Asbestos removal · Toronto, GTA & Hamilton
Stop work before suspect material is disturbed.
Type 3 certified abatement, done under full containment and signed off with clearance air testing. Same-day assessment across the GTA.
- Type 3 certified
- WSIB covered
- Fully insured
- O. Reg 278/05
If you've just found it — do this now
- Stop work. Put the tools down and don't cut, scrape or sweep anything.
- Leave the material exactly as it is. Undisturbed asbestos is far less dangerous than asbestos you've broken up.
- Get everyone out of the area and close the interior doors behind you.
- Shut off the furnace and air conditioning so the ductwork stops carrying fibres into the rest of the building.
- Don't vacuum. A household vacuum blows fibres straight back into the air through the exhaust.
- Call us. We'll tell you whether it needs testing or removal before you spend anything.
Older GTA housing stock
Where we usually find it.
Asbestos was used in Canadian building materials for decades before it was phased out. If your property was built or last renovated before the 1990s, any of these can contain it — and the only way to know is to test it. Nobody can identify asbestos by eye, including us.
Attic insulation
Vermiculite. Loose, pebbly, grey-brown granules, often sold under the Zonolite name. Extremely common in older Toronto and Etobicoke attics. Never disturb it — vermiculite is one of the few materials that will release fibres just from someone walking through the attic.
Ceilings
Popcorn and stipple texture. Standard across GTA homes and low-rise apartments built through the 1950s to 1980s. Scraping it dry is the single most common way homeowners contaminate an entire floor of a house.
Basements
Pipe and duct wrap. White or grey plaster-like insulation wrapped around heating pipes and ductwork, often crumbling at the joints and elbows. Frequently found during water damage jobs, which is exactly when it gets disturbed.
Floors
Vinyl tile and sheet backing. Especially 9-inch square tiles and the black adhesive underneath them. Often left in place under newer flooring, then discovered during a demo.
Walls
Joint compound and plaster. The taped seams in older drywall. This one catches people out constantly, because the drywall itself is fine — it's the mud over the joints that's the problem.
Everywhere else
Ceiling tiles, vent connectors, boiler jackets, window caulking, roofing felt. If it was made to resist heat or fire before 1990, it's worth testing before it's touched.
Ontario Regulation 278/05
Type 1, 2 and 3 — and why it matters to you.
Ontario classifies asbestos work in three types based on how much fibre the job is likely to release. The type dictates the containment, the equipment, the training and the notifications required by law. It also dictates who is legally allowed to touch it.
Type 1
Lowest risk
Small-scale work on non-friable material that stays largely intact — installing a fastener, removing a small number of intact tiles with hand tools. Minimal containment.
Type 2
Moderate risk
Larger areas, or work that breaks up non-friable material — removing a full floor of tile, taking out a boiler jacket, cleaning up small amounts of loose material. Requires proper enclosure and controls.
Type 3
Highest risk
Friable material and large-scale removal — vermiculite, sprayed insulation, pipe wrap, ceiling texture. Requires full poly containment, negative air pressure, a decontamination facility, specific worker training and advance notice to the Ministry of Labour. This is what we're certified for.
The practical consequence: your general renovation contractor cannot legally carry out Type 3 work. If suspect material turns up mid-project, the job has to stop until a certified abatement contractor handles it. That's not a formality — it's a Ministry of Labour matter, and property owners carry obligations of their own under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
We deal with this weekly. Call us early and it's usually a short delay and a contained scope. Call us after somebody has already put a reciprocating saw through it and you're looking at a much bigger job.
What we do
Testing, removal, clearance.
Asbestos testing
We take samples under controlled conditions and send them to an accredited lab. You get a written result telling you what's there and what it means for your project — before you commit to anything.
Type 3 abatement
Full poly containment, negative air machines, decontamination access, sealed disposal. Vermiculite, popcorn ceilings, pipe wrap, tile, plaster and joint compound.
Clearance testing
Air sampling after removal, analysed by an accredited third-party laboratory, to confirm the space is safe to re-occupy — plus the documentation your insurer, buyer or property manager will ask for later.
How it runs
From first call to clearance.
Assessment
We come out, look at what you've got, and tell you honestly whether it needs testing, removal, or nothing at all.
Sampling and lab results
Samples taken under controlled conditions and analysed by an accredited lab. Plenty of jobs stop here — if it comes back negative, you carry on with your renovation and you've spent very little.
Scope and fixed quote
A written scope covering exactly what's coming out, how, and what it costs. Fixed price, not a running meter.
Notification and setup
Ministry of Labour notice where the regulation requires it. Then poly containment, negative air, sealed decontamination access, and utilities isolated as needed.
Removal
Wetted, removed and double-bagged inside the containment. Nothing leaves the work area uncontrolled, including through your ductwork.
Disposal
Transported and disposed of as designated waste, with manifests kept on file as proof of proper handling.
Clearance air testing
Air sampling before the containment comes down, analysed by an accredited third-party laboratory. You get the results in writing — the document that proves the space is safe.
Handover
Scope, photos, waste manifests and clearance results as one file. Keep it: buyers, insurers and property managers all ask for it eventually.
$295 for the on-site assessment, and it comes off the price of the work when you go ahead with us. Conditions apply: the work has to come to $2,500 or more, and the deposit has to be paid within 30 days of approval. If the material tests clean there is nothing to remove, so the assessment stands on its own — which is usually the cheapest result there is. Laboratory charges are separate either way, because the lab invoices us whether or not the work goes ahead.
Questions
What people ask us.
Can you tell if it's asbestos just by looking?
No, and be wary of anyone who says they can. Experience tells us which materials are worth suspecting — vermiculite, stipple ceilings, pipe wrap, 9-inch tile — but confirmation only comes from lab analysis of a sample. That's why we lead with testing rather than quoting a removal sight unseen.
Is it dangerous if I just leave it alone?
Often, no. Asbestos that's intact, sealed and undisturbed generally isn't releasing fibres, and leaving it in place can be the right call. The risk comes from disturbance — renovating, drilling, water damage, or material that's already deteriorating and crumbling. The problem is that “leave it alone” stops being an option the moment you want to renovate, and vermiculite is a specific exception because it's disturbed by simple movement through the attic.
My contractor found something and stopped work. What now?
Your contractor did the right thing. Leave it undisturbed, keep people out, and call us — we can usually assess same day. Once we know what it is, we either clear you to continue or scope the abatement. The faster this moves, the shorter your project delay.
How long does removal take?
A single popcorn ceiling in one room is often a day or two including setup and clearance. A full attic vermiculite removal or a whole-house job runs longer. Setup and clearance testing are a fixed part of the timeline regardless of size, which is why very small jobs don't scale down as much as people expect.
What does asbestos removal cost in Toronto?
It depends on the material, how much of it there is, how accessible it is, and whether it's friable. Containment and clearance testing carry a fixed cost on every job, so a small removal costs more per square foot than a large one. We quote a fixed price after an on-site assessment.
Do I have to tell anyone I've found asbestos?
If you're an employer or a property owner with workers on site, you carry obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and Type 3 work requires notice to the Ministry of Labour. We handle the notification side for the work we carry out. For a homeowner doing their own renovation the picture is different — call us and we'll walk you through where you actually stand.
Can I remove a popcorn ceiling myself?
If it's been tested and comes back negative, that's between you and your ceiling. If it hasn't been tested, don't — dry-scraping a stipple ceiling that contains asbestos will contaminate the room and everything in it, and cleaning that up costs several times what the abatement would have. Test first. It's a small cost against that risk.
Do you also handle mould and water damage?
Yes. Asbestos, mould, water damage, fire and smoke, and selective demolition. That matters more than it sounds — water damage jobs in older properties regularly turn up asbestos pipe wrap, and being certified for both means the job doesn't stop while you find a second contractor.
Service area
Where we work.
- Toronto
- Etobicoke
- Scarborough
- North York
- Mississauga
- Brampton
- Vaughan
- Markham
- Richmond Hill
- Oakville
- Burlington
- Hamilton
Before you decide
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
- Asbestos floor tiles: what to know before you pull them upOld 9-inch floor tiles and the black adhesive under them often contain asbestos. Intact, they are low risk. The danger starts with the crowbar.
- How to tell if a popcorn ceiling has asbestosYou can't tell by looking — here's what actually determines the risk, and the one safe way to know for certain before you scrape.
- What actually drives the cost of asbestos removalNobody can quote asbestos removal from a photo, and a contractor who does is guessing. Here is what genuinely moves the number, so you can read an estimate and tell whether it is serious.
- Vermiculite in your attic: what to do (and what not to)Loose, pebbly grey-brown insulation in an older attic may be vermiculite, and much of it is contaminated with asbestos. The safest thing you can do is nothing — here is why.
- Do you need an asbestos survey before renovating?If the building predates the 1990s, the survey usually comes before the demolition — not because of paperwork, but because of what opening a wall releases.
Answering now
Not sure what you're looking at?
Send us a photo or call. We'll tell you whether it's worth testing before you spend a dollar on removal.
Call 416-474-3978