Client: ILM Homes, Inc. | Location: Northbrook, IL
Pioneer was retained by a prominent home builder to perform a pre-demolition asbestos inspection for a relatively large church and parsonage structure, which was located in Chicagoland’s northern suburbs and constructed in the early 1970s. Due to the building’s state of disuse, the client was able to obtain authorization from the seller to perform this somewhat destructive sampling during the course of his due diligence activities, in order to determine potential abatement costs that would be incurred prior to demolition.
The facility contained a wide variety of finishing materials, and suspect asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) identified by Pioneer’s veteran licensed asbestos building inspector included numerous types of vinyl flooring, wallboard systems, various types of drop ceiling tiles, textured surfacing materials and thermal system insulation/mudded pipe insulation. Our team collected over 100 samples for Polarized Light Microscopy laboratory analysis as part of this study, which determined that a textured surfacing material located throughout main sanctuary contained 2%-3% Chrysotile asbestos. The height of the sanctuary and type of application of the material made for a relatively challenging and costly ACM abatement project; however, Pioneer’s investigation enabled the client to realize these impending expenses prior to closing on the acquisition. As a result, he was able to negotiate a significant price reduction with the seller — and avoid what could have been a significant out-of-pocket hit.
