Winston-Salem holds a deeper inventory of older commercial and industrial property than most cities its size — tobacco-era warehouses, mid-century office buildings, and mill housing that all came up during the decades when asbestos was standard insulation, fireproofing, and flooring material. The residential side has plenty of popcorn ceilings and vinyl tile too, but the larger jobs — the ones with hundreds of linear feet of pipe lagging or whole-floor transite removal — are what set this market apart.
Once a sample is positive, removal stops being a renovation question. It becomes a regulated abatement project — governed by NESHAP, OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1101, and 15A NCAC 19C. That is the work this page describes. The contained, manifested, third-party-cleared abatement that follows confirmed identification.
Remtech has run abatements across North Carolina for over twenty years — from a single-room popcorn ceiling to multi-floor commercial scopes. Every project leaves the site with a signed disposal manifest, daily air-monitoring logs, worker exposure records, and a written clearance report.
Three things consistently surface when commercial or larger-scope asbestos work is handled outside the regulated framework.
Mid-century commercial and industrial properties in Winston-Salem regularly hold large quantities of pipe lagging, transite panels, vermiculite-bearing insulation, and floor tile. Scope on these jobs is measured in linear and square feet by the hundreds. Cutting corners on a building of that size doesn’t just contaminate a room — it contaminates a structure.
NESHAP fines for skipping the 10-day notification or improperly disposing of regulated ACM regularly run into the tens of thousands per violation, and per-day exposure adds up quickly on commercial scopes. North Carolina law restricts regulated abatement to NC DHHS AHMP-licensed contractors. A handshake job between a property owner and an unlicensed crew leaves the owner holding all of it.
Asbestos fibers are about 700 times thinner than human hair and can stay airborne for up to 80 hours after disturbance. In a commercial building with shared HVAC, a single uncontained disturbance can push fiber concentrations thousands of times above the OSHA action level across an entire floor — settling into ductwork, ceiling tiles, and finishes that then need their own decon.
Five phases. Every Winston-Salem project — residential or commercial — moves through all of them. We don’t skip the documentation, we don’t cut the containment, and we don’t leave site without third-party clearance.
An NC-accredited inspector documents every asbestos-containing material in the work area. Quantities are calculated in square and linear feet, and a written abatement design specifies materials, work-area boundaries, decon placement, waste load-out, and the air-monitoring strategy. The 10-working-day NESHAP notification is filed with NC Division of Air Quality. Any City of Winston-Salem permits are pulled before mobilization.
Two layers of 6-mil polyethylene seal walls and floors. HVAC penetrations are isolated and locked out at the air handler. A three-stage decontamination unit is built at the only authorized entry point. HEPA-filtered negative-air machines establish at least -0.02 inches of water column, with at least four air changes per hour, verified with smoke testing before any disturbance begins.
Workers in full-face PAPRs and disposable Tyvek saturate the ACM with amended water or surfactant solution to suppress fiber release, then remove it in manageable sections. No sanding, no power tools, no dry sweeping. Material is double-bagged in 6-mil labeled disposal bags or leak-tight containers. Personal exposure samples run all shift to verify the OSHA PEL of 0.1 f/cc holds.
Bagged waste leaves the Winston-Salem site under a signed chain-of-custody manifest, headed to a permitted Subtitle D landfill with the capacity to accept regulated asbestos waste. The signed return manifest, daily air-monitoring logs, and worker exposure records all go into the project file — the documentation insurers, lenders, and regulators will reference for years afterward.
An independent third-party industrial hygienist performs aggressive-sampling clearance using leaf blowers and fans to dislodge any settled fibers before sampling. PCM analysis must read below 0.01 f/cc; TEM is used where children, schools, or sensitive occupants are involved. Reoccupancy is authorized only after the written clearance report is delivered.
Real reviews from homeowners and contractors across North Carolina.
“We bought a new to us 1964 home last December and to no surprise, we had asbestos popcorn ceilings. We decided to remove the ceilings altogether versus just scraping them. To complicate things even more, we had a plumbing leak in a room that had previously been encapsulated, so we had to deal with insurance to cover a portion of the asbestos removal. Rusty and the whole team at Remtech were such a help from the first moment we spoke! They were responsive, flexible, and knowledgeable. They helped us get insurance what they needed. They even worked with us to do the removal work while we had to be out of town. Asbestos removal and dealing with insurance, especially as we were brand new to the home, was incredibly stressful. Working with Remtech was the opposite – they were helpful and easy to work with that I barely had to think about the work being done. It was a nice break for my brain! They also did a great job. We came home to a CLEAN house with no ceilings! While I’m hoping we never have to go through such a big project again, I know we’d be able to handle it because we can rely on Remtech.”
“Very fast, professional and responsive. Did floor asbestos abatement for our house for a very reasonable price and they were very quick to schedule to keep us within our very close timeline.”
“As a General Contractor specializing in Bathroom & Kitchen remodel, we complete in excess of 250 bathroom upgrades each year. Regardless of our remodeling and construction experience and capabilities, when it comes to addressing the unforeseen hazardous and environmental conditions posed by mold, asbestos, and lead paints, we have a responsibility to our customers to partner with the best abatement specialist possible, and as proficient in abatement as we are kitchen and bath remodeling. Remtech has proven to be that reliable and trusted partner for both our customers and company. We highly recommend the Remtech Team.”
“A few months ago I used Remtech Envir. to remove asbestos from the ceiling of my home, and to this day I’m still amazed with their service that I’ve been meaning to write a review, and today’s the day! The whole process went through so smoothly because of their professionalism, punctuality and care. At the end of each day I received an update from Rusty who was the project manager which was super helpful, and because of their expertise I knew the job was getting done correctly. There was a lot of asbestos to remove, and they showed up and delivered hard work to get it done within the time frame that was initially discussed. So grateful we used their services! I would highly recommend!”
“Our church basement flooded and the old asbestos tiles curled up and had to be removed. Jeff Brewer came over to look at our problem, explained what they would do. He furnished a quote very quickly with a fair price. After checking with two other companies, Jeff’s instructive conversation, ease of manner, willingness to help and a fair price won him the work. As a former contractor, I know how backed up companies can be in their schedule. He told us of a target time about 4-6 weeks off, which was fine. He called a couple of weeks later and had an opening in his schedule and wanted to come earlier. That was great. Their staff arrived on time and delivered a very quick, professional and clean project. This allowed us to get our Fellowship Hall floored and back in operating condition prior to the start of the school year. It is a pleasure to work with a company that communicates well and delivers their service in a superior way.”
“I have spoken with Bryan on many occasions about growth strategy. He has always been open to communicate. I look forward to future conversations.”
“Remtech came in and did a removal of asbestos when our home developed a leak and the sheetrock ceiling had to be removed. Got right to work, kept us informed every step of the way and did a great job of cleaning up. Would use them again in a heart beat!!”
“The cost was higher than expected, so I did not move forward at that time. I will use Remtech when I am ready to have the work done. They are very professional and take the time to answer any questions. The rep arrived on time, explained the process and provided the estimate. A very positive experience.”
Inspection, abatement strategy, removal, and post-clearance documentation all stay in-house. That keeps the chain of custody tight, the timeline shorter, and the cost predictable.
These come up on most Winston-Salem first calls — especially from property managers, building owners, and GCs running renovation scopes. Short answers below; the long answers, tailored to your property, are a conversation.
Yes. A significant share of our Winston-Salem work is commercial — tobacco-era industrial buildings, school facilities, multifamily, and small office complexes. We staff projects with multiple AHERA-trained workers under an accredited supervisor, run shift-based air monitoring, and coordinate around tenant or operating schedules where buildings can’t be vacated entirely.
It scales with quantity. A single floor of pipe-lagging removal might run a week. A whole-floor transite panel removal can be two to three weeks plus clearance. Every quote includes the full timeline through final clearance, and we sequence around any concurrent demolition, electrical, or HVAC work the rest of the project team is doing.
North Carolina regulates the trade through the NC DHHS Asbestos Hazard Management Program. Removal of regulated ACM from any commercial structure must be performed by a licensed abatement contractor, supervised by an accredited supervisor, and executed by AHERA-trained workers. Remtech holds all three credentials and renews annually.
Encapsulation seals non-friable, intact ACM with a bonding agent so fibers cannot release. Enclosure builds an airtight barrier around it. Removal physically takes the material out. For long-term commercial properties with stable, non-friable ACM, encapsulation paired with an O&M plan is sometimes the right answer. For renovation, demolition, or ownership transfer, removal is usually the cleaner path.
Clearance demonstrates the post-abatement environment has airborne fiber concentrations below 0.01 f/cc by phase contrast microscopy — the reoccupancy threshold defined by AHERA and adopted by NC DHHS. Aggressive sampling deliberately stresses the cleanup with leaf blowers and fans before sampling, so a passing result means the work held under disturbance, not just under still air.
Send the lab report, the inspection findings, or the renovation schedule — we’ll scope it from there. Commercial scopes get a written project plan. Residential scopes get a written quote. Both come without sales pressure.
Tell us what was sampled, what came back positive, the building type, and when the work needs to be sequenced. We’ll come look, scope it honestly, and quote it in writing.