Asbestos rules in Colorado are written mainly for professionals and for commercial, public and multifamily buildings. Single-family homes, and owner-occupants in particular, are treated differently in some respects. That has led to a common belief that homeowners can do whatever they like with asbestos in their own house. That belief is wrong in two ways.

First, any homeowner provisions come with conditions, and disposal of asbestos waste still has to follow the rules. Read the current CDPHE guidance for homeowners before relying on any exemption you have heard about. Second, the rules are not the hazard. Fibers released in your basement do not care who holds a certification. The people most exposed by a do-it-yourself removal are you and anyone who lives with you.

Plastic containment wall dividing a living room during work

Plastic containment wall dividing a living room during work. Included to show the kind of work involved, not a property or job connected to this site.

Should you even consider it?

  • IfYou have not had the material testedThenStop. You cannot plan safe handling for an unknown material. Get it sampled by a certified inspector first.
  • IfThe material is friable, such as pipe wrap, ceiling texture or vermiculiteThenThese are difficult to control without containment and negative air equipment. Hire certified professionals.
  • IfAnyone in the home is a child, pregnant, or has lung diseaseThenThe risk of household contamination weighs heavily against doing it yourself.
  • IfThe house is not your primary residence, or it is a rentalThenAssume homeowner provisions may not apply. Contact CDPHE before doing anything.
  • IfYou have read CDPHE's homeowner guidance and the job is small, intact and non-friableThenTalk with a certified professional anyway. Many owners decide the cost of hiring is smaller than the risk and the cleanup burden.

What a do-it-yourself job would still involve

Listed so you can see the scale, not as instructions.

  • Isolating the work area from the rest of the house, including HVAC.
  • Respiratory protection appropriate for asbestos, properly fitted.
  • Wet methods throughout and no power tools on the material.
  • Proper packaging and labeling of waste.
  • Finding a disposal facility that accepts asbestos waste and following its requirements.
  • Cleaning that does not spread debris, which ordinary vacuums do.

Where to get the real rules

State agency
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Asbestos Program
Regulation
Air Quality Control Commission Regulation No. 8 (asbestos provisions)
Local permits
Your city or county building department, which may ask about asbestos before issuing a remodel or demolition permit
Disposal
Ask the receiving landfill or transfer station what it accepts before bagging anything

General information for the Denver area, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.