For roofing contractors
You opened the attic. Now the job has stopped.
Vermiculite between the joists, or suspect material in the old assembly. We sample it, clear it, and hand the roof back to you — across Toronto and the GTA.
Call 416-474-3978 from the roof. Answered by a person, 24/7.
We work insurance claimsDocumentation adjusters can verify, and we deal with them directly. Coverage is always your insurer's decision.How a claim worksWe are not after your customer.
We do not quote roofing and we do not run a roofing crew. Abatement is the whole of what we do on your job: we clear the material, produce the paperwork, and leave. The roof is yours before we arrive and after we go.
Worth saying out loud, because it is the actual reason most contractors ring somebody they already know instead of somebody who can start tomorrow.
Where it turns up on a roof
Attic vermiculite
Loose grey-brown pebbles between the joists, often several inches deep. Friable and loose — crossing it to reach a vent is enough to disturb it, which is why the job stops rather than continues carefully.
Built-up roofing felt
Layered felt-and-bitumen roofs on flat and low-slope sections. Asbestos was used in the felt itself on older assemblies, and tearing off is exactly the kind of disturbance that matters.
Mastic and flashing cement
The black compound around vents, chimneys and parapets. Small in volume, easy to miss, and it is a common positive on a sample.
Transite and cement board
Grey fibre-cement soffits, panels and vent stacks. Cutting or breaking it is the problem; leaving it undisturbed usually is not.
None of this means the material is asbestos — plenty of old roofs and attics are clear. It means it cannot be assumed either way, and a lab result is what settles it. Read more about vermiculite in attics or asbestos testing and abatement.
How it goes
01
Call us from the roof
Send a photo. We can often tell you from a picture whether it is worth sampling or whether you are looking at fibreglass, cellulose or ordinary modern felt — and that answer costs nothing.
02
We sample it
A sample goes to an accredited lab under controlled conditions. Until a result comes back, the material is treated as asbestos-containing — that is the safe assumption and the legal one, not caution for its own sake.
03
You get the result in writing
Negative, and you carry on with a document that says so. Positive, and you have the thing your client needs to see before anybody argues about cost.
04
We clear it
Type 1, 2 or 3 depending on the material and the scale, with containment, HEPA extraction, designated-waste disposal and third-party clearance air testing where the work requires it.
05
You finish the roof
We hand it back clean and get out of your way. We do not quote roofing, we do not carry a roofing crew, and we are not going to be standing in your client's driveway with a price for the job you were already doing.
We price after an inspection, never before — the scope depends on the material, the area and the access, and a number given over the phone would be a guess your client would hold you to.
The regulation
Asbestos work on construction projects in Ontario is governed by O. Reg. 278/05, which sets out how material is identified, how work is classified as Type 1, 2 or 3, and what each type requires.
What that means for your obligations on your own project is a question for you and your client, and we are not going to answer it for you on a web page. What we can tell you is what we are certified to do and how to check it — that is on the credentials page, with the verification steps.
Standing on a roof right now?
Photograph it from where you are — don't go through it — and call. We can usually tell you from the photo whether it is worth sampling.
Not urgent? Send the details and photos and we'll come back to you.