Asbestos Removal in Mendota Heights

Whether you are finishing a lower level, putting in a new furnace or replacing a house in Mendota Heights, asbestos can be part of the job. Testing comes first, then removal of only what the lab confirms, with the state notice filed whenever the work is regulated.

Houses older than 1980 make up more than 4 in every 10 homes in Mendota Heights, even though the 1980s added more of today’s houses than any other decade. If yours is one of the older ones, plan on sampling before the work starts.

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Lower-level family room of a 1960s split-entry house with a textured ceiling, an old 9-inch tile floor, wood paneling and plastic sheeting going up on one wall

Example project

Kitchen popcorn ceiling scraped when an old fluorescent light box comes out

Example project

Home: 1970s two-story house in Mendota Heights with a large fluorescent light box in the kitchen ceiling
Original request: Take out the light box, add small ceiling lights and patch the ceiling smooth
Testing: An MDH-certified inspector samples the texture twice, once over the kitchen and once over the dinette
Found: Asbestos in the texture
Area: About 180 sq ft of ceiling
Work: Kitchen closed in with negative air; damp texture scraped off around the old light box and bagged
Timeline: Five-day notice, then two working days
Cost: $2,050

In this example, a 1970s kitchen in Mendota Heights still has its original fluorescent light box, a big framed panel in the middle of the ceiling. The owners want it gone, with small lights in its place and one smooth ceiling over the kitchen and dinette.

See the full example and more projects

How we can help

Testing first

Sampling shows which materials need licensed removal before you commit to a plan. Our asbestos testing page explains the options.

Ceilings

Electrical work in a textured ceiling, even one new light, is a reason to sample first. A positive result sends you to popcorn ceiling removal, where we explain how the texture comes down.

Floors

One floor can have several layers stacked up, and we test them one by one, glue included. Our floor tile and mastic removal page shows what happens to the ones that come back positive.

Heating and attic insulation

If your furnace ducts are taped, your pipes are wrapped or the attic has loose fill, see pipe, duct and vermiculite insulation removal.

Siding

Our asbestos siding removal page explains how cement shingles come off a house or a detached garage.

Remodels and teardowns

Before the first wall is opened or the wrecking date is set, read remodel and demolition abatement. It explains why the survey comes first.

Mendota Heights housing

Mendota Heights built more of its current homes in the 1980s than in any other decade, about a fifth of the total, and the median year built is 1983. Roughly 4 in 10 homes date from 1950 to 1979, while about 4 in every 100 are older than 1950.

Homes from before 1980

A house built before 1980 may contain flooring, ceiling texture, duct tape or joint compound from MDH’s list. Sampling each material gives a clear yes or no.

Owners and renters

One-unit homes account for more than 3 in 4 of the city’s housing, and renters live in about 1 in 5 occupied homes. Renting out a house changes none of this. Testing, the state notice and licensed removal all apply. The owner-occupant exemption covers only an owner doing the work in the single-family house they live in, and MDH still strongly recommends a licensed contractor even then.

Census Reporter: Mendota Heights housing Minnesota Department of Health: asbestos in homes

Permits in Mendota Heights

Mendota Heights has a building permits page and a permits and licenses page, but neither includes a demolition permit page or any mention of asbestos. Ask the city which permits your project needs before you book the work, and expect the state rules to apply either way.

Waste

None of it goes in your garbage cart. Our crew wets every bag and wrapped bundle, seals it leak-tight and labels it, then fills out the manifest for the trip to a landfill that accepts asbestos. You get a copy of that manifest for your house records.

City of Mendota Heights: building permits MPCA: asbestos waste management

Hallway mechanical closet after the old furnace was taken out, with a duct collar sealed in white tape and a gray cement-board panel

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a licensed contractor in Mendota Heights?

For regulated work, yes, unless you are the one owner the law exempts, a person doing the work in the single-family house they live in. Even for that owner, MDH strongly recommends a licensed contractor. In a house, work is regulated when friable material on pipes runs more than 10 linear feet, when friable material on other surfaces covers more than 6 square feet, or, where neither can be measured, when friable material fills more than 1 cubic foot.

How long before work can start?

Five calendar days at least. That is the minimum written notice MDH must get before regulated removal, and the licensed contractor is the one who sends it.

Is a small patch safe to scrape off?

No. A patch under MDH’s limits is outside its regulation, yet MDH is clear that unregulated does not mean safe. Leave it untouched until a lab has tested a sample, because scraping is exactly the kind of disturbance testing is meant to prevent.

What should I keep after the job?

File the lab report, the air-sampling results, the waste manifests and the MDH permit with your house records. They show what came out of the house and where it was taken.

Shakopee owners can read asbestos removal in Shakopee or our home page.

Request a free asbestos removal quote

We recommend calling, but do feel free to contact us using this form. We'll get back to you with a free, personalized quote or additional questions as soon as possible. We're here to help.

Call (952) 295-7223