Almost everyone has heard of asbestos and knows that it can cause health issues, but you may not really understand what it is, when it was primarily used or what materials may contain it. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has been used in thousands of different materials, including many building materials. The use of asbestos was drastically reduced in the 1980s, so most modern building materials and buildings rarely contain asbestos. If your home or business was built before 1985, it is more likely that it may contain materials with asbestos.
“Remtech Environmental is a highly professional and very responsive company. I would recommend them to those who are looking for a skilled company to handle asbestos remediation.”
★★★★★ 22th August 2018 -Derek H.
Asbestos is generally not harmful unless it is disturbed, but these materials can degrade and deteriorate over time, making it more likely that they can release airborne fibers that can cause cancerous diseases when inhaled. Exposure to these fibers can lead to symptoms decades later. You can’t see or smell asbestos, so if you aren’t sure if your home or business contains asbestos (especially if it was built before 1980), it is a good idea to get it evaluated.
Here at Remtech Environment, we can take samples of various materials in your building and have them evaluated for asbestos. If asbestos is present, we can help with the safe removal and disposal of the problem material. Once the removal is complete, we will complete secondary testing to make sure all asbestos is gone. We have been helping property owners with asbestos in the Apex, North Carolina area for over 20 years. Give us a call today.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was extensively used in construction and manufacturing during the twentieth century due to its heat resistance, strength, and insulating characteristics. However, it is now understood to cause major health concerns if its fibers become airborne and ingested. Our team at Remtech Environmental is well-versed in asbestos and offers a wide range of services to help identify, remove, and dispose of it properly. Some of the common questions we get about asbestos and our services are answered below.
Insulation, roofing shingles, floor tiles, cement, siding, and HVAC duct tape or duct insulation are all places where asbestos might be found on your property.
Asbestos-containing products can discharge microscopic fibers into the air when disturbed. When breathed, these fibers can lodge in the lungs, causing inflammation, scarring, and deadly diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer.
Asbestos is invisible to the human eye. The only way to establish its presence is to have a team, such as us, take samples of various materials in your house and have them tested. If you suspect asbestos on your property, it is important to contact us right away and not disturb it.
Once we complete the removal process, we will do secondary testing to make sure it has all been removed.
You can rely on us for testing, removal, abatement, and inspection.
At Remtech Environmental, we offer a range of services to help handle asbestos present in buildings throughout Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Asheville, Morrisville, Wake Forest, Wendell, Winston-Salem, Apex, Chapel Hill, and Greensboro, North Carolina.
Before we perform asbestos abatement, we begin by taking samples from the building for assessment. Read More →
An asbestos inspection can protect your health and offer peace of mind. Read More →
We are proud to provide professional asbestos removal services. Read More →
Every Apex project follows a documented five-step protocol designed around EPA NESHAP standards and North Carolina's asbestos hazard management rules.
A licensed NC inspector documents every suspect material in the building, with extra attention to historic finishes in downtown Apex properties where preservation matters. Bulk samples target plaster, lath bedding, original siding, pipe wrap, transite flue, popcorn ceiling, joint compound, and floor tile. PLM lab analysis identifies asbestos type and percentage within 24 to 72 hours, and we also flag presumed-asbestos materials that should be left intact and protected if abatement is not strictly required for the planned scope.
We seal off the work zone with 6-mil polyethylene, set up a decontamination chamber, and pull negative pressure with HEPA-filtered air machines. In Apex's older balloon-framed homes, we map and seal vertical wall and chimney chases that would otherwise carry fibers between floors. For occupied downtown commercial buildings, we coordinate with adjoining tenants and the Apex permitting office to schedule containment during low-traffic hours, often early mornings or weekends.
Trained, NC-licensed abatement workers in P100 respirators and Tyvek wet each material before removal. Plaster is taken down in measured sections to preserve adjacent historic features when possible. Pipe wrap and boiler jackets are glove-bagged. Transite siding is unscrewed from the substrate and lowered intact rather than broken. Vinyl-asbestos tile is scored and lifted, and mastic is scraped wet. Waste is double-bagged in labeled 6-mil bags inside containment and removed through the decon chamber under controlled conditions.
After full cleaning and HEPA vacuuming, an independent industrial hygienist runs aggressive air clearance under EPA AHERA protocol. Fans agitate the space, sampling pumps collect a known volume of air, and PCM or TEM analysis confirms fiber counts below 0.01 f/cc before containment is dismantled. In downtown Apex commercial work where reopening time matters, we schedule clearance to deliver results on the same calendar day whenever the lab schedule allows.
Waste is hauled to a permitted NC landfill under chain-of-custody manifests. We provide each Apex client with a project file containing the NC DHHS notification, lab results, daily supervisor logs, waste manifests, and final clearance reports. For historic properties, this documentation supports preservation tax credits, certificate of appropriateness applications, and resale disclosures. We retain copies for ten years, which has helped many Apex clients with retroactive inquiries from buyers, lenders, or insurance carriers.
Apex was incorporated in 1873 as a railroad town and remained small enough that much of its 19th- and early 20th-century building stock survived intact through the asbestos era. That preservation is good for character but means downtown homes routinely test positive for plaster asbestos, asbestos-cement siding, original pipe insulation, and chimney flue lining. Suburban Apex grew dramatically from 1975 onward, with major neighborhoods built during peak residential asbestos use in popcorn ceilings, joint compound, vinyl-asbestos floor tile, and roofing felt. Even into the late 1980s and very early 1990s, occasional asbestos appeared in mastics and adhesives. North Carolina regulates abatement under 15A NCAC 19C through the NC Asbestos Hazard Management Program at NC DHHS, requiring accredited inspectors, licensed contractors, and pre-job notification on most regulated jobs. The Town of Apex Planning and Inspections Department typically requires environmental review during permitting for renovation or demolition of pre-1985 structures, and the downtown historic district adds its own preservation overlay. Sellers must disclose known asbestos under NC real estate law, and buyers in the Apex market have grown noticeably more diligent about pre-purchase inspection over the last several years.
Apex residential abatement generally runs $1,600 to $10,000. Single-room popcorn ceiling work averages $1,600 to $3,200. Whole-home ceiling abatement in a 2,400-square-foot Bella Casa or Haddon Hall home runs $7,000 to $9,500. Asbestos-cement siding removal on a downtown Apex bungalow can range from $7,500 to $14,000 depending on square footage and substrate condition. Pipe insulation in older basements is priced by linear foot. We provide line-item quotes after inspection and never quote sight-unseen, especially for historic downtown properties where conditions vary widely.
For most whole-room and whole-house projects, yes. Containment seals off the work area and ties into the central HVAC, making continued occupancy unsafe. Smaller, isolated jobs in detached structures or fully sealed utility rooms may allow occupancy with our written sign-off. Downtown Apex live-work setups can be tricky because residential and commercial spaces often share systems, and we generally recommend short-term relocation for the duration. We give clients a clear yes or no during the site walk so they can plan accommodations.
Yes. The NC Asbestos Hazard Management Program within NC DHHS Division of Public Health enforces 15A NCAC 19C, which requires accredited inspectors, licensed abatement firms, and certified supervisors and workers on regulated jobs. EPA NESHAP and OSHA worker protection standards also apply. Pre-job notification to NC DHHS is required at least 10 working days before most regulated renovations or demolitions. The Town of Apex weaves these state and federal requirements into its permitting and historic district review processes, and downtown Apex projects often face additional preservation review on top of asbestos compliance.
Targeted residential popcorn ceiling work is typically one day in the field. Whole-home ceiling abatement in a 2,500-square-foot Apex home runs three to four working days. Asbestos-cement siding removal on a downtown bungalow runs four to seven days. Pipe insulation work depends on linear footage. Add two to three days for initial sample lab analysis and 24 hours for clearance air results. For historic downtown projects where preservation work follows abatement, we coordinate the schedule with the restoration contractor so transitions are clean and the building is not left exposed to weather.
Removal physically extracts the asbestos-containing material. Abatement is the umbrella term for any control method: removal, encapsulation, or enclosure. Encapsulation seals the asbestos in place with a specialized coating and is sometimes the right choice for intact transite siding on a historic Apex home where removal would damage adjacent original features. Enclosure builds a permanent airtight barrier around the material. The right choice depends on material condition, planned future renovations, preservation goals, and budget. We walk every Apex client through the options before recommending an approach.
Remtech serves all of Apex, including the downtown historic district along Salem Street and Hughes Street, Tingen Place, Bella Casa, Haddon Hall, Scotts Mill, Sunset Oaks, Shepherds Vineyard, Lake Pine, and the newer subdivisions east of US-1. We also cover surrounding southwest Wake County communities including Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, New Hill, and the Cary border. Whether your property is an 1890s downtown structure under historic district review or a 1980s suburban home preparing for a kitchen renovation, we have abated the same construction types many times across the Apex market.
Contact us today to schedule an inspection or receive a free quote for our services.
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