Asbestos Floor Tile, Mastic & Siding Removal in Spokane, WA
Floor tile, the backing on sheet vinyl, the black mastic under both, and cement siding shingles are the nonfriable side of asbestos work. The fibers are locked in a binder until somebody grinds, sands, or breaks the material. The EPA's list of where asbestos turns up leads with vinyl floor tiles, the backing on vinyl sheet flooring and adhesives, and roofing and siding shingles. Spokane Clean Air draws one specific line: caulking, nonfriable window glazing, and nonfriable roofing need no Notice of Intent, while tile, mastic, and siding still fall under the survey rule and the NOI thresholds. Removal is a matter of keeping the material whole and wet, and never grinding it.
Tile and mastic come out as a pair, and the mastic is the trap. Vinyl tile can often be lifted whole, which keeps it nonfriable; the black adhesive under it cannot, and every flooring installer's instinct is to grind it flat. Grinding turns a bonded material into dust; the EPA's advice is don't saw, sand, scrape, or drill holes in asbestos-containing materials. The tile and the adhesive are sampled separately, because one can contain asbestos while the other does not; see the testing page. Removal keeps the tile whole and takes the mastic up wet, under containment. Under the Spokane Clean Air fee tiers, 48 to 159 square feet is a 3-day notice at $250; 160 to 4,999 square feet is 10 days at $500.
Cement siding shingles are brittle and break when pried, so compliant removal keeps them whole: nails are cut or pulled rather than pounded through, each piece is wetted, lowered rather than dropped, then wrapped and labeled for disposal. Nonfriable roofing and window glazing are exempt from the NOI under Spokane Clean Air's rules, but siding is not, so the 48-square-foot threshold applies, and a whole house of siding reaches the 10-day tiers at $500 or $1,250 and up. Published ranges for siding removal run $3 - $15 per square foot (Angi, updated Aug 2026) and $7 - $10 (HomeGuide); the cost page shows what moves a bid. Where the siding comes off ahead of a full teardown, the job belongs under pre-demolition abatement.
Floor and siding materials in Spokane houses that need a survey before removal
Nonfriable materials are safe to live with and risky to rip out. These show up most in Spokane's pre-1980 housing.
- Small square floor tiles in a basement, kitchen, or laundry room.
- Tar-black adhesive at the edges of old tile or under lifted sheet vinyl.
- Sheet flooring with a paper backing that tears and stays stuck to the subfloor.
- Cement siding shingles with a pressed wood-grain face, brittle at the corners.
- An exterior remodel coming, or a flooring bid that includes grinding the old adhesive flat.
Any of these is a reason to sample before the demo bar comes out.
Layers: tile over tile, sheet vinyl over both, and the mastic under all of it
Old Spokane floors come in layers. A kitchen may carry sheet vinyl over an earlier sheet, over the original tile, with a different adhesive under each. Every layer is its own material for the survey. The EPA lists vinyl floor tiles, the backing on vinyl sheet flooring, and adhesives as separate places asbestos turns up, and any one of them can be positive while the others are clean. The inspector samples down through the stack, and the report names each layer by itself. Sheet goods behave differently from tile. Tile can often be lifted whole.
Sheet vinyl's paper backing delaminates, and the backing is the part on the EPA's list, so the sheet is cut into the largest pieces the room allows, kept wet, and never torn up dry. What stays stuck to the subfloor comes up wet as well. The debris is bagged, not swept, because the EPA's rule is don't dust, sweep, or vacuum debris that may contain asbestos. Disposal is a separate line in both published cost guides, at $10 to $50 per cubic yard (Angi; HomeGuide). Quantity sets the paperwork. HomeGuide's published figure for a 1,000 square foot interior job is $5,000 to $15,000. A floor that size sits in Spokane Clean Air's 160 to 4,999 square foot tier, a 10-day notice at $500, and the count is the same whether it is one big room or four small ones in the same structure in the same calendar year.
Cement siding and shingles: removal without breaking pieces
The plan for a wall starts on the ground. Sheeting goes down along the foundation so that anything that breaks lands on plastic rather than in the soil, and the drop zone below the wall stays closed to everyone but the workers. Paint changes nothing. A painted shingle is still on the EPA's list of roofing and siding shingles, and Spokane Clean Air's survey rule reads anything other than bare wood, metal or glass. The shingles come down whole and go out wrapped; what is different about siding is where and when the work happens. Weather is a real constraint.
Wet methods and a frozen wall do not work together, and Spokane winters can hold exterior removal for a thaw while interior work carries on. That is worth knowing when the re-siding is booked for early spring. Quantity is the other thing to settle early. The NOI thresholds run per structure, per calendar year, so two walls done in the same summer add up to one total for the tiers, and the notice period and the fee follow that total. The workers doing this are certified under Washington L&I's rules, and L&I's Verify a Contractor tool lets an owner confirm that a company is on the Certified Contractors List before a ladder goes up. On a rental duplex or fourplex the choice is already made: Spokane Clean Air's rule is that any work at a rental property must be performed by a certified abatement contractor.
What Spokane exempts from the NOI and why that is not the same as safe
Spokane Clean Air's list of when a Notice of Intent is not required includes three material cases and one quantity case: removing only caulking, nonfriable window glazing, and/or nonfriable roofing; and removals under 10 linear feet and 48 square feet. Each of those is an exemption from filing and from the fee. None of them is an exemption from the survey rule, which reads anything other than bare wood, metal or glass, and Spokane Clean Air's own renovation examples include replacing, repairing, or disturbing flooring, wall, ceiling, siding or roofing materials. A contractor re-roofing a house still needs the survey posted on site; the NOI is simply not one of the documents. The word doing the work in that list is nonfriable, and nonfriable describes a condition, not a permanent property.
Sawed, sanded, drilled or scraped, in the EPA's terms, the same material can release fibers, and at that point it is no longer what the exemption describes. The quantity line works the same way. A bathroom floor under 48 square feet needs no filing, but the tile still cannot be ground, the mastic still cannot be sanded flat, and the person paid to take it up still falls under L&I's rule that contractors and workers must be trained and certified to work with asbestos. Spokane Clean Air's Q&A puts the consequence plainly: if no survey has been performed, it is likely that asbestos requirements are not being met. The survey rule guide walks the full list, including the owner-occupied exemption and what it does and does not cover.
Cover or remove: the questions a written scope should settle first
Covering intact tile or siding is a legitimate plan under the EPA's principle, and removal is a legitimate plan when the material is in the way. Before either is priced, the scope should answer a short list. Is the material intact, or lifting, broken or crumbling at the edges? Does the new floor need a flat, ground substrate, or can it float over an underlayment? Will anyone drill, nail or screw through the old layer, for a threshold, a cabinet run, or a deck ledger through cement siding? Is the property a rental, where any work must be done by a certified abatement contractor?
Is the floor or the wall coming out in a later phase anyway? The answers usually sort themselves. Intact tile under a floating floor with no fasteners is a cover job, and the survey report goes into the house file so the next remodel starts from a known answer. Tile that must be ground, siding that must be drilled, or a rental turnover is a removal job, with its own tier under the NOI thresholds. The published encapsulation saving of 15% to 25% (Angi) is measured against the removal line only; the new floor or the new siding costs the same either way. One thing does not change with the choice. The survey rule applies again the next time anyone disturbs the floor or the wall, because Spokane Clean Air's renovation definition covers flooring, wall and siding materials alike. A covered floor is a documented floor, not a forgotten one.
Remove, cover, or leave intact
Intact tile and siding do not release fibers on their own, so owners have real choices. The survey report and the project plan pick between these.
Remove tile and mastic
For a subfloor that must be exposed or tile that is broken or lifting. Tile is lifted whole, mastic taken up wet, and the room cleared before the new floor goes in. Published range: $5 - $15 per square foot (Angi, updated Aug 2026).
Encapsulate under a new floor
For intact tile and a floor that can float or go over an underlayment. The old tile stays, sealed under the new surface, and the survey report goes in the house file. Angi and HomeGuide both list encapsulation at $2 - $6 per square foot.
Siding removal before re-siding
For cement siding that is broken, a wall that needs sheathing work, or installers who will be drilling through it. Pieces come off whole and wet, wrapped for disposal. Published range: $3 - $15 per square foot (Angi, updated Aug 2026); $7 - $10 (HomeGuide).
Leave intact
The EPA's baseline: material in good condition that will not be disturbed should be left alone. Intact tile under a rug and sound siding under new paint can stay. The survey report documents what is there for the next owner.
A written scope should list the material, the square footage, the NOI tier, the method, and where the waste goes.
Asbestos Floor Tile, Mastic & Siding Removal FAQs
Can I put new flooring over asbestos tile?
Often, yes. The EPA's guidance is that material in good condition that will not be disturbed should be left alone, and covering intact tile with a floating floor or new underlayment leaves it undisturbed. The exceptions are loose or lifting tile, a floor that needs the old adhesive ground flat, or a room being gutted. The survey report says whether covering is a real option.
Is asbestos siding removal required before new siding?
No rule requires removing intact asbestos-cement siding before re-siding. Spokane Clean Air requires a survey before any renovation that touches more than bare wood, metal or glass, and a Notice of Intent if 48 or more square feet is removed. Some re-siding jobs go over the old shingles; others cannot, because the siding is broken, the wall needs sheathing work, or the installer will be drilling through it.
Is asbestos roofing removal exempt from the Notice of Intent in Spokane?
Yes, when the roofing is nonfriable and is the only asbestos material being removed. Spokane Clean Air lists removing only caulking, nonfriable window glazing, and/or nonfriable roofing among the cases where a Notice of Intent is not required. The survey rule is separate: for contractor work, an AHERA survey must be performed and posted whenever the job touches anything other than bare wood, metal or glass, and Spokane Clean Air's renovation examples include roofing materials. Published national ranges for roofing removal run $50 to $120 per square foot (Angi, updated August 2026) and $40 to $125 (HomeGuide).
How do I know if my floor tile has asbestos?
You cannot tell by looking; a lab result is the only answer. Small square tiles, a tar-black adhesive and a pre-1980 build are reasons to sample, not results. Under Spokane Clean Air's rules an AHERA-certified Building Inspector takes the samples before any contractor disturbs the floor, and the tile, the adhesive and any sheet flooring backing are sampled as separate materials, since the EPA lists all three as places asbestos turns up. Testing runs $250 to $850 as a published national range (HomeGuide). The testing page explains sampling and what the report contains.