Most residential asbestos jobs we estimate in Connecticut come in between about $5,000 and $13,000, and the typical job is a little over $8,000. A single small area, such as one run of pipe insulation or a bathroom floor, can be a few thousand dollars. A whole house, a boiler room with everything wrapped, or a fire-damaged building with contents to clean can run well into five figures. Those are not guesses. Since 2009 we have written more than 4,000 estimates across Connecticut, and the numbers on this page come from the ones we wrote in the last two years.
Nobody else publishes this, and we understand why. Prices depend on what the material is, how much of it there is, and how hard it is to get to, so any range is going to be wrong for somebody. But you are trying to decide whether to call, whether the other quote you got is reasonable, and whether the number you are afraid of is real. This page is for that. The only number that applies to your house is the one on a written estimate after a free on-site visit, and that one does not change unless the scope does.
Typical cost by material
Here is what the most common jobs have cost recently, rounded, with the middle half of our estimates as the range. The middle half means a quarter of jobs cost less than the low end and a quarter cost more than the high end, usually because of size or access.
Floor tile and mastic. The nine-inch tiles and the black adhesive under them, usually a basement or a kitchen. Typically $4,500 to $9,000, with the middle job around $6,400. This is our most common job and one of the most predictable, because the material is flat, on the floor, and easy to keep wet.
Plaster, popcorn, and ceiling texture. Typically $5,500 to $11,500, with the middle job around $8,600. Ceilings cost more than floors for the same square footage because the work is overhead, the containment has to protect everything below it, and the material comes down in pieces.
Pipe and duct insulation. The white wrap on basement pipes and the paper wrap on old ductwork. Typically $3,500 to $9,000, with the middle job around $7,500. The wide range is about length and access: a straight run in an open basement is a day; pipes threaded through a finished ceiling are not.
Drywall joint compound and wall systems. When the seams in pre-1980 drywall test positive, the wall usually comes out. As a line on a larger job this typically adds $2,500 to $3,600; on its own it is priced by the room.
Boiler and tank insulation, transite siding and roofing, and lead paint. We do all of these, and we have not written enough of them in the last two years to publish an honest range. They are priced by the days of work and the disposal, and the free visit gives you a real number.
Cost per square foot for walls and ceilings
For plaster, ceilings, and wall systems, the price per square foot drops as the job gets bigger, because the containment and the setup are the same whether the room is 400 square feet or 4,000. From our 2024 and later estimates, rounded:
| Size of the job | Typical price per square foot | Usual range |
|---|---|---|
| 300 to 1,000 sq ft | about $15 | $12 to $17 |
| 1,000 to 2,000 sq ft | about $12 | $9.50 to $15 |
| 2,000 to 3,500 sq ft | about $10.50 | $9.50 to $11.50 |
| 3,500 to 6,000 sq ft | about $8.75 | $8.25 to $11 |
| Over 6,000 sq ft | about $7 | $5 to $8.50 |
So a 600-square-foot plaster ceiling and a 3,000-square-foot whole-floor job are not five times apart in price; they are closer to three and a half times apart. If a quote for a small job is far under $12 a square foot, ask what is being left out.
What moves the price up or down
How many separate areas have to be sealed. Every containment is built, run under negative air, cleaned, and tested on its own. Two rooms at opposite ends of a house cost more than one room of the same total size.
Access and height. A basement floor is the easy case. A cathedral ceiling, a crawlspace, or pipes above a finished ceiling take longer and need more setup.
Condition of the material. Intact tile that comes up in whole pieces is faster than crumbling plaster that has to be handled wet in small amounts.
Fire and water damage, and contents. When asbestos has been spread by a fire or a flood, the job is designed by an independent asbestos consultant, approved by the state as an alternative work practice, and cleared with a more sensitive TEM air test. Those projects run longer and cost more, and they are a large part of the work we do for restoration contractors and insurance claims.
Disposal. Asbestos waste goes to a licensed facility with a shipment record, and the volume drives that line. A whole-house tile job fills a container; a bathroom does not.
The state notification. Connecticut charges a notification fee on most abatement jobs: $100, or $100 plus one percent of the abatement cost once the job reaches 160 square feet. It appears as its own line on our estimate so you can see it.
Schedule. A job that has to happen this week, around a closing date or a contractor waiting on site, is scheduled differently than one with a month of lead time. We will tell you if that changes the number.
Two costs that are not in these numbers
Testing. We do not test the material we are hired to remove, and you should not hire anyone who does both. An independent inspector samples it and a lab analyzes it; that is a separate, smaller bill, and it comes first.
The clearance test. At the end of every job an independent lab, not our crew, tests the air before the containment comes down. That test runs about $400 per contained area for the standard PCM analysis and more for TEM, and we list it separately on the estimate so you can see who is doing it.
Rebuilding after the abatement, such as new flooring or a new ceiling, is your contractor’s number, not ours, and our clean hand-off is designed to let them start the next day.
Why the cheapest quote is often the most expensive
We are usually competitive on price and we lose some jobs to lower bids. Here is what we have seen happen after some of those. A crew without a license skips the containment and the negative air, the fibers spread through the house, and the family is exposed for years without knowing it. A contractor cuts the air test, so there is no proof the space is safe, and the buyer’s attorney or the insurance adjuster refuses the file later. Or the containment is built badly, the clearance test fails, and the job takes a second week at the client’s expense. The documentation package you get at the end of a licensed job, the clearance report, the waste shipment record, and the state notification, is what makes the money you spent hold its value when you sell or refinance.
Get a real number for your house
Call or text (860) 416-0229 or request a free on-site estimate. We come out, usually within the week, and you get a written number the same day or the next. If the honest answer is that the material can be managed in place instead of removed, we will tell you that too. Hablamos español.
Zero Hazard, LLC · Licensed and insured asbestos and lead abatement contractor · Since 2009. Numbers on this page are rounded from our own Connecticut estimates and updated each year; they are a guide, not a quote.