Asbestos Removal in Burnaby, BC

Burnaby's older neighbourhoods from Burnaby Heights in the north to the Edmonds area in the south contain thousands of homes built during the peak asbestos-use years and regularly turn up positive test results.

Burnaby is Metro Vancouver's second-largest city and has an enormous housing stock spanning every era. Burnaby Heights along Hastings Street features 1920s-1950s character homes with some of the most complex asbestos scenarios in the region. Moving into the post-war suburbs of Capitol Hill, East Burnaby and the South Slope, the inventory shifts to 1950s-1980s split-levels, ranch-style homes and bungalows that represent prime asbestos territory. Metrotown's older apartment towers from the 1970s add another layer of complexity as strata councils and redevelopers work through that building stock.

The rancher and split-level homes that dominate Burnaby's family neighbourhoods, roughly bounded by Kingsway on the south, Hastings on the north and the Lougheed Corridor on the east, were built between 1955 and 1985. This demographic shows up most consistently in our work in Burnaby. These homes were built with asbestos in the ceiling texture throughout, vinyl flooring in kitchens and bathrooms, nine-inch floor tiles in basements, drywall compound throughout and often vermiculite in the attic. A full survey of a 1965 Burnaby rancher will typically come back with four to six positive materials. It's not a question of whether asbestos is there — it's a question of how much and where.

Edmonds in south Burnaby and the Big Bend area near Marine Drive have been through significant redevelopment in the last decade, and that activity means asbestos abatement is routine here. Pre-demolition surveys, tenant improvement abatement on older commercial buildings and strata unit renovations in 1970s apartment towers near Edmonds SkyTrain are all active project categories for us in this part of Burnaby. If you're buying a pre-1990 property in Burnaby with plans to renovate or demolish, a pre-purchase hazardous materials assessment can be built into your due diligence process.

Burnaby's older commercial strips along Hastings, Kingsway and Marine Way have a different set of asbestos challenges. Commercial buildings from the 1950s-1970s frequently have asbestos insulation on mechanical systems, asbestos-containing ceiling tiles in office areas, vinyl composition tile throughout and sometimes spray-applied acoustic insulation that was common in larger commercial spaces. Any tenant improvement work on these buildings should begin with a comprehensive hazmat survey before your contractor sends in a crew.