Asbestos testing in Burlington for commercial buildings

If you are planning a renovation, fit-out or demolition in a commercial building in Burlington, whether a QEW or North Service Road office, an industrial unit around Appleby, Harvester or Mainway, or a Brant Street storefront, you need to know whether the materials you are about to disturb contain asbestos. Sofisa Group Inc. is a WSIB-cleared and insured Ontario commercial general contractor and asbestos abatement contractor based in Mississauga, serving Burlington and Halton. We coordinate asbestos testing for property managers, building owners, landlords and tenants' project managers: sampling, a qualified assessor's survey and analysis by an accredited lab. When asbestos is confirmed, we carry out the abatement.

Sofisa is not a laboratory and does not act as an independent consultant. The assessor and the lab are qualified third parties; we arrange the work, read the results against your scope and plan what comes next.

Much of Burlington's commercial stock has been re-planned more than once: industrial-office cores on their second or third interior, Aldershot professional buildings handed back between tenants, service-road offices re-demised for new leases. Every one of those layouts may have used different materials. Testing is usually needed:

• Before a tenant fit-out or re-demising that opens walls, ceilings or floors
• Before interior or full demolition of a unit
• When an existing survey doesn't cover the areas now being worked on
• When suspect material has been damaged, for example after a leak or by other trades

For background on which buildings are most likely to contain it, see asbestos in commercial buildings built before 1990.

The assessor samples what your work will disturb, typically joint compound, floor tile and mastic, ceiling tile, pipe and duct insulation, and sprayed fireproofing. We review your drawings and any existing survey first, coordinate the assessor and an accredited lab, then read the report against your scope so any abatement is priced and scheduled ahead of construction. In Ontario, the owner is expected to identify asbestos-containing materials before construction work begins and share that information with contractors, and Ontario Reg. 278/05 sets out how asbestos work is classified and carried out. Asbestos is one of several designated substances in Ontario, and testing is often part of a broader hazardous building materials assessment. Confirm requirements for your project.

Testing tells you what is in the walls; it does not replace a City permit. The City of Burlington's Building Department issues permits for construction, renovations and demolition. Its demolition permits page notes that, under the Building Code Act, no one may demolish a building unless the Chief Building Official has issued a permit, and that the application includes a signed Demolition Clearance Form. For industrial, commercial and institutional space, the City lists separate requirements for unit finish or interior alteration and for demolition on its building permit application page, with application packages sent by email. Book the survey early so the results are in hand before the permit drawings and the tender are finalized.

Along the Harvester and Mainway corridor, most industrial units load at grade and the tenant keeps shipping. On Brant Street and Plains Road, plaza stores trade with neighbours either side. Sampling is limited to small areas, so the assessor's visit is scheduled around shipping and opening hours, and sampled spots are sealed or patched afterwards. We plan access with the property manager before the assessor arrives.

If the lab confirms asbestos in the work area, the abatement is done before other trades start. Ontario classifies asbestos work as Type 1, Type 2 or Type 3, each with different precautions, and Type 3 work usually involves a notice to the Ministry of Labour before it starts. Our blog on Type 3 asbestos notice timelines in Ontario explains the lead time involved. See asbestos abatement in Burlington for how removal runs in Halton units, our abatement services for the full scope, and the commercial asbestos abatement cost guide for what drives the price.

Because Sofisa also does interior demolition in Burlington and drywall and framing in Burlington, the test results feed straight into one plan: abatement first, then demolition, then the rebuild. See commercial contracting in Burlington for everything we take on in the city, and asbestos testing in Mississauga for Peel. Crews mobilise from the Mississauga yard along the QEW and the 403.

Send the building address, the unit or suite, a short description of the planned work and any drawings. If there is an existing asbestos survey or management plan, include it, even if it is old: it tells the assessor what has already been sampled and where the gaps are. Then contact us or call, and we'll arrange the site visit.