You’ve found vermiculite in your attic. Here’s what to do next.

Nothing that has sat undisturbed in your attic for forty years becomes an emergency in the next hour. What matters is what you do from here.

You may not have a problem at all

Vermiculite from the Libby mine in Montana was sold across Canada as Zonolite, and it is the reason vermiculite carries an asbestos reputation. But not every attic holds Libby material, and there is no way to tell by looking. It takes a lab.

A vermiculite sample is $165. It costs more than a standard asbestos sample because vermiculite has to be analysed by the 0.1 per cent method rather than standard PLM. If it comes back clean, there is no abatement job and no bill for one.

We take at least three samples, from separate parts of the attic. Vermiculite is unevenly contaminated — one scoop near the hatch can be clean while the far corner is not — so a single sample that comes back negative does not clear an attic, and we will not sign off on one.

Our sampling visit is $225 in Calgary, or from $425 for an attic or crawl space, where confined space rules mean a two-person crew. If we go on to do the removal, that $225 visit fee is credited against the contract within 90 days. See our published prices or read more about how asbestos testing works.

If it does contain asbestos, what removal costs

Prices exclude GST and are current as of September 2026. We quote vermiculite as a job total, never per square foot. The per-square-foot figures you will find online are imported American numbers and they run two to three times what these jobs actually cost in Alberta.

Why the cheap quote is the expensive one

A low quote is usually low for one of three reasons: the vermiculite is taken out dry instead of wetted, there is no proper containment or negative air, or there is no independent air clearance at the end.

All three save the contractor money on the day. All three can cost you more afterwards. Dry removal without containment puts fibre into the rest of the house — so instead of an attic job, you have a whole-house problem. And without a clearance letter from an independent hygienist, you have no proof the work was done: not for your insurer, not for a buyer’s lawyer, and not for the next contractor who opens that ceiling.

What’s inside our number

A vermiculite attic is high-risk abatement, and Alberta OHS confirmed to us in writing that attic work is also confined space work. That means a three-person crew — two working, one tending — not two men and a shop vac.

The price covers full containment and negative air, the crew for as many days as the job takes, third-party air clearance by an independent hygienist we do not employ, disposal at a licensed facility under permit, and the manifests that prove where it went.

Why there’s a range

Attic size, how you get into it, how deep the vermiculite sits, and whether it is also in the block walls. We give you a written number after we have been up there, not before.

Can I take it out myself?

In practical terms, no — and not mainly for the reason people expect. Asbestos waste in Calgary goes to Shepard Landfill under a City of Calgary Industrial Waste Permit, and a homeowner cannot obtain one. There is nowhere legal for the bags to go. Attic work is also confined space work, which needs a tending worker outside as well as whoever is inside.

What happens when you call

You hear back from a person within one hour, any day. If we can’t take your job — booked up, wrong trade, outside our area — we’ll tell you inside that hour and point you to someone who can.

Related reading: vermiculite removal in Calgary, asbestos testing, and the City of Calgary asbestos abatement form if a permit is being held up.

This page is general information, not legal or compliance advice. Confirm requirements for your own property with Alberta OHS and the City of Calgary at 311.