Peter from Edmonton

We purchased a 1951 built one-and-a-half storey house about 4 1/2 years ago. At the time of purchase we were made aware that all the heating ducts were fully wrapped in asbestos tape: not a concern unless they were disturbed (was the usual advice). However electricians, furnace cleaners and other contractors were, rightfully, refusing work. We were finally in a position to do something about it, and decided to coincide the asbestos abatement with a furnace upgrade. We contracted Armstrong Environmental to do the asbestos abatement. (Note: during asbestos abatement an environmental assessment needs to occur to ensure safe air quality - we contracted Tritec Environmental Consulting for this work) Armstrong were very courteous and thorough when they first came to the house to give us a quote. Then were very patient when we decided to delay the project from last autumn until the spring, honouring their initial quote. The week before the work commenced they revisited our house to talk over some more specifics, and to plan out their approach, clarifying their time commitments etc. To simplify their work we moved out of the house for the week that they did the abatement. On the morning that they started, they arrived promptly and carefully answered our final questions. For our house, with two vertical heat runs to the second storey, and most other ducts accessible from the basement, they took two days to set up containment areas, two days to remove the asbestos wrapped ducting and spray an encapsulant, and a further day to do tear down of the enclosures, once the final air sample came back clear. We were good to return to the house Friday evening. On return we could see that everything had been removed efficiently and as we expected. For the two vertical runs, the walls had to be opened (which had been agreed going into the project), so the crew had cut our plaster walls to the stud, and made it as clean as possible (see picture). All other areas were in similar condition as they were before the abatement. There was no noticeable dirt or dust. As for payment options, they allowed us to pay with e-transfer. All in all we were very pleased with the work, and feel a lot more comfortable in our home now that we do not have this asbestos threat present.

After moving into our home, we wanted to clarify what building materials contained asbestos, as our inspection had identified a few areas of concern. We called Tritec, and spoke with Jay Kroeker. They just do the testing, which is what we were looking for, to ensure a fair test. Arriving punctually, Jay walked through the home, talking about some of the risks that could be present, and collected the samples that we were most concerned about (in our case: vinyl flooring, ducting wrap, vermiculite). He took the samples for testing at the lab he uses, and we heard back within 3 days with the results. We decided to do a further test on the vermiculite to ensure that no asbestos was present (note: the listed $1000 cost reflects the total with the additional test). That test took a further 2-3 weeks. After all the results were back we got a full report from Jay, as well as copies of the lab results. All in all a very professional service, that left us confident in the results, and he provided us with answers to all our questions on legislation, and suggested next steps.

We chose AmeriSpec for our home purchase inspecition after phoning several different inspectors, based on cost and first impression. Jennifer was professional and courteous during the initial booking on the phone & email, and Bill, who did the inspection was prompt, detailed, and willing to talk through all the concerns that he found in his report. Never having had an inspection before, we weren't sure what it would include, but have found ourselves refer back to the report now that we're in the home to help us prioritise the work we have to do. Their package also included a few discounts and a home maintenance manual.

After moving into an older house, where the previous owners had cats, we hired Britcan to clean our furnace and ducts. The crew of two showed up on time, and efficiently tended to our 14 ducts, and forced air gas furnace. Job was complete in less than 2 hours. Cleaned up after themselves, and left us a little 'thank you' package also.

We moved into an older house which still had 60 amp power service. Robart came to upgrade panel to 100 amp, with minimal mess & disruption, they also ran two external sockets for us, and improved the grounding system. Clean, efficient and reasonable. Very easy to deal with.