Asbestos Removal in Portland

At Portland Asbestos Removal, we make asbestos removal quick and easy for homeowners and property managers alike. Our proven methods include a decade of experience, reliable professionals, guaranteed work, and affordable pricing. Call now for a free, personalized quote, no obligation.

For us, every project is unique and we always focus on your home's needs. Whether you are refreshing one unit or preparing a larger renovation, we begin with the building's use and the desired end result. Flooring, ceiling finishes, insulation and exterior materials all get their own place in our careful planning. Scroll down to learn more about asbestos removal and our unique approach.

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Bedroom of a 1930s house with old plaster broken back to the wood lath and plastic sheeting laid over the floor

Testing before any quote
DEQ notices filed on time
Close-out letter for demolition permits
Houses, duplexes and apartment buildings

Example project

Wrapped heating pipes cleared so a basement floor can go lower

Example project

Home: 1920s house in Portland with a low basement and a hot-water heating system
Original request: Dig the basement floor down for headroom and turn the space into living area
Testing: Samples of the pipe wrap, the elbow fittings and the boiler jacket
Found: Asbestos in the wrap and fittings on about 110 ft of pipe hung under the joists
Clear: No asbestos in the jacket of the newer boiler
Timeline: The 10-day DEQ notice, then three working days
Cost: $2,700

In this example, the owners of a 1920s house in Portland want to lower the basement floor and turn the space into living area. The heating pipes hang below the joists, right where the new ceiling will go, so the plumber has to move them.

See the full example and more projects

Asbestos testing Popcorn ceiling and texture removal Pipe and boiler insulation removal Floor tile and mastic removal Demolition and deconstruction abatement Rented houses, duplexes and apartment buildings

Asbestos removal services

Sealed sample bags and a sampling tool next to a small square cut taken from a floor

Empty one-story 1970s living room and hallway with popcorn ceilings, bare floors and a roll of plastic sheeting

Asbestos testing

Any home built before 2004 needs a survey by an accredited inspector before it is remodeled or torn down, unless the owner lives there and is doing a remodel personally. We book the inspector. Each suspect material is sampled, the lab answers layer by layer, and the report becomes the basis of our price.

Popcorn ceiling and texture removal

Ceiling and wall texture that crumbles by hand is friable, and in Oregon only a contractor licensed by DEQ may remove it. The inspector takes at least three samples from each textured area. If they come back positive, we build a sealed enclosure under negative air pressure, soak the texture and scrape it straight into bags.

Basement mechanical room with an old boiler and pipes covered in white wrapped insulation

A 1960s living room with the carpet rolled back over square floor tiles and black adhesive

Pipe and boiler insulation removal

A house from the 1930s or 1940s may still have heating pipes or a boiler wrapped in white insulation in the basement. DEQ lists pipe insulation as friable, so it calls for licensed abatement. A small exemption exists for a needed repair that disturbs less than 3 square feet or 3 linear feet, but stripping insulation for its own sake never qualifies.

Floor tile and mastic removal

Whole vinyl tile is nonfriable, so any contractor with a Construction Contractors Board license can take it up once DEQ has had the nonfriable notice and fee for five days. Under old carpet there may be two or three floors, and every layer gets its own lab answer, tile and adhesive alike.

Older wood-sided house behind a chain-link fence ready for demolition, with a lined dumpster, wet gravel and fir trees on a gray day

Demolition and deconstruction abatement

Portland won’t issue a residential demolition permit until it has the asbestos survey and, when asbestos was found, a close-out letter from the licensed abatement firm. We remove the asbestos and supply that letter with the DEQ notice forms and the waste shipment form. Houses and duplexes built in 1940 or earlier are taken apart by deconstruction instead, and the asbestos still has to be abated.

Rental and apartment abatement

Two-story 1960s garden apartment building with outside walkways, siding and brick under a cloudy sky

Rented houses, duplexes and apartment buildings

A third of Portland’s housing is in apartment buildings with at least five units, and Oregon surveys those like commercial property, regardless of age. Rented houses and duplexes follow the before-2004 rule, without the allowances owners get when they live on site. Tenants and neighbors are part of our plan.

Asbestos testing and removal costs

More than 6 in every 10 Portland homes were built before 1980, making asbestos a common issue in our community. Our price ranges cover hired labor, materials, containment, lab fees and disposal for typical jobs in Portland, Milwaukie and Gladstone. Expect the low figure for a small job with easy access, and the top for bigger areas, occupied buildings, second stories or extra air tests.

Asbestos testing

Testing a few materials, up to about 4 samples$300 – $600+
Asbestos survey before a remodel, one house$400 – $1,000+
Asbestos survey before tearing down a house$800 – $2,000+

What is included

We book an accredited inspector, who samples what your project will cut, drill or tear out. The lab answers layer by layer, and the written report stays at the job. A remodel needs only the work area surveyed; a teardown needs the whole house.

Get a free quoteSee an example project

Popcorn ceiling and texture removal

One room ceiling, about 150 to 250 sq ft$1,500 – $3,700+
Several rooms or one floor, about 600 to 1,000 sq ft$4,600 – $11,500+
Whole house, about 1,500 to 2,000 sq ft of ceiling$8,500 – $21,000+

What is included

Each textured area sampled, the DEQ notice ten days ahead, plastic and negative air in the room, the texture wetted and scraped straight into bags, the haul to a permitted landfill and a HEPA clean. Retexture and paint are extra.

Get a free quoteSee an example project

Pipe and boiler insulation removal

Pipe insulation in a basement, about 50 to 150 ft of pipe$1,250 – $3,700+
Duct wrap and tape in one basement or crawl space$1,250 – $3,700+
Old boiler or furnace with its insulation and nearby pipe$3,700 – $10,000+

What is included

A sealed work area under negative pressure, the wrap and fittings soaked and removed, labeled double bags, an air check and the haul to a permitted landfill. New insulation and plumbing changes are extra.

Get a free quoteSee an example project

Floor tile and mastic removal

One bathroom or laundry floor, about 50 to 100 sq ft$1,000 – $2,500+
One kitchen or large room, about 150 to 300 sq ft$1,500 – $4,200+
Several rooms, about 500 to 1,000 sq ft$3,300 – $10,000+

What is included

Each floor layer tested, then whole tile and its black adhesive taken up wet once the five-day notice has run. Buried sheet vinyl comes out under the friable rules. Bagging, the landfill haul and cleanup are included; the new floor is not.

Get a free quoteSee an example project

Demolition and deconstruction abatement

Abatement of a whole house before demolition or deconstruction$8,500 – $25,000+

What is included

Every positive material in the survey removed ahead of the demolition or deconstruction crew, the DEQ notices, disposal and the close-out letter the city asks for. The survey and the teardown are priced on their own.

Get a free quoteSee an example project

Rental and apartment abatement

Survey of a small apartment building$1,500 – $4,000+
Common areas or one section of a building, about 500 to 1,000 sq ft$4,200 – $12,500+

What is included

For rented houses, duplexes and small apartment buildings: the survey, the DEQ notice, a licensed crew working behind plastic while tenants stay home, removal and disposal. Bigger buildings get a price after a walk-through.

Get a free quoteSee an example project

Ranges are 2026 estimates, not quotes. Call today for a free, personalized quote.

Our process

Survey and price

An accredited inspector samples the materials your project will disturb, or the whole house before a teardown. A kitchen remodel only needs the kitchen surveyed. We price the job from the lab report and tell you which materials are friable and which are not.

Notice and setup

DEQ has to receive the notice and its fee at least 10 days before friable work and at least five days before nonfriable work. The count starts only once DEQ has both. Friable material comes out inside a sealed enclosure kept under negative pressure.

Removal and disposal

Everything we remove is kept damp, sealed in a double layer of 6-mil bags or equal packaging, and labeled. A shipment form rides with the load to a DEQ-permitted landfill, which we phone ahead.

Older homes in Portland

More than a quarter of Portland’s homes were built in 1939 or earlier, and the median home dates from 1966. Houses that old can have plaster walls, basement heating pipes and more than one generation of flooring in the same room. Age tells us where to sample. Only a lab result can tell you whether a material contains asbestos.

Census Reporter: Portland housing

Portland demolition and remodel permits

Portland checks the asbestos paperwork before it issues a residential demolition permit. It wants the Site Controls Form, the asbestos survey and the close-out letter in hand first, so we plan the abatement to finish before you apply.

Large remodels fall under the same rules. Removing half or more of a house’s exterior walls above the foundation is a major residential alteration, and the city applies the same dust and site controls it uses for demolitions. Abatement and demolition pollutants are also barred from Portland’s stormwater system, so nothing from the work area goes down a storm drain.

Portland City Code 24.55.205 Portland: residential demolition permits Portland: asbestos and lead-based paint

Where asbestos waste goes

Metro transfer stations refuse asbestos. They also want proof on ordinary remodel or demolition debris from homes built before 2004, either a printed survey or lab results at or under 1%. Our asbestos loads go with a shipment form to a landfill DEQ permits for it, such as Hillsboro Landfill.

Metro: asbestos rules for disposal Oregon DEQ: landfills accepting asbestos

Serving Portland, Milwaukie and Gladstone

We also serve Milwaukie and Gladstone. Call us for confirmation if your address is outside the area.

Frequently asked questions

Can I remove asbestos from my own house?

Yes, if you own a single-unit home and live in it. You need no license or DEQ notice, though DEQ strongly recommends hiring out. Rentals, businesses and houses headed for demolition don’t qualify, and the bagging and landfill rules apply to everyone.

What if asbestos turns up in the middle of a remodel?

Stop work, keep it damp under plastic, and have a licensed crew remove it.

What does asbestos removal cost?

The material, how much of it there is, whether it is friable, how hard it is to reach and whether people are living in the house all move the price. Jobs that need a DEQ notice also carry a DEQ fee. With a survey report in hand, we can give you a real number instead of a guess.

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 (503) 852-9320