You might want to get a second estimate for exactly the same work- taping, isolation, barrier, retesting, the works. Then call references.

What would it take for someone to pay YOU to do the job? It's not out of line as far as dollar figures that I'm familiar with, but I'm not seeing the actual space and difficulty of the job. Get another quote if you feel that it's too high. Don't be surprised if it works out that the first guy was the cheapest guy.

What would your homeowners insurance company do to cover this???

Not a thing. It's not an acute damaging condition like tree falling on a house.

Well, they pay for water damage from water heaters and such which I sure wouldn't think they would..hmm. Oh well, just a thought..."if you dont ask, you don't get".

Hope your uncle will be okay. I don't imagine he's too happy abou this either. Boy, what a mess!

THanks you auntiebuzzybee.. he is actually saying he is unconcerned. He thought it wasn't asbestos and said that if it was, he would've been coughing a week or two ago. It's taken him 2 weeks to get to this point of the basement. and now my other uncles think we should all buy tyvek suits, rent a hepa vac and do the cleanup ourselves for about $3k. but i have a toddler, and i'll be frank: i don't want to take the chance of me doing anything. I already feel awful about some of hte construction dust being tracked through the kitchen and the first floor when uncle came up for lunch and whatnot. I'm told that sbestos doesn't fly through the air or rise through the air unless deliberately kicked up. And the environmetal people said that since the tile came about in big chunks and wasn't sanded down, it probably didn't add to the dust in the basement. One environmental person feels like the dust is mostly construction dust from sanding down drywall. Anyway. just ugh to the whole thing. I guess I'll have to put this cleanup on a credit card.

Is your uncle a pro? This is what HIS insurance is for. I would sue so his insurance would cover. You have a kid, stop worrying about offending a dopey relative.

I don't want to spread untruths but I have heard to wet it down, dampen it so it doesn't flow through air supply. Surely there must be decent tutorials about it through gov websites, EPA websites...who tested it? The company giving you the bid???

I don't see a date on this news article however much of what it says sunds current to me...plus there is the history of course...insurance, banks, etc involvment

http://www.nofluoride.com/asbestos.cfm

here are some do's and don'ts by the EPA even if other uncles choose to tackle it. There are other go to sites for assistance in this publication:

http://www2.epa.gov/asbestos/protect-your-family#professionals

Wow I'm so sorry you have to go through this! You are absolutely right to be concerned about it, especially if you have a toddler! When we come across asbestos accidentally, it's an immediate job stop and requires an abatement team. The amount of spread that you're talking about is unfortunate and is what's pushing the price up. The uncles wanting to do it themselves might be fine in their own home but how would everyone feel if down the road the baby or someone in the family got seriously ill? It's not worth risking it and I'm not sure where your uncle is coming from talking about how he would have started coughing. It takes years to develop deadly asbestos related illnesses. :(

So... the second company came today to evaluate the basement and give me an estimate. This second guy says that frankly, given that most of the tile is up and that most of the dust is construction dust, it'll be costly to clean it up and he doesn't think that there was much contamination. this guy said he was "just being honest" because other companies charge $400 an hour to pull up tiles when tiles aren't the same issue as the asbestos stuff that covers pipes or taking down a plaster wall. So company number two basically says they'll do it for $3500. but they don't think it needs an air quality test bc the tiles didn't crumbles. Also, company number 2 says there is no mastic on the floor. They don't know what was used to get those tiles to lay down, but it's apparently not mastic. What else: company 2 says the tile is 97% clay and asphalt, so not likely for asbestos to release unless uncle sanded it - which he did not. So one company cried doom and gloom while another company said eh, it'll be fine. Last: company 2 said that the tiles should be wet down before being pulled up, and all the walls and whatnot wiped down wet an the towels thrown away. He said usually the appearance of an asbestos-related project creates a different looking kind of dust than what's down there. He felt so strongly about this that he didn't feel the need to get the dust tested. ov vey. two totally different opinions. I still think I need to go with a professional clean.

i will check references . honestly hadn't thought about that. it's all very screwy. but at least i don't feel as terrible today as i felt yesterday. stress is a killer too. so trying to calm it on down. thnk you houzers!

How much does a test cost?You would be testing the dust,correct? The results take how long to get?

I would say check with the EPA but they would take away any minors in the house. Have it checked test cost 99 dollar for a mail sample test. You are way too deep in this problem to email questions into a design site.

construction dust is expected and your uncle would have had plans on cleaning up construction mess as he went along at some point, true? If you get the test and it comes back within normal/acceptable limits, would you then be content to let him carry on as he had planned??? This construction cleanup as he goes along is part of the price you are paying him for the job, right? It is under normal circumstances as far as I have ever encountered it. Remodelers clean up after themselves. Trying to put in a nutshell.

if you test, it comes back within normal limits, then Uncle should clean it up like normal.

If you are not comfortable with that, then if you hire someone else to clean up, do you adjust what you are paying him? Just questions to think about...

If Uncle 2 says estimated cost for you all (however many people and days that is) to rent equiptment and clean at an estimated cost of 3k, was anybody getting paid for that work? No one can "sign off" on the job with any insurance, certification as experts in the field, what if you don't get it all, do you rent suits again? How would you dispose of it, in your garbage?

If Estimated cost to DIY is 3k and "experts" will do it for 3.5K I'd be letting the 2nd company do it that can sign off in the event that you ever need proof in future for selling purposes or to call back. Now whether you deduct anything from what you are paying Uncle1 for "the cleaning help" is something to consider. If you have it tested and it's ok, can you call a construction clean up company for a quote? Just sayin : /

I would call company 2 back, see if you can get the price lowered, ask curious questions like how will they do it, will they seal off to contain the "mess", will they wear mask and coveralls? What kind of coveralls? Proof of bonding and insurance THEN actually call to verify that they are in good standing with the papers they show you. Hopefully anyone working in that dust would be wearing a mask, I'd want a mask and coveralls and head cover just because of the dryness and dirt and yadda, yadda.

However with construction going forward from this point, when would you get it done? what would cost be then?

Perhaps your uncle has plenty of experience with this sort of thing. He has not been concerned and he's been down in it.

I would not go with company1. After that elimination, there are still things to sort out and ways to go.

GOOD LUCK! (so sorry, remodeling is not fun or pretty)

With two wildly different opinions, I'd go get third/fourth. This is serious business. You want to make sure the problem is fixed now, not find out it wasn't sometime in the future when someone is gravely sick.

That's the bigger issue of course, but regarding price and lowest bidder I sometimes tell my clients of an observation John Ruskin, an economist and a bunch of other stuff 100 years ago. He called it "The Common Law of Business Balance":

"There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that persons lawful prey. It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot, it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better."

Seriously, take no chances here. The risk with this level of exposure is of developing mesothelioma many years into the future. This is a fatal cancer. Your health and that of you son in the future could be compromised. If an illness did arise in the future think how you'd feel. Sorry to be morose but I've seen people die from this.

I went with company #3... They also removed the tile from the stairsteps - something I hadn't really considered. They hepa vacuuemed everything, airtested and sent me the results. This particular company included air testing in their pricing. The others wanted me to pay a separate company around $3k for a one hour air test. As for the issue of reducing what I'm paying Uncle? That is being negotiated. I'm none too happy about the entire siutation.

So glad you got this problem resolved to your satisfaction...now for the uncle...geez-o-pete, that's tough. I've "dealt with" some very ugly natured relatives before. Amazing how sometimes there is a side to people we never saw before...I would worry that he may sue you??? for endangering him??? I dunno. Thanks for letting us know what you did about the clean up! What a bummer situation all the way around.