You can't put a price tag on preserving the health and safety of you, your family and your pets. Many of the threats to your home's safety aren't visible and you need to hire a professional to come in and test your home for things such as asbestos, water and air quality, mold, lead and other toxins. Additionally, when something happens to a member of your family, or if it's simply a change in age that causes disability, and you find yourself needing to retrofit your home to accommodate for the new living circumstance, remodeling will allow the disabled person in your home to feel more empowered and independent.
Indoor Air Quality
In the last several years, evidence has suggested that the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air, thus, for many people the risks to health may be greater due to exposure to air pollution indoors than outdoors. If you notice allergy like symptoms or breathing problems that get better when you are away from your property, you should have your home tested. These tests will look for mold, asbestos, problems lurking n your duct work as well as any other general pollutants in your home. There are so called "do it yourself" kits, but you may want to heavily consider their use. While they are less expensive than hiring a professional, they may or may not give you all the needed results at an accurate level. Price ranges for a professional vary greatly - depending on the size of your home as well as what tests you'd like completed. Don't forget, you also might need to shell out some dollars to fix the issues found. Continue Reading
If you have children, lead in your home can cause serious long term health and behavior problems. Lead is a hazard to children under 6 years of age in particular. Lead can also harm a pregnant woman and her developing fetus. Most homes built before 1978 have some lead paint while homes built before 1960 have the most lead paint. Sanding, scraping or otherwise disturbing lead paint can release large amounts of toxic lead dust. Lead-based paint inspections are a surface-by-surface investigation to determine whether there is lead-based paint in the home and where it is located. An inspection may be particularly useful before renovation, repainting, or paint removal. The presence of lead-based paint in a home does not necessarily mean there is a lead-based paint hazard to occupants. To make sure, you may want a different testing approach - either a risk assessment or hazard screen. Either way, a professional method is needed and will be necessary if you decide to remove the toxic lead found in your home. The average cost of toxic lead abatement ranges from $5 to $20 per square foot - depending on the area in which you live. The cost is more if you need the lead removed from the outside of your home because there will need to be protective screening required.
Asbestos
There are many ways to test for the presence of asbestos in a home and while there are home kits available on the market that test for the presence of asbestos in certain materials, the extremely hazardous nature of asbestos dictates that you hire someone for testing and subsequent removal, if necessary. Some roofing and shingles are made of asbestos cement and houses built between 1930 and 1950 may have asbestos insulation. Asbestos could also be in paint, vinyl floor tiles, steam pipes and furnaces. Asbestos professionals can conduct home inspections, take samples of material, assess its condition, and advise about what corrections are needed and who is qualified to make these corrections. Remember, material in good condition doesn't need to be removed unless it is going to be disturbed. If removal is warranted, be prepared as in some cases, you may have to relocate while this is being done. Charges for these services can vary greatly
Interior and Exterior Modifications for Disability
Interior modifications like adding grab bars and handrails throughout the home, lowering cabinets and sinks, non-slip flooring, stair lifts, widening halls and doors, etc. can all be done by a qualified professional. You may also need to think about lowered toilets, thermostats installed at a lower height and even simple things like access to window treatments and easier to use door knobs. There are so many considerations based on the type of disability that it's difficult to narrow down here. Just know that your professional will have some great ideas and will be able to help you get started.
If you need a wheelchair ramp or increased access to areas around your home or maybe even adding automatic gates for ease-of-use - your professional can do all this and more. Talk to your contractor about the disability and the activity level of the person needing the modifications and together you can come up with a customized solution for your home.
Indoor Air Quality Testing Costs Vary. If you can see for example, visible mold in an area of the home or building you are having Inspected and it tests positive for a combination of Mold species, that does not mean you have found all the Mold Species that may be hidden inside wall, ceilings and floors. Air Testing will pick up Mold Spores that can be seen as well as what is hidden. Cost vary due to: How many rooms you want tested, How many Floor levels the home or building has, What type of samples you opt for, and how fast you need the results. Most Labs charge per sample and how fast the Turn-Around is required (like with contingency limits a Real Estate transaction may have in the contract). Usually the testing is going to cost between $175.00 to several hundred dollars on large projects. It all depends on what you need and want. Due to Vehicle Costs, Time Restraints and Lab Fee(s), Most Environmental Testing Services start at about $175.00 for Inspection and a single sample taken and shipped to a Certified Lab. You can expect to pay between $100.00 to $125.00 for inspection only.
Environmental Safety Cost Estimates by HomeAdvisor
