Conference 7.286::home_work

    
    	DPC Drilling and Blasting INC.
    	Derry N.H.                    
    	432-2271
    
    
    	They blasted my entire cellar hole for $500 less than anyone
    else, and were willing to work WITH me to get the job done the
    way I wanted it.  They do small work like this on weekends, and
    worked on mine both saturday and sunday (all day) before blowing
    it (as they call it) on monday.  They arrived on time, and com-
    pleted the job on time.  I was completely satisfied.  Ask for
    Pierre or Mike Levesque.

            <<< JOET::DUA1:[000000.NOTES$LIBRARY]HOME_WORK.NOTE;1 >>>
                         -< Better living through DIY >-
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Note 145.9                      Cutting concrete                         9 of 31
FURILO::BLESSLEY                                     25 lines  19-MAY-1986 13:04
                -< Concrete cutting contractor recommendation >-
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    I just had a doorway cut out of my 15 year old concrete foundation
    wall. The work was done by Frank (and wife Karen) P. Mabardy
    (Mah-BAR-dee, I believe) in Southboro, MA @460-9742. These folks are
    not in the Yellow Pages, so I asked their OK for this referral.       
    
    In addition to promptly and conscientiously returning telephone calls
    (a pet pieve of mine!), he was very punctual showing up for the initial
    estimate, as well as the morning they did the work. He explained what
    he was going to do, side effects (overcutting into the floor and sides
    due to the size of the blade being used). The price was reasonable
    - $300 minimum. He suggested other work I might want so that I got
    the full $300 worth. With the exception of a 600 pound monolith
    of concrete I had to break up, they left the place as neat as could
    reasonably be expected, helped flush the water/mud out of the room,
    and were just helpful in general. (BTW, the mud is the result of
    extant dirt + water used to keep the concrete dust down - the guy
    wasn't responsible for making mud in this room!)
        
    I dunno whether he'd travel to Nashua (doubt it...), but
    Worcester/Middlesex county, Mass homeowners with concrete-cutting
    needs should consider Mabardy for the work. Please tell him I referred
    you.
    
    -Scott
    

            <<< JOET::DUA1:[000000.NOTES$LIBRARY]HOME_WORK.NOTE;1 >>>
                         -< Better living through DIY >-
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Note 1100.2                  Blasting Contractors ?                       2 of 5
MKTGSG::PETITO                                        5 lines   5-MAY-1987 08:28
                           -< RE:BLASTER REFERENCE >-
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    RE:BLASTER REFERENCE.
      YOU MAY WANT TO GIVE A GUY NAMED JOE LUONGO, 673-2962 A CALL.
    HE WAS VERY PROMPT (A RARITY) FOR ME. HE WAS ALSO FAIRLY INEXPENSIVE.
    BEWARE THOUGH THAT PRICE IS A RELATIVE TERM, BLASTING IS VERY
    EXPENSIVE.

    Somewhere in this notesfile is mention of the Tufts Asbestos Hotline,
    (617) 381-3531.  I called them last week and they're sending me
    a list of labs to test some samples I got out of a house we've bid
    on.  Not as good as a recommendation, but better than nothing.

To find an asbestos reomval contractor in Worcester County, MA, I had to
fall back on the yellow pages.  I called every business that was listed.
Most of them said that they no longer do residential asbestos removal.
Here's what the others said.  Note that many of them do asbestos removal
over a wide area.  Also note that I may not have the area code correct
in some cases -- 617 was split into 617 and 508 after I did the calling.

One last note before going into the list.  The options for asbestos covered
pipes are to seal off the area with plastic & wear space suits, to use glove 
bags, or to seal the pipes.  I had all three recommended to me, plus one
other option proposed by the people I chose, Coastal Energy.  I had 80' to
90' of asbestos on disused steam pipes, for price comparisons.


  Coastal Energy Inc						508-798-3888

Coastal said that since the pipes are disused, it would be cheapest to
seal them and remove them, taking off only enough asbestos to let them
cut the pipes into pieces for removal.  They estimated $1200 to $1800 
on the phone, and the real quote came in at $1250, the cheapest removal job.  

There was a small problem with doing the job -- they didn't come on the
day they said they would.  However, they did come first thing the next day, 
and they were quite responsive when I called to ask where the workers were
(still finishing another job).  Last summer was apparently a busy time for
asbestos contractors.  After I paid them, I asked for a copy of the
shipping manifest to prove the asbestos had been disposed of legally and
they sent it with no delay.

By the way, as part of getting each quote, I asked about the new law on 
asbestos removal in MA.  The Coastal people gave me exactly the same
answers that I saw in the info from the Tufts Asbestos hotline.  Some of
the other places missed things, eg saying that only 10 days notice is
required for asbestos removal (true for one agency, but the DEQE requires
20 days).  So that gave me confidence that they knew what they were doing.

One more thing -- Fair Share has approved Coastal (and no one else) for
asbestos removal if you get a no-interest HEAT loan to upgrade your heating
system.  Their approval simply means that Coastal has agreed to warrant
their work and seek to resolve problems with customers out of court.
That's not a recommendation by Fair Share, but it's useful information.


  DEC-TAM

Strongly recommended in this file, but they no longer do residential.


  Environmental Solutions, Waltham (inside rte 128)		617-899-3370

They were too busy to do a job in Worcester County last summer, so I didn't
get a quote.  But I liked what little I did find out about them.


  Abatement Specialists			603-432-0845		617-687-3028

Recommended in this file, but they charge a $25 "inspection fee" to come
out and make an estimate.  I don't believe in paying for an estimate, even
if it is refundable if I use their service.  When I asked for a rough price,
the salesman guessed a price of $1100 for sealing the pipes.  My personal
feeling is that sealing the pipes is a "low ball" way to quote, since no
sealing job can be permanent, and it only makes it more expensive to
remove the asbestos later.  Besides, sealing isn't that much cheaper.
And finally, with disused pipes like I have, there's just no reason to 
leave asbestos insulation in place.  But they are well recommended.


  Asbestos Removal Enterprises					508-799-7300

Their rough estimate was $20/foot for asbestos removal, or about $1800.
The actual quote came in at $2625.  I was reasonably positive on these
people, except for the price.  That was for a full containment job, so
it's no wonder it came out expensive.


  National							

Their phone estimate was $2400 to $2500.  The man I spoke to insisted
that only 10 days notice was needed (to the Dept of Labor) for an
asbestos job.  Also, they would not do an estimate until after I had
closed on the house, even though I wanted the asbestos removed within
a week or two of closing.  So I didn't call them back.


  (One other place, I forget their name)

I called an independent testing lab and mentioned the name of one other
place that I got a quote from.  The man at the lab said that I should
definately ask for references from these people, because he knew of some
problems in their past.  That was enough to tip me to Coastal.  I should
have asked Coastal for references, although I didn't.  These people were
going to glove bag and leave the pipes in place, at a slightly higher
price than Coastal.  

This guy is not in the hazardous-waste removal business per se, but he does
remove fuel oil, which is technically a hazardous waste (I think).  And I think
that this note is where someone might look for fuel-oil removal.


Scott Kimball
dba Harvard Oil 
Harvard, MA
508-456-8926

Several Noters in this file have talked about their problems with getting rid
of the oil in their tanks when they switched to gas.  I had the problem and it
was compounded by the fact that the switch was made by the previous owner and
I didn't have my own oil company that would take it.  _Nobody_ would take it!
Nobody _knew_ of anybody who would take it.  Except one guy in Arlington who
would come out (to Littleton), for $200!!

Until I stumbled across Scott, who would take it and was a little apologetic
that he couldn't pay _me_ anything for it.  He came on time, didn't make a
mess, but did leave a little oil (about 10 gallons - no problem).  So, a BIG
recommendation for Scott, who solved the problem that nobody else was
interested in.

    
    Re: .9
    
    Having recently been subjected to a false lead poisoning reading on
    my son I've gathered some info. you might like.
    
    I have the 1988 Lead paint law write-up for MA. and a listing of
    all the companies certified to perform lead paint removal.
    If you'd like a copy, please send me mail and I'll copy and
    send it to you. 
    
    Do look into this very carefullt before proceeding. I remember reading
    in the paper recently about a family who had their home de-leaded and
    the resultant dust/residue left the home uninhabitable for a few
    months there-after. It was a real horror story and it highlighted
    some of the inadequacies inherent in the lead paint removal laws
    as they exist today. 
    
    
    							Hank 

Re .2

Fred and Nancy Mabardy are still in business.  I called them to discuss a
cutting job, and they are very nice to talk with.  His current price is
$450-500 to cut for a door, depending on the number and length of the cuts.
He recommended that I dig a hole and let the piece fall into it and then
bury it instead of breaking it up.  He said he does 50-75 jobs a year for
DEC people.

BTW, They will do jobs anywhere in New England.

Allen