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Asbestos before demolition · Boca Raton, FL

Do You Need an Asbestos Test Before a Kitchen Remodel in Boca Raton?

Do you need an asbestos test before a kitchen remodel in Boca Raton? When the work will lift the floor, open a wall or take down a ceiling, yes, and the building decides how formal it gets. In a condominium, the County's health department applies federal rules that start with an inspection of the area being renovated. In a single-family house those rules do not apply, and the test is the EPA's advice instead.

Kitchen in a condominium
Covered
· the County's notice rules apply
Kitchen in a house
Excluded
· the test is the EPA's advice
Do you need an asbestos test before a kitchen remodel in Boca Raton: a cream kitchen with an island, a range hood between the upper cabinets and sliding glass doors to a screened patio
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What You Cannot Tell by Looking

The EPA's guidance for homeowners says you generally cannot tell whether a material contains it by looking, unless it is labeled, and names remodeling as one of two reasons to have a home inspected. The reason is mechanical: fibers come loose when a material is cut, sanded, drilled or scraped, and that list describes a demolition day.

A kitchen puts several of the usual suspects in one room. The agency's list of where it may be found includes vinyl floor tiles, the backing on sheet vinyl and the adhesives under both, plus the textured paint and patching compounds used on walls and ceilings. Tearing out a kitchen means lifting that floor, opening walls for plumbing and wiring, and sometimes taking down a soffit.

The same guidance cuts the other way. Material in good condition that nobody will disturb can stay where it is, and taking samples yourself is not recommended. So the test belongs to the plan, not to the age of the house: it answers what the crew is about to break.

When the Kitchen Sits in a Condominium

In Palm Beach County the federal asbestos rules are enforced by the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, and its page draws the line. The rules apply to facilities, and entities containing condominiums count as facilities. Buildings with four or fewer dwelling units are excluded, as long as they are not used commercially and the work is not part of a commercial or public project.

So a kitchen inside a condominium building is covered. Written notice to the Health Department is required when the regulated asbestos material removed or disturbed reaches 160 square feet, 260 linear feet on pipes or 35 cubic feet, and it has to arrive at least ten working days ahead. It goes in with an asbestos survey, built on a thorough inspection of the area being renovated.

So the inspection comes before the demolition date: until the results are back, nobody can say whether the job crosses those lines. If it does, the ten working days go into the schedule before the first cabinet comes off.

A narrow galley kitchen with cream shaker cabinets on both walls, a quartz counter with an undermount sink and a tall window at the far end

Who Can Take the Sample in Florida

Federal law leaves a gap that Florida closes. The EPA notes that federal rules do not require the people who inspect or remove asbestos in detached single-family homes to be trained and accredited, though some states do. Florida is one of them: section 469.003 of the state statutes says no person may conduct an asbestos survey unless trained and licensed as an asbestos consultant, and no person may conduct abatement work unless licensed as an asbestos contractor.

So there are two licenses, for two different jobs. The consultant inspects, takes the samples and reports what was found. The contractor repairs or removes. The EPA suggests keeping the two apart: the professional who assesses the need for removal should not be connected with the firm that does it.

A house sits outside the County's notice rules, but not outside this one. Whoever surveys a Boca Raton kitchen, house or condo, needs that state license, and you can ask to see it before any sample is cut.

Where the Notice Goes in Palm Beach County

In Palm Beach County the notice does not go to a state office. The Health Department takes it for every regulated building in the county, at 800 Clematis Street in West Palm Beach, and only County-owned buildings go to the Department of Environmental Protection's Southeast District. A Boca Raton address inside the City and one in unincorporated Palm Beach County, like our office at 20283 State Road 7, Ste 412, Boca Raton, FL 33498, send theirs to the same place. The County Code adds its own step: an asbestos renovation under the federal rules needs the Health Department's written approval before it begins, issued on the notice, the survey and the fee.

A white kitchen with a sink under a window that looks out over open water through the leaves of a sea grape

Prices, timelines and the license behind a Boca Raton kitchen remodel are set out on Kitchen Remodeler Boca Raton.

Common Questions

Can you remodel a Boca Raton kitchen that has asbestos in it?

Yes. The EPA says material in good condition that will not be disturbed can be left alone, and that when remodeling will disturb it, repair or removal by a trained and accredited professional is needed. In Florida, removal is work for a licensed asbestos contractor.

Can a crew cut into a Boca Raton kitchen wall before the results are back?

It should not. The EPA's advice is to treat a material you are unsure of as if it contains asbestos, leave it alone, and never saw, sand, scrape or drill it. So demolition in the sampled areas waits for the lab, and the schedule allows for that wait.

Is a home test kit enough for a Boca Raton condo kitchen?

Not for the County. The notice to the Health Department goes in with an asbestos survey, and Florida reserves surveys for licensed asbestos consultants. The EPA also advises against taking samples yourself, because sampling done incorrectly can be more hazardous than leaving the material alone.

Recent Kitchen Remodeling Projects in Boca Raton

  • Kitchen opened to the living room with a long island and sliding glass doors to the pool deck
    Kitchen opened to the living room, with a seated island Open concept kitchen remodeling
  • Upscale kitchen with tall wood cabinetry, a stone waterfall island and integrated appliances
    Full-height cabinetry and a waterfall island Luxury kitchen remodeling
  • Compact galley kitchen in a coastal condo with light shaker cabinets and a window at the end of the run
    Galley kitchen in a condo, under twenty linear feet Small kitchen remodel
  • Kitchen with new white shaker doors on the original cabinet boxes and the existing granite kept in place
    New shaker fronts on the original boxes Kitchen cabinet refacing
  • Floor-to-ceiling custom cabinetry with a tall pantry beside a panel-front refrigerator
    Floor-to-ceiling run with a tall pantry Custom cabinetry
  • Quartz countertop run with a waterfall end panel on the island and an undermount sink
    Quartz with a waterfall end on the island Quartz countertop installation
  • Kitchen with brown and gold granite countertops, a raised breakfast bar and wood cabinets
    Granite perimeter with a raised breakfast bar Granite countertop installation
  • Kitchen with counters at two heights, open knee space under the sink and pull-out shelves in an open base cabinet
    Counters at two heights, open underneath Accessible kitchen remodeling
None of this has to hold a remodel up if it is settled before the demolition date. Find out whether the building is a house or part of a condominium, have the materials that will be disturbed sampled by a licensed consultant, and put the County's ten working days on the calendar when the survey says they apply. What a kitchen here costs and how the work is sequenced once the floor and walls are cleared is on Kitchen Remodeler Boca Raton.

Tell us what the demolition will touch.

Send the address, say whether it is a house or a condo unit, and list what comes out, by email or to our office at 20283 State Road 7, Ste 412, Boca Raton, FL 33498. Before demolition we arrange the survey with a licensed asbestos consultant, and the County notice when the building needs one.

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