part of the job. Local building permits may separately apply to the re-siding work that follows. We tell you which filings your specific scope triggers before we start.
Removal on a typical Reading single-family home of 1,000 to 1,500 square feet of siding takes one to two working days. Larger homes with dormers, porches or outbuildings run three to four days. Add roughly a week of lead time beforehand for lab results and the state notification period.
Occupants can normally stay in the home during exterior siding removal because the work happens outside the building envelope. We ask that windows on the active wall stay closed, that children and pets stay out of the fenced work area, and that vehicles be moved off the driveway near the work face.
Lab confirmation is required before the material can be handled as asbestos or ruled out. Asbestos-cement siding cannot be identified reliably by sight, though wavy-butt and shake-pattern shingles on pre-1980 Reading homes are very often positive. Sampling is inexpensive and results typically return in three to five business days.
The shingles are sealed in labeled, lined containers and hauled to a landfill permitted by the state to accept asbestos waste. Asbestos-cement siding cannot go in a regular dumpster, curbside pickup or a construction recycling stream. You receive the signed waste manifest documenting where the material went.
AbateGuard backs the removal with a written completion package that includes the notification, the waste manifest, the visual clearance record and any air monitoring results. If a later inspection finds asbestos material remaining within our documented scope, we return and remove it at no additional charge.
Service Areas
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