Survey in design, not in demolition.
Hazardous materials found after the bid become change orders. Found during design, they become a line in the specifications. I survey to your scope early, and report it in a form your documents can carry.
Why early pays
The survey defines the abatement scope, and the abatement scope lands in Division 02 of the specifications, typically 02 26 00 Hazardous Material Assessment, 02 82 00 Asbestos Remediation and 02 83 00 Lead Remediation. If the survey comes after the drawings are set, those sections are written around assumptions, and bidders price the uncertainty.
Abatement also tends to sit on the critical path. Knowing its extent during design lets the schedule, the phasing and the budget account for it from the start.
Surveyed to your boundary
A good-faith inspection has to cover what the work will disturb. Send me the demolition plan or the areas of work and I'll survey to that boundary. Anything I couldn't reach gets named plainly, so the documents can carry an allowance or a requirement for further sampling instead of an assumption.
If the design scope grows, the survey is extended to match.
Two Washington specifics worth knowing
- Wallboard. Under L&I's directive on wallboard systems (DD 23.30), asbestos found in the joint compound means the wall system can't be reported as asbestos-free, even when a composite result would average it away. That affects how partitions are specified for demolition.
- Lead. In pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities, a certified inspector's determination that components are free of lead-based paint takes those components out of the EPA lead renovation (RRP) work practices. I'm a certified Lead Inspector, and running asbestos and lead as one survey costs less than two mobilizations.
What I hand over
A material inventory by homogeneous area with locations, quantities, condition and photographs; accredited laboratory results with chain of custody; and the survey boundary stated in writing. A figure marking sample and material locations, drawn on your plans when you provide backgrounds.
Where my scope stops
I survey and report. I don't prepare abatement designs or specifications. The survey is built to hand to whoever writes them.
Occupied buildings
Sampling is planned around occupants. Destructive sampling, such as opening walls, ceilings or roofing, is coordinated with the owner in advance.
For proposal teams
A Statement of Qualifications is available on request. Registered Washington State vendor, available for public projects.
Recent surveys
Client names are withheld out of respect for confidentiality. References and project details are available on request.
| Facility | Where | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Acute-care hospital | Tacoma · 2026 | Renovation survey |
| Aerospace manufacturing | Snohomish County · 2026 | Roof renovation survey |
| Military installation | Pierce County · 2026 | Renovation surveys, seven buildings, asbestos and lead |
How quotes work
Surveys during design are quoted from your areas of work rather than from a rate sheet. Send the address, the building's age and size, and the demolition plan or areas of work. I reply within one business day with a written quote, or with the questions I need answered to write one.
What sets the price
- Quantity and size. Larger jobs are quoted on the quantity of material or the square footage involved.
- The work involved. Some materials and buildings take far more time than their sample count suggests: roofing, layered flooring, crawlspaces, ceilings over occupied space.
- Destructive sampling. Opening walls, flooring or roofing takes more time on site, and in an occupied building it may need scheduling around people.
- Figures. Marking sample and material locations on your plans is included.
- Lab turnaround. Standard analysis is included. Rush costs more.
- Travel. Seattle and the Puget Sound region are covered. Farther afield is quoted.
What every quote states
- The scope and the boundary of the work
- What the price is based on, usually the quantity of material or the square footage
- Turnaround and the date you'll have the report
- What isn't included, so anything beyond the scope is agreed before it's done
Things design teams ask
When in design should the survey happen?
As soon as the extent of demolition is known well enough to survey, typically late schematic design or early design development. If the scope grows later, the survey is extended to cover it.
Can you survey an occupied building?
Yes. Sampling is planned around the people using the building, and anything destructive is agreed with the owner before I open it up.
Do you include lead paint?
Where paint will be disturbed, yes. I'm a Washington State–certified Lead Inspector, and the combined report keeps each hazard's findings separate so each specification section stays clean.
Early in design?
Send the address, the building's age and size, and the areas of work. I'll tell you what the survey involves and what it costs.