If your home was built before 1990, there is a real chance some of its building materials contain asbestos. That is not a reason to panic. Asbestos that sits undisturbed inside a painted wall or under a floor is not releasing anything. The problem starts when a renovation cuts, sands, scrapes or breaks those materials, because that is when fibres get into the air.
So the useful question is not "does my house have asbestos?" but "will my renovation disturb anything that might?" Here is how to think about it.
Where asbestos hides in older homes
Asbestos was added to a long list of building products for its strength and fire resistance. It was phased out of most products by the early 1990s, and Canada banned it outright at the end of 2018. In homes in Edmonton and Prince George, the materials we most often check before a renovation are:
- Drywall joint compound (the "mud" on the seams and screw heads)
- Textured, stipple or popcorn ceilings
- Plaster walls and ceilings
- Vinyl sheet flooring and vinyl tiles (the classic 9 x 9 and 12 x 12 tiles) and the black or yellow glue under them
- Vermiculite insulation in attics and wall cavities, a grey-brown, pebbly loose fill
- Window putty and caulking, stucco, and tape and wrap on old heating ducts
You cannot tell by looking. Two ceilings that look identical can test differently. The only way to know is to have a sample analysed by an accredited laboratory.
Why it matters when you renovate
A bathroom or kitchen renovation goes straight through the materials on that list: we take down walls and ceilings, lift flooring and scrape away old glue. If any of it contains asbestos, it has to be handled under the province's rules, by people trained and certified to do it, with the right containment, and with a clearance before ordinary work continues.
What usually hurts homeowners is not the asbestos itself but finding out halfway through the job. Work stops, the schedule slips while removal is arranged and notice periods run, and the price changes after the walls are already open.
What the rules say in Alberta and BC
The two provinces handle this differently, and we plan each job to its own province's rules:
- Alberta: asbestos is covered by Part 4 of the Occupational Health and Safety Code. Before asbestos work that may release fibres, Alberta OHS must be notified at least 72 hours ahead, and workers inside an asbestos work area need an Alberta asbestos worker certificate.
- British Columbia: WorkSafeBC requires a hazardous materials survey by a qualified person before renovation or demolition. Since January 1, 2024, asbestos abatement in BC, which includes surveying and sampling, is done by WorkSafeBC-licensed contractors with certified workers, and moderate and high-risk removal needs a Notice of Project at least 48 hours before it starts.
The details depend on the material and the amount, and they are for the professionals doing the work to apply. The practical takeaway is simple: in either province, testing comes first, and removal is done by people qualified to do it.
How we handle it: tested before we build
We do not leave this to demolition day. Our process for homes built before 1990, or of unknown age:
- Right after you sign and the deposit is in, the materials your project will disturb are listed room by room and sampled. Each sample is taken from a misted spot by someone wearing protective gear, sealed, labelled, photographed and logged on a chain-of-custody form.
- An accredited lab analyses them. Results come back well before your start date.
- If everything is clear, your project goes ahead exactly as planned.
- If something is found, we explain what it is and what it means, and its safe removal by a licensed or certified abatement contractor is priced and agreed in writing before work starts in that area. Removal and the clearance happen before we build there.
That way, the one thing that most often derails renovations in older homes is settled before day one.
What you can do now
- Find out roughly when your home was built. Your property assessment, the original listing or the city's records usually say.
- If you have vermiculite in the attic, leave it alone and do not store things up there until it has been assessed.
- Do not sand, scrape or drill into old ceilings, flooring or wall seams yourself "just to check".
If you are planning a renovation in an older home in Edmonton or Prince George, testing is part of how we build. Ask us about it at your design consultation.
