DISCLAIMER: In order to consult, take samples, test or abate asbestos, one must be licensed by the State of California. We are not licensed and are not qualified to consult on asbestos. Our purpose here it to impart information we found useful.
One of the services we provide is Mold/Moisture inspections. When a client has mold samples taken to a laboratory and discovers that they need remediation services, they must engage a company to abate the mold.
Any restoration company will require the mold sample results. If any walls need to be removed as part of the remediation process and the house was built in 1978 or before, the abatement company will often require asbestos testing on the walls or area they are abating.
Onsite asbestos inspections and samples can be pricey. Further, a lab may charge by how many layers the sample contains, since they will be analyzing each layer.
An asbestos consultant must be licensed…. But the homeowner or buyer does not! They can collect a sample themselves and drive it to a lab. Some labs do not specify how the sample is collected or stored; only that they want about one square inch of material and it must be contained and secured in any zip lock baggy.