Got Asbestos or a Popcorn Ceiling? Here's How Much It Costs to Remove It

There's a beautifully maintained old house for sale in your area, and you're tempted to make an offer. But you've heard about the dangers of asbestos in older homes and aren't sure if the asbestos removal costs could kill the deal. Discover the average cost of asbestos removal from a home and what you can expect to pay a registered professional for asbestos removal.

What Is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring silicate mineral composed of extremely thin fibrous crystals. It's very stable and has good heat resistance and insulation qualities. It was commonly used in building materials up to 1980. Its ongoing use in the United States was finally totally banned in 2024.

In the 1940s, doctors started to suspect that asbestos was a hazardous material linked to a harmful lung disease that became known as asbestosis. In 1960, du Pont de Nemours published a book confirming this link between mesothelioma (lung cancer) and exposure to asbestos fibers in the workplace.

What Does Asbestos Look Like?

In its natural form, asbestos is a loose, fibrous material. The fibers are tiny and can't be readily identified by the human eye. The most common type of asbestos fiber in North America is white chrysotile. Chrysotile has relatively long, curly fibers that make it suitable for use in composite boards. It's usually combined with other materials to make cementitious panels, such as floor tiles, ceilings, roofing and insulation board.

As manufactured, asbestos doesn't present a significant health risk. However, if it's disturbed or cut, tiny asbestos fibers are released, and these are a serious health hazard. Other forms of asbestos used include amosite and crocidolite. These have very sharp needle-like fibers that are more easily inhaled.

What Homes Have Asbestos?

Asbestos was commonly used in insulation, soundproofing, fireproofing and decorative ceilings. In 1989, the EPA partially banned asbestos products and, following a legal challenge, was successful in prohibiting the use of asbestos in most residential building materials. It's estimated that half the homes standing today, mainly built before 1980, have asbestos-containing materials.

Here's a list of materials that may contain asbestos:

• Pipe insulation

• Ceiling tiles

• Cement siding

• Blown-in insulation

• Asphalt floor tiles

• Wallboard

• Window putty

• Vermiculite insulation

• Fire doors

• Cement wall board

• Decorative plaster

• Electric wiring insulation

• High-temperature gaskets

• Roofing felt

• Vinyl tiles

• Cement shingles

• Drywall

• Asbestos roof sheeting

• Popcorn ceilings

• Textured paint

• Asbestos cement water pipes

• Caulking

• Stucco

• Thermal paper tape

• Electrical panel insulation

How Does Asbestos Abatement or Removal Work? What Is the Difference?

Abatement seals off the asbestos fibers, while removal completely takes away any asbestos-containing materials.

Asbestos Abatement

Asbestos abatement reduces the risk of asbestos exposure and prevents the release of hazardous asbestos fibers into the air by encapsulating or enclosing asbestos fibers so they can't escape. It's an attractive solution as it entails minimal disruption. Alternatives include an encapsulating spray, paint or sealant. Asbestos abatement costs are typically between $2 and $6 (CAD 2.77 and CAD 8.30) per square foot.

Asbestos Removal

If the asbestos material is broken, weathered or friable (easily crumbled), complete removal is the only viable solution. The cost for asbestos removal is significantly higher as it entails dismantling parts of the building to gain access to asbestos-holding materials.

How Much Does Asbestos Removal Cost per Square Foot?

The direct labor costs to remove asbestos depend on how easy it is to access the parts of the building containing asbestos materials and the amount of disassembly needed to remove these materials. The costs shown below are for asbestos removal only and don't include the cost of replacing the material that's removed.

The approximate cost to remove asbestos from inside the home varies from $5 to $20 (CAD 6.92 to CAD 28) per square foot. Because of the difficulty of accessing external components, it's more expensive to remove materials with asbestos, so outside removal costs are higher — between $50 and $150 (CAD 69 and CAD 207) per square foot.

How Much Does It Cost to Remove an Asbestos Popcorn Ceiling?

The cost to remove asbestos popcorn ceiling panels is between $5 and $10 (CAD 6.92 and CAD 14) per square foot.

How Much Does It Cost to Remove Asbestos Floor Tiles?

Asbestos tile removal costs vary from $4 to $15 (CAD 5.53 to CAD 21) per square foot.

How Much Does It Cost to Remove Asbestos Siding?

Expect the asbestos siding removal cost to be between $7 and $9 (CAD 9.68 and CAD 12) per square foot.

How Much Does It Cost to Remove Asbestos Roofing?

The cost to remove asbestos roof tiles is higher because of more difficult access, so these costs range between $40 and $125 (CAD 55 and CAD 173) per square foot.

What Factors Impact How Much It Costs to Remove Asbestos?

In many jurisdictions, it's a requirement to employ a licensed asbestos removal company to decontaminate buildings. Workers have to wear protective gear, including respirators, goggles and gloves, and the work area must be sealed off and ventilated. Before cutting, all asbestos materials are wetted and asbestos scrap is double-bagged. Asbestos dust is removed using sealed vacuum cleaners. Everything must be decontaminated before the area is declared safe.

Depending on the scope of the work, the total estimated cost of asbestos removal includes the following items:

Asbestos Inspection and Testing

Even the professionals may not be able to identify asbestos by sight. This is where inspections and testing come in to confirm whether the space contains asbestos. The process includes a visual inspection, sampling and laboratory testing of those samples. At the end, you'll get a report of the findings. You can expect asbestos inspection and testing to cost between $250 and $850 (CAD 346 and CAD 1,176).

Asbestos Encapsulation and Enclosure

Site sealing or asbestos encapsulation aims to seal asbestos to prevent the fibers from entering the surrounding air. This is especially necessary if the asbestos is damaged or exposed in some way, like if you knocked down a wall that had asbestos-containing insulation inside.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with encapsulation, the asbestos is coated in a sealant that binds the fibers or, at least, coats them so they don't continue to break apart. There's also enclosure, which involves covering the area with a protective wrapping so that the fibers don't escape.

After the room or affected area is sealed off, asbestos removal professionals might use an air extraction system that employs negative air pressure to get the asbestos particles out of the air.

Site sealing and air extraction costs between $1,000 and $4,000 (CAD 1,383 and CAD 5,532).

Safety Gear

The asbestos removal professionals can't do the job without proper equipment. Single-use safety gear lessens the risk of contamination. For the average asbestos abatement or removal job, this will cost roughly $400 to $500 (CAD 553 to CAD 692).

Asbestos Abatement and Removal Labor Costs

Many asbestos removal companies will charge for labor, due to the protentially labor-intensive nature of this work. You should expect to pay between $1,200 and $3,200 (CAD 1,660 and CAD 4,426) per day in labor costs, assuming there are two employees on the job.

Asbestos Disposal Costs

The professionals can remove the asbestos from your home, but they can't simply throw it in the trash. Disposing of such dangerous material comes at a cost, too. And that costs depends on how much asbestos is being removed from the space. Disposal costs $10 to $50 (CAD 14 to CAD 69) per cubic yard.

How Is Asbestos Disposed Of?

The removal and disposal of asbestos is strictly regulated and follows clearly laid-out protocols. It must be sent to designated landfills or approved recycling sites. While a landfill is the cheapest solution, it's safer to recycle asbestos. Recycling technologies include the thermal destruction of asbestos fibers to create a special form of nonhazardous glass, ceramic bricks and tiles.

Is DIY Asbestos Removal Feasible?

While you can perform a DIY test for asbestos, samples must be sent to a laboratory for microscopic inspection for asbestos fibers. The removal of asbestos-contaminated materials is realistically not a DIY task because of the safety precautions needed and the strict regulations you must follow. Local regulations often prevent DIY asbestos removal.

All CAD conversions are based on the exchange rate on the date of publication.