Ridge-and-Valley houses built before 1980 in Sequoyah Hills, Fourth & Gill, Old North Knoxville, and Bearden still hide chrysotile popcorn and tremolite vermiculite in the attic, and TDEC APCD plus NESHAP control whether you can disturb it. Call (865) 420-5764.
Sequoyah Hills, Fourth & Gill, Old North Knoxville, and Bearden houses built before 1980 still hide chrysotile in original popcorn and tremolite-bearing vermiculite in Ridge-and-Valley attics — call (865) 420-5764 before anyone rakes that attic. The vermiculite story on Knox County attics is the Libby, Montana mine that fed Zonolite production from 1919 through 1990: the ore carried tremolite asbestos as a natural contaminant, and any Knoxville attic insulated with loose, pebbly, grey-brown fill from that era needs sampled before rework, HVAC install, or blown-in overlay. Popcorn on the same era of house is a separate call — chrysotile-bound spray-on binder was standard 1958 through 1978, with post-ban stock used up into the early 1980s on East Tennessee jobs.
The three material findings that repeat across Knoxville jobs are (1) chrysotile in the original popcorn ceiling, (2) tremolite in a Zonolite attic, and (3) 9x9 vinyl-asbestos floor tile with black cutback mastic. Transite (cement-asbestos) siding on 1950s and 60s ranch and post-war stock — especially along Bearden and Kingston Pike infill — is the fourth. All are non-friable when intact; the risk begins with any renovation cut, drill, sand, or rake that turns intact material into airborne fibre. Pre-disturbance sampling to an AIHA-accredited East Tennessee lab is the only way from “assumed ACM” to a scope decision.
PLM bulk sampling and inspection for popcorn ceilings, siding, floor tile, pipe wrap, and vermiculite. AIHA-accredited lab turnaround; written report identifies materials and recommends the right response.
Full-scope residential asbestos removal across the Knoxville metro: friable and non-friable ACM, containment build, HEPA negative-air, and TDEC-notified disposal manifests.
Popcorn ceiling removal after asbestos test. Includes containment, scrape, HEPA cleanup, and clearance sampling. Ceiling refinish available after the abatement clears.
Transite (cement-asbestos) siding removal on 1950s–1970s Knoxville homes. Full containment, wet methods, and TDEC-manifest disposal — no dumpsters or driveway staging.
9x9 vinyl-asbestos tile and cutback mastic removal for kitchens, basements, and mudrooms. Non-friable protocol with HEPA cleanup and clearance sampling before reflooring.
Pipe wrap, boiler jacket, and duct insulation removal in East TN basements and crawlspaces. Full glovebag or containment method per TDEC scope requirements.
Zonolite (vermiculite) attic insulation removal — the Libby-mine material that shows up in Knoxville homes built before 1990. HEPA vacuum, sealed disposal, clearance test.
Commercial and multi-tenant abatement scoped to your project timeline: NESHAP 10-day notification, containment, air monitoring, and clearance documentation for lenders and inspectors.
Encapsulation with ASTM-tested sealants for pipe insulation, boiler jackets, and low-friability ACM where removal is impractical or unsafe. Full documentation for your file.
Pre-demolition and pre-renovation AHERA surveys for permits, banks, and city plan reviews. Sampled by materials + locations; written scope keys to your demo drawings.
Post-abatement clearance air sampling by PCM or TEM. Passing clearance is what lets the containment come down and re-occupancy begin. AIHA-accredited lab.
TDEC Air Pollution Control Division plus a NESHAP 10-working-day notice control whether a Knox County renovation can touch regulated ACM, and APCD is the office that gets the notice for a Sequoyah Hills or Bearden disturbance — (865) 420-5764. The notice threshold is federal NESHAP: 260 linear feet on pipes, 160 square feet on other facility components, or 35 cubic feet off facility components — cumulative across the whole renovation scope, not measured per room. Cross any one of those three counts and the NOI goes to TDEC APCD at least 10 working days before RACM disturbance, with the fee, the site plan, and the containment-class description sitting on the notice.
Owner-occupied single-family homes of four units or fewer sit outside the NESHAP NOI requirement itself, but HEPA cleanup, wet-method disturbance, sealed 6-mil disposal manifests, and asbestos-trained crew rules still apply on every job regardless of notification status. Multi-family, commercial demo, any renovation over threshold, and any demolition regardless of asbestos content all get the notice to TDEC APCD. Blount and Anderson County work under the same state-delegated TDEC APCD program — same NESHAP thresholds, same 10-working-day window, same office receiving the paperwork.
A Knox County PLM inspection typically lands $250–$600, Ridge-and-Valley popcorn runs $3–$7 per sq ft, and a vermiculite attic with tremolite is $8–$25 per sq ft — every other dollar in the table below stays exactly as published. Full per-service breakdown on the Knoxville asbestos cost page.
| Service | Typical range (Knoxville / East TN market, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Asbestos Testing & Inspection in Knoxville, TN | $250 – $600 (inspection + PLM samples; TEM adds $75-$150/sample) |
| Residential Asbestos Removal in Knoxville, TN | $1,500 – $8,000 (scope-dependent; small basement to whole-house) |
| Popcorn Ceiling Removal in Knoxville, TN | $3 – $7 per sq ft (typical bedroom or living area: $900 - $2,800) |
| Asbestos Siding Removal in Knoxville, TN | $8 – $15 per sq ft (1,500 sq ft home: $12,000 - $22,000) |
| Asbestos Floor Tile Removal in Knoxville, TN | $5 – $15 per sq ft (non-friable protocol; kitchen or mudroom: $1,500 - $4,500) |
| Asbestos Pipe & Duct Insulation Removal | $8 – $15 per linear ft (basement pipe run: $2,500 - $8,000) |
| Vermiculite (Zonolite) Attic Removal | $8 – $25 per sq ft (1,000 sq ft attic: $8,000 - $25,000) |
| Commercial Asbestos Abatement | $10 – $25 per sq ft (NESHAP-notified project; scope varies widely) |
| Asbestos Encapsulation | $2 – $6 per sq ft (where removal is impractical; boiler jacket, pipe wrap) |
| Pre-Demolition / Renovation Asbestos Survey | $500 – $1,500 (AHERA survey; typical single-family home) |
| Air Monitoring & Clearance Testing | $250 – $700 per test day (PCM analysis; TEM adds ~$150/sample) |
Prices on this page are estimates from previous work. We cannot quote an exact price. The actual cost can be lower or higher depending on the job. The person who knows is the professional who will do the work. You get a written quote after we see the house.
Ranges from recent Knox, Blount, and Anderson County work. Firm number after we walk the property — ceiling height, texture thickness, attic access, and how many separate materials are on the site all move the number.
The pre-1980 stock we sample is Sequoyah Hills bungalows, Fourth & Gill and Old North Knoxville infill, and Bearden ranches along the Ridge-and-Valley, named here in copy — not as new city URLs, and not as a cloned town-card row. Sequoyah Hills concentrates 1920s–40s Craftsman and Tudor bungalows with original popcorn and pipe-lagging findings in the basement. Fourth & Gill and Old North Knoxville are the Victorian and early-20th-century infill north of downtown — older stock than Sequoyah Hills, with more vermiculite in attics that got insulated during the 1950s and 60s furnace-conversion wave. Bearden runs 1950s–70s ranch and split-level with transite siding, 9x9 tile in the kitchen or utility, and Zonolite attics from the same era.
Existing city pages on the surrounding metro are already published: Maryville, Oak Ridge, Farragut, Clinton, Lenoir City, and Sevierville. Blount and Anderson County work runs under the same TDEC APCD framework as Knox County. If your address sits outside those pages call (865) 420-5764 and we’ll tell you straight whether we cover it.
A Knoxville abatement day on Ridge-and-Valley popcorn or a Zonolite attic is containment, negative air, wet chrysotile, and a TDEC-manifest load leaving Knox County, not a callback form and a generic quote — (865) 420-5764. The setup lists in order: 6-mil poly on floors and walls of the work area sealed against the framing, decon chamber at the entry with clean and dirty stages, HEPA-filtered negative-air machine sized to the containment volume and verified at ≥ -0.02 inches water column on a manometer that stays hooked up for the duration, and the TDEC APCD asbestos waste manifest filled with the receiving landfill line and hauler DOT number before any material moves.
Every fibre-releasing operation runs wet: amended-water spray on the popcorn or vermiculite before scrape or rake, HEPA-vacuum, wet-wipe of the containment surfaces, then a PCM or TEM clearance sample inside the barrier before we release the space. Zonolite attic loads are HEPA-vacuumed into sealed bags, double-bagged in labeled 6-mil, and leave on the TDEC-scoped manifest to a permitted receiving landfill. The signed manifest copy comes back with the crew and lives in the job file — that’s the paper trail that proves the material actually landed where the notice said it would. Manifest or it didn’t happen.
Ridge-and-Valley popcorn on a pre-1980 Sequoyah Hills or Old North Knoxville bungalow runs $3–$7 per sq ft after a PLM-positive chrysotile result — a typical 12x14 living-room ceiling lands in the $900–$2,800 range. The number moves with ceiling height, texture thickness, HVAC returns cut through the popcorn, and whether furniture/floors need containment or the room is empty. Pre-test PLM at an AIHA-accredited East Tennessee lab is $75–$150 per sample and 24–72 hour turnaround; a positive result means wet removal, HEPA cleanup, and clearance air before repaint.
Yes — Zonolite (vermiculite) attic insulation from the Libby, Montana mine carries tremolite asbestos and any removal over the NESHAP threshold (35 cubic feet off-facility) gets a Notice of Intent to TDEC Air Pollution Control Division at least 10 working days before the crew starts. Most single-family Knox County attics with more than a couple inches of vermiculite cross that 35 cu ft threshold quickly. Owner-occupied single-family homes of four units or fewer are outside the NOI requirement itself, but HEPA cleanup, sealed disposal manifests, and asbestos-trained crew rules apply regardless.
The NESHAP 10-working-day notice is a Notice of Intent filed with TDEC APCD before any regulated asbestos-containing material disturbance above threshold: 260 linear feet on pipes, 160 square feet on other facility components, or 35 cubic feet off facility components. On a Fourth & Gill or Bearden pre-1980 renovation this typically triggers when you touch pipe lagging in the basement, transite siding on the exterior, or a whole-house popcorn scrape — cumulative across the project scope, not per room. Weekends and TN state holidays extend the calendar window beyond the 10 working days.
