A survey your schedule can count on.
Washington won't let a wall come down until someone accredited has said what's in it. I do that part — on your timeline, with a report your abatement sub can bid from and your superintendent can keep on site.
What has to happen before work starts
Three sets of rules meet at the start of most renovation and demolition jobs here, and all three start from the same document.
- L&I. Before any work that could disturb asbestos, the owner has to have a good-faith inspection done by an accredited inspector, and bidders get the written report before they bid (WAC 296-62-07721). No contractor may start without it. The fine starts at $250 a day, and the job stops until the report is in hand.
- The clean air agency. Puget Sound Clean Air Agency covers King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap; Northwest Clean Air Agency covers Whatcom, Skagit, Island and San Juan. Puget Sound requires the survey from an AHERA-accredited building inspector, a copy on site, and a demolition notification with a 10-day wait — whether or not any asbestos was found.
- Lead. Renovation in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities follows the EPA lead renovation (RRP) rules, administered in Washington by the Department of Commerce, unless a certified inspector has determined the components being disturbed are free of lead-based paint. I'm a certified Lead Inspector, so a lead inspection from me can be that determination. It doesn't replace your crew's exposure assessment under L&I's lead-in-construction rule.
Wallboard is where jobs get surprised
L&I's directive on wallboard systems (DD 23.30) is stricter than the federal approach. If asbestos turns up in the joint compound, the wall system can't be reported as asbestos-free. Even trace or under-1% results bring work-practice, training and respiratory requirements with them.
I sample and report wall systems so you know which rules apply before the crew starts cutting, not after a sub asks.
When the scope changes
The survey has to cover what the work actually disturbs. If a new wall, a roof section or a floor gets added to the job, I extend the survey to cover it and issue an addendum, so the paperwork keeps matching the work.
Independent of the abatement bid
I don't do removal and take no referral fees. The quantities in the inventory aren't shaped for anyone's benefit, including mine.
Turnaround
Field work is usually a single day for a typical structure. Standard lab analysis takes three business days, and rush is available. Tell me your notification or permit date and I'll tell you honestly whether it works.
Paperwork you'll ask for
General liability, contractor's pollution and professional liability coverage. Certificates of insurance, a W-9 and a Statement of Qualifications are available on request. Registered Washington State vendor.
What you get back
Written for the people who actually use it: the permitting authority, the abatement contractor, and whoever opens the building file next.
Material inventory
Every suspect material grouped by homogeneous area, with location, quantity, condition and photographs, plus a figure marking sample and material locations. An abatement contractor should be able to bid from it without a second walk.
Laboratory results
Accredited laboratory analysis with chain of custody, reported material by material.
Lead findings
Where paint will be disturbed, lead results by component, kept separate from the asbestos findings so each abatement scope stays clean.
A stated boundary
What was and wasn't accessed, said plainly. Nobody should assume the survey covered the inside of a wall it didn't open.
A summary up front
One page with the findings that matter, for the site, the notification and every sub who needs to know what not to touch.
Oversight and clearance
Once abatement is scheduled, I can monitor it and run the visual inspection and clearance sampling that closes it out. Because I didn't do the removal, the clearance carries weight with the owner, the inspector and the next buyer.
| Facility | Where | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Private club | Seattle · 2026 | Abatement clearance, for a general contractor |
| Military installation | Pierce County · 2026 | Renovation surveys, seven buildings, asbestos and lead |
| Acute-care hospital | Tacoma · 2026 | Renovation survey |
| Aerospace manufacturing | Snohomish County · 2026 | Roof renovation survey |
Client names are withheld out of respect for confidentiality. References are available on request.
How quotes work
Two buildings the same size can need very different surveys, so commercial work is quoted job by job rather than from a rate sheet. Send the address, what's being disturbed and your deadline. 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 for a demolition survey takes more time on site.
- Oversight and clearance. Billed by the day or half day, with air sample analysis passed through.
- 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 contractors ask
Can the owner skip the survey and treat everything as asbestos?
Washington allows an owner to presume materials contain asbestos and handle them that way instead of testing. In practice that means every presumed material gets abatement-level handling, which usually costs far more than finding out which ones actually need it.
The building is newer. Does it still need a survey?
Usually, yes. Puget Sound Clean Air Agency's survey requirement doesn't depend on the building's age, and asbestos-containing products stayed on the market long after most people assume they disappeared.
What if the crew finds something the survey didn't cover?
Stop work on that material and call me. Materials hidden behind finishes are common in older buildings. I'll sample it as quickly as the schedule allows and add it to the survey.
Do you do the abatement too?
No, and that's deliberate. Cadence does no removal and takes no referral fees, so nothing in a survey is a lead-in to a job I'd bid on.
Tell me what's being disturbed
Address, scope of work, and the date you need the report. That's enough for me to quote it.