This renovator's tip on dealing with asbestos in the home during a renovation has stirred up quite a bit of controversy. The official TikTok for Bison Renovations, Inc (@bisoreno) uploaded a video featuring its founder and co-owner, Joe Caito that has amassed over 130,000 views.
And it's making people realize how big a problem asbestos can be in your home.
The video opens with Caito applying self-leveler cement using a paint roller on an extended handle to apply cement evenly onto the floor.
“Self-leveler [cement] makes the floor smooth,” he said, pointing to the other side of the room.
Caito goes on to explain that he’s using self-leveling cement in this area specifically because he's encapsulating asbestos tile.
“That stuff’s 50, 60 years old, and instead of pulling it all up and spending thousands—if you do it the correct way and the legal way. We’re just going to encapsulate it so we save ourselves [...] and save our investors a bunch of money. This is perfectly OK to do, too.”
As the video comes to an end, he also cautions against improperly removing and disposing of the asbestos tile.
“The illegal way would just be to pull it out and throw it in the [expletive] dumpster. But that’s not a healthy thing. It’s not good for the environment... not good for people around it or handling it,” he said.
"It’s just–just wrong, and I won’t do that.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, “Stealing (encapsulation) involves treating the material with a sealant that either binds the asbestos fibers together or coats the material." This way, the fibers don't become airborne.
The article goes on to say “Removal is complex and must be done only by a trained and accredited asbestos professional. Improper removal may actually increase your and your family’s exposure to asbestos fibers.”
But a U.K.-based industry blog notes that it's not only cheaper, but oftentimes safer to encapsulate: "By encapsulating the areas, you mitigate risks of the microscopic fibres becoming airborne as it involves much less disturbance, as opposed to asbestos removal."
When the Daily Dot reached out to Bison Renovations for comment, they had this to say:
“At Bison Renovations, we sometimes choose to encapsulate asbestos tile as a cost-effective and completely legal alternative to full abatement, which can be quite expensive. While we would ideally prefer to remove all asbestos materials and dispose of them properly, the high costs associated are not always within our client’s budgets.”
“By encapsulating, we provide a safe solution that fits our client’s financial needs, ensuring that safety and legality are never compromised. We appreciate the diverse viewpoints in the comments and take them as opportunities to discuss the safe and legal options available to homeowners in the Tampa area.”
Indeed commenters weren’t too happy with Caito’s advice, some arguing that it only concealed the problem instead of resolving it.
“Do the investors have to disclose that there is encapsulated asbestos in the house, or will the next flipper find out the hard way?” someone wrote.
“Encapsulated asbestos. Yeah, that’s the right way. Hide the problem for the next guy. Pay for garbage work, win garbage labor.”
“[T]he correct and legal way? [T]he correct way would be to remove completely so you don't have a forever future sign that says [the] property has asbestos... [A]sbestos is not safe in the home.”
@bisonreno Instead of pulling up this old asbestos tile, we’re covering it with self leveling cement to get ready for the new floors ???? #bisonrenovations #asbestos #toxic #flooring #floorinstallation #homerenovation #homeremodel ♬ original sound - Bison Renovations
“Next [guy’s] problem... go figure. it’s Florida,” wrote one commenter.
“It’s encapsulated. [It can’t] harm anyone and is perfectly okay as long as it’s disclosed to future owners before ripping out the floor,” the Bison Renovations TikTok account responded.
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