Asbestos Roof Removal in Metairie, LA
Big Easy Roofing removes asbestos cement and asbestos containing roofing from Metairie homes, sampled before anything is touched and taken off the roof intact wherever that is feasible. The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors lists asbestos abatement and removal at a value of $1 or more, with no dollar threshold, so ask any contractor which classification they hold before anyone climbs a ladder.
Metairie asbestos roof removal at a glance
Asbestos roof removal in Metairie starts with a sample, not a quote. Testing decides whether the job is an ordinary tear off or a licensed abatement, and the laboratory result, the roof size and the disposal route set the price. Call Big Easy Roofing and we will come out and give you an estimate.
Removal cost
Every asbestos roof is priced individually from the laboratory result, the measured area and the disposal route, as a line on top of the new roof that replaces it. Call Big Easy Roofing on (504) 800-8196 and we will come out and give you an estimate.
Estimated bulk sample
Polarized light microscopy on a physical sample of each distinct material. A roof usually needs two or three samples: the covering, the felt or underlayment beneath it, and any mastic.
Louisiana licence threshold
The board lists asbestos abatement and removal at a value of $1 or more, so there is no practical minimum, while residential construction is licensed once it exceeds $50,000 and commercial construction at $50,000 or more. The board's own classification description is written around friable asbestos, so ask which classification covers your job.
OSHA removal method
29 CFR 1926.1101(g)(8)(ii)(A) requires asbestos containing roofing material to be removed in an intact state to the extent feasible. Breaking it up is not a shortcut. It can change what the material legally is, and with it the rules that apply.
Estimated timeline
Sampling and laboratory turnaround take most of the first week. Removal on a typical Metairie single storey roof is one to two days, with the replacement covering following straight behind it.
Warranty
Big Easy Roofing warranties the replacement roof and its installation. The abatement itself is documented with the laboratory report, the waste record and photographs rather than warrantied.
Every figure on this page is an estimate, not a quote, and is subject to Big Easy Roofing sign off. Cost and timescale depend on size, pitch, access, weather, materials and whatever is found once work starts, so call Big Easy Roofing on (504) 800-8196 and we will come out and give you an estimate for your own roof.
Metairie has a large stock of houses built before the mid 1980s, and asbestos went into roofing products throughout that period. The two you actually meet on a roof here are asbestos cement sheet and shingle, the hard grey product often called transite, and asbestos containing asphalt felts and mastics in older built up and low slope sections. Neither announces itself. A cement shingle that has weathered for fifty years looks like any other cement shingle.
The one thing that settles it is a laboratory result on a physical sample. It is worth being precise about why, because the federal standard is often quoted loosely. OSHA presumes asbestos in thermal system insulation and surfacing material in buildings built no later than 1980, and roofing is neither of those, so a roof does not carry that presumption. It has to be sampled. Anyone who tells you a Metairie roof is or is not asbestos by looking at it from the driveway is guessing.
The reason to get this right before work starts rather than after is that the removal method changes what the material legally is. Intact, both families are nonfriable, and the federal definition of regulated asbestos containing material catches them by different routes: an asphalt roofing product once it has been sanded, ground, cut or abraded, and a cement product once it has a high probability of being crumbled, pulverised or reduced to powder by the forces acting on it. Breaking either one up gets you there. A crew that turns up with a circular saw and a skip can convert a contained job into a regulated one in an afternoon, and the homeowner is the one left with the site.
What is on a Metairie roof and how it gets identified
Four materials account for almost every asbestos finding on a Metairie roof, and each is handled differently. The table below sets out what each one is, how it is confirmed, and what removing it involves. Every row assumes a laboratory result on a physical sample rather than a visual guess.
| Material | How it is confirmed | Estimated removal | Federal category if intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asbestos cement sheet or shingle | Bulk sample analysed by polarized light microscopy, one per distinct material | Call for an estimate | Category II nonfriable |
| Asphalt roofing felt or built up felt | Bulk sample from each felt layer, which may differ from the cap sheet | Call for an estimate | Category I nonfriable |
| Mastic, flashing cement and sealant | Separate sample, because a clean covering can sit over an asbestos mastic | Priced with the covering | Category I if asphalt based |
| Cement soffit, fascia or wall panel at the eave | Sampled with the roof, since the same panel often runs round the eave | Call for an estimate | Category II nonfriable |
| Repair under 25 square feet, intact | Still sampled, but the OSHA small job provision changes the work practices | Priced per job | Whichever the material turns out to be |
Removal is priced per roof, never off a rate card, because the sample result, the roof size and the disposal facility all move it. Call (504) 800-8196 to arrange sampling and an estimate on your Metairie roof.
The licence, the categories and what the law actually requires
Three separate rulebooks reach an asbestos roof in Metairie, and they do not all reach it in the same way. Louisiana sets the licence, OSHA sets how the material comes off the roof, and the federal air rule sets notification for larger buildings. A single family house sits differently under each one.
Licence at $1 or more
The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors requires a licence for asbestos, hazardous waste, lead based paint abatement or removal, and underground storage tank projects with a value of $1 or more. Residential construction is only licensed once it exceeds $50,000, so a roofer can be properly licensed for a large re roof and hold nothing that covers a small asbestos removal. Ask to see it.
OSHA roofing work practices
The construction asbestos standard carries a work practice list written specifically for removing roofing material. Material comes off intact to the extent feasible, cutting machines are continuously misted, and nothing is dropped or thrown to the ground. It is lowered by covered dust tight chute, crane or hoist, or carried down by hand, and it is off the roof by the end of the shift.
The 25 square foot provision
Removal or repair of sections of intact roofing under 25 square feet does not require wet methods or HEPA vacuuming, provided manual methods keep the material intact and no visible dust is created. All work on the same roof on the same day counts toward the 25 square feet, so it cannot be split across a morning and an afternoon.
Exposure limits
The permissible exposure limit is 0.1 asbestos fibre per cubic centimetre of air as an eight hour time weighted average, with an excursion limit of 1.0 fibre per cubic centimetre over any thirty minute period. Removing asbestos roofing is Class II asbestos work, which the standard names as including roofing and siding shingles.
Why the federal notification rule usually does not reach your house
The federal asbestos air rule is built around the word facility, and its definition expressly excludes residential buildings having four or fewer dwelling units. A Metairie single family home is therefore outside it, which is why the ten working day notification, the quantity thresholds that trigger a facility renovation and the separate rules that govern a demolition are aimed at schools, shops, warehouses and apartment blocks rather than at a bungalow on Metairie Road.
That is not the same as saying nothing applies. The Louisiana licence applies at a dollar, the OSHA standard applies to whoever is on the roof, and the waste still has to go to a facility that will take it. Where the building has more than four dwelling units, or the work forms part of a wider demolition or renovation project, the federal rule can reach it, and we confirm that with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality before scheduling rather than assuming.
Intact or broken up is the whole decision
Under the federal definitions, intact asbestos cement roofing is nonfriable and asbestos containing asphalt roofing products are Category I nonfriable. Regulated asbestos containing material is a different thing: friable material, Category I nonfriable that has been subjected to sanding, grinding, cutting or abrading, or Category II nonfriable with a high probability of being crumbled or reduced to powder by the forces expected to act on it.
So the removal method is not a matter of care and tidiness, it decides which set of rules the job falls under. This is the single reason a licensed crew works slowly at the ridge and the eave, lifts fixings rather than cutting through them, and lowers panels instead of sliding them into a skip.
What we find on older Metairie and Jefferson Parish roofs
Three patterns come up again and again on Metairie asbestos calls, and each one changes the scope rather than just the price. Knowing which of them you have before the quote is written is the difference between a fixed number and a job that grows once the first panel is lifted.
A cement roof that outlived its fixings
Asbestos cement shingle and corrugated sheet is durable, and plenty of it in Metairie is still weathertight sixty years on while the nails and the battens under it are not. The tell is movement rather than cracking: panels that rattle in wind, slipped courses, and rust staining running down from the fixing line.
That matters for removal because fixings that have corroded into the batten are the main reason a panel breaks on the way off. Cutting the fixing rather than the panel is slower and is what keeps the material intact.
Storm damage that has already broken the material
A panel cracked by a limb or lifted by wind is no longer the straightforward case. Once the material is broken the intact removal route is partly gone, the debris on the ground is part of the job, and the area has to be controlled before anything else happens.
If you have storm damage on a roof you suspect is asbestos, the useful thing to do is not clear the debris yourself. Photograph it, leave it, and let a licensed crew scope it. Tidying up first is the most common way a small job becomes a large one.
A newer covering laid straight over the old one
A recover is common on Metairie houses, and it hides the original. We regularly find asbestos cement or asbestos felt under a later asphalt layer, which nobody knew about because the last roofer never lifted it.
This is why sampling reaches the layers underneath, not just the surface. A clean result on the top covering says nothing about what is beneath it, and finding out mid tear off is the expensive version of the same discovery.
Big Easy Roofing Asbestos Removal Process
Four steps, and the first two happen before any price is fixed, because on this job the laboratory result is what sets the scope. Nothing is lifted, cut or cleared until the material is identified and the written scope names the removal method and the disposal route.
Site visit and bulk sampling
Same week visit at the address. We photograph the covering and identify every distinct material, and sampling is carried out by a qualified asbestos professional and analysed by an accredited laboratory using polarized light microscopy. Nothing is disturbed beyond the sample itself.
Written scope once the result is back
The laboratory report decides the job. If it comes back negative the work reverts to an ordinary tear off and is priced that way. If it is positive the scope names the removal method, the controls, the disposal facility and a fixed price, and the abatement is carried out by a contractor holding the Louisiana asbestos licence.
Controlled, intact removal
Fixings are released rather than cut through wherever possible so panels come away whole. Material is lowered by chute or by hand, never dropped, and everything is off the roof and into covered containers by the end of the shift. Roof level air intakes are isolated first.
Disposal record, then the new roof
Waste goes to a facility permitted to receive it and you get the laboratory report, the photographs and the disposal record for your file. The replacement covering follows straight behind, so the roof is only open for the shortest workable window.
Everything else we do in Metairie
The rest of the Big Easy Roofing services available in Metairie, each with its own page, crew and written scope. Where the covering underneath turns out to be sound and only the asbestos layer has to go, the follow on work is usually a full roof replacement priced in the same scope.

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Read MoreMetairie Asbestos Roof Removal FAQs
The questions Metairie homeowners ask before they let anyone touch an older roof, answered before you have to pick up the phone.
Topic
Question not here?
Ask us anything about your Metairie roof. We usually answer the same day, no charge and no obligation.
Call (504) 800-8196How do I know if my Metairie roof contains asbestos
Only a laboratory result on a physical sample can tell you. Age is a prompt rather than an answer: asbestos went into roofing products through the 1970s and into the 1980s, so a Metairie house from that era is worth sampling. The OSHA presumption that older material contains asbestos applies to thermal system insulation and surfacing material, and roofing is neither, so a roof is never presumed either way. It is sampled.
How much does asbestos roof removal cost in Metairie
Every asbestos roof is different, so we price it properly rather than quoting a rate that will not hold. Call Big Easy Roofing on (504) 800-8196 and we will come out, look at the roof and give you an estimate. Each bulk sample runs an estimated $50 to $150, which is the laboratory fee, and the removal itself is priced from the laboratory result, the measured area and the disposal route, written down before any work starts.
Does a Louisiana contractor need a licence for a small asbestos job
Almost certainly, and at any size. The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors lists asbestos abatement and removal at a value of $1 or more, with no dollar threshold, while residential construction is licensed only once it exceeds $50,000 and commercial construction at $50,000 or more. So a roofer can hold a perfectly valid licence for a large re roof and hold nothing that covers asbestos work. One nuance worth raising with the board directly: its classification description is written around friable asbestos, and an intact cement roof is nonfriable, so ask LSLBC which classification applies to your specific job.
Do you have to notify anyone before removing an asbestos roof
It depends on the building. The federal asbestos air rule applies to facilities, and its definition of a facility excludes residential buildings with four or fewer dwelling units, so a single family Metairie home generally sits outside its ten working day notification requirement, and so does a duplex. Buildings with more than four dwelling units, and work forming part of a wider demolition or renovation project, can fall inside it. We confirm the position with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality before scheduling.
Is it safer to leave an asbestos roof alone
Sometimes, and it is a fair question to ask. Intact, undisturbed asbestos cement roofing is nonfriable and is not shedding fibres in the way damaged or friable material does. The case for removal is usually that the roof has reached the end of its service life, that fixings or battens have failed, or that storm damage has already broken the material. If the covering is sound we will tell you so.
How long does an asbestos roof removal take in Metairie
Estimated two to five days end to end. Sampling and laboratory turnaround take most of the first week before any work starts. Removal on a typical Metairie single storey roof is one to two days, and the replacement covering follows immediately behind so the deck is not left open longer than it has to be.
Why does it matter whether the material comes off in one piece
Because it changes what the material legally is. Intact, it is nonfriable. The federal definition of regulated asbestos containing material then catches the two families differently: an asphalt roofing product once it has been sanded, ground, cut or abraded, and a cement product once it has a high probability of being crumbled, pulverised or reduced to powder by the forces acting on it. Either way a stricter set of rules applies. The OSHA roofing provisions require removal in an intact state to the extent feasible for exactly this reason.
Can you just repair a small area without removing the whole roof
Often yes. The OSHA standard has a specific provision for this: removal or repair of sections of intact roofing under 25 square feet does not require wet methods or HEPA vacuuming, as long as manual methods keep the material intact and no visible dust is created. All work on the same roof on the same day counts toward that 25 square feet, so it cannot be split across two visits in a day.
What happens to the material after it comes off my roof
It goes into covered, dust tight containers on site and then to a facility permitted to receive asbestos waste. It is never dropped or thrown to the ground, it is lowered by covered chute or carried down, and anything not intact is bagged or wrapped while it is still on the roof. You get the disposal record along with the laboratory report and the photographs.
Do you remove asbestos roofs in Old Metairie, Bucktown and the lakeside streets
Yes. Big Easy Roofing works across all of Metairie, including Old Metairie, Bucktown, the Lake Vista side and the streets off Veterans and Metairie Road, and the older housing stock in those neighbourhoods is exactly where this comes up. Coverage extends to Kenner, Harahan, River Ridge and the rest of unincorporated Jefferson Parish.
Get your Metairie roof sampled before anyone quotes it
Free site visit at the address, sampling of every distinct material by a qualified asbestos professional, and a written scope with the removal method, the disposal route and a fixed price once the laboratory result is in.
Call (504) 800-8196





