Asbestos, lead and the works budget: reflecting the surveys in the estimate

Asbestos and lead in buildings are governed by the labour code and the public health code. The obligations differ according to the type of building, the date of construction and the nature of the works planned.

Any building whose planning permission was granted before 1 July 1997 is potentially affected; asbestos was banned in France on that date. An asbestos survey before works is compulsory ahead of any demolition, refurbishment or maintenance liable to release fibres. It must be carried out by an accredited surveyor. Its absence exposes both the client and the design team to criminal proceedings if there is an incident.

A lead exposure survey is compulsory before works on dwellings built before 1 January 1949. Lead paint was common until then, and can be present under several layers of more recent paint. Exceeding the statutory threshold of 1 mg/cm² triggers an obligation to remove it under a controlled procedure.

ℹ The two dates to remember: July 1997 for asbestos, 1949 for lead A building from 1985 is clearly affected by asbestos, being pre-1997, but not by lead, being post-1949. A block from 1935 is affected by both. A building from 2000 is affected by neither. The dates apply to the planning permission, not to the purchase, a previous refurbishment or a change of owner. A building from 1975 that was completely refurbished in 2010 still requires an asbestos survey if any original material remains in place.

The asbestos and lead surveys are the only ones whose absence carries criminal sanctions. The others are advisable, but their absence creates an economic uncertainty the estimate has to reflect in a higher contingency. The energy audit has become compulsory before selling a poorly rated property, and it also guides the retrofit choices and quantifies the grants available.

The cost of removal depends heavily on the nature of the material and its condition. Friable materials such as sprayed coatings and pipe lagging release fibres and require the most stringent procedure with specialist accredited contractors, which is the most expensive route. Non-friable materials such as vinyl floor tiles and cement sheet in good condition can be handled under the lighter procedure.

ℹ The two procedures and what they do to a budget The stringent procedure applies to removing or encapsulating friable asbestos-containing materials. It requires certified contractors, a removal plan approved by the labour inspectorate, full containment of the works and high-grade personal protection. It costs three to five times a standard contract. The lighter procedure applies to work on non-friable materials, lifting vinyl tiles, removing cement sheet in good condition. It is less onerous but still requires specific training for the operatives, appropriate equipment and dedicated waste handling.

Lead removal is less systematic than asbestos removal: it concerns only dwellings from before 1949, and only where the statutory threshold is exceeded in the working area. Its cost depends on where the lead paint is, walls, joinery, ceilings, and on the method chosen: chemical stripping, thermal stripping or replacing the element.

• Chemical stripping of lead paint: 40 to 80 €/m² depending on the thickness and the number of coats. It is the commonest method on large flat surfaces.

• Thermal stripping: prohibited in an occupied building, since it releases lead vapour. It is used only on sites that have been fully vacated.

• Replacing the element, windows or shutters: often cheaper than stripping where the element is worn out anyway. Include the cost of removal and of disposal in a dedicated skip.

• Disposal of lead-bearing waste: an approved facility is compulsory, at three to six times the cost of ordinary inert waste.

On a 100 m² dwelling from before 1949 with lead paint throughout the walls and ceilings, complete removal can represent 15 000 to 35 000 €, that is 150 to 350 €/m². That figure is systematically understated in feasibility budgets.

The correct method is to reflect the survey findings in the estimate as soon as they are available, and to carry a provision while they are awaited. The table below sets out the standard scenarios.

The economist has to build the survey timetable into the production programme. An asbestos survey takes 5 to 15 working days between order and report, and that period has to be anticipated so it does not hold up the tender package.

• Feasibility with no surveys: produce the estimate from rates with a high contingency of 15 to 20 %, and state explicitly that the surveys are awaited.

• Outline design with surveys ordered but not received: hold the high contingency and tell the client when the findings are due.

• Developed design with the findings received: reflect the confirmed costs in the estimate, reduce the contingency accordingly, and adapt the programme, placing any removal contract ahead of the main works.

• Tender with the surveys unfinished: do not go out. Contractors cannot price a removal package without a validated survey report. Going to tender on an incomplete report produces alternatives and qualifications that make the tenders impossible to compare.

ℹ The recommended sequence: surveys before the developed design estimate Good practice is to order the compulsory surveys at outline design, as soon as the decision to refurbish is taken, so that they arrive before the developed design estimate and the tender package are produced. Waiting until tender stage to order them is a frequent mistake that creates calendar pressure and forces the choice between going to tender without findings, which produces incomparable tenders, and delaying the tender, which delays the project.

• Leaving the surveys out of the feasibility budget altogether: a budget with no line for surveys is an incomplete budget. Even where the findings are unknown, carry their cost, 1 500 to 5 000 € in total, and a provision for what they may reveal.

• Pricing removal work with no survey report: removal cannot be priced without knowing the nature, location and condition of the material. A lump sum provision is the only correct approach before the findings.

• Confusing a sale survey with a survey before works: the survey carried out for a sale is often insufficient for construction work; the client needs a survey specific to the areas the works will affect.

• Forgetting the disposal premium: asbestos waste costs 5 to 15 € a kilo, fifty to a hundred and fifty times the cost of inert waste. On a 50 m² removal contract, the disposal premium can exceed the cost of the removal itself.

The asbestos survey before works is compulsory for any building permitted before July 1997, and the lead survey for any dwelling permitted before 1949. Their absence carries criminal sanctions. Asbestos removal runs from 15 €/m² for cement sheet under the lighter procedure to 250 €/m² for sprayed coatings under the stringent one, plus a disposal premium of 5 to 15 € a kilo. Lead removal runs at 40 to 80 €/m² over the areas concerned. The estimate has to reflect these costs as soon as the findings arrive, and carry 15 to 20 % while they are awaited. Do not go to tender without a finalised survey report. Good practice is to order the surveys at outline design and reflect them at developed design.

The nature of the figures quoted

The percentages and amounts quoted on this page are orders of magnitude for framing, not measurements. They illustrate mechanisms and proportions, and they substitute neither for a tender exercise nor for an estimate prepared on drawings.

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