The Stabilization Phase You're Skipping Is Costing You Money (And Putting Lives at Risk)
Most restoration contractors treat the stabilization phase like a formality, something to rush through so they can get to the "real work."
That's backwards.
The stabilization phase is where you make more money, protect your crew, avoid legal nightmares, and set up every job for predictable execution.
This blog will show you why skipping proper environmental testing during stabilization is the most expensive shortcut you'll ever take.
You're leaving money on the table.
Every single job.
When you skip baseline environmental testing during stabilization, you're gambling with three things: your crew's health, your legal liability, and your profit margin. The stabilization phase isn't a delay—it's the most profitable part of the job if you do it right.
Here's what proper stabilization with environmental testing gives you:
More justified billable days - while you wait for test results
Better project planning - because you know exactly what you're dealing with
Legal protection - when someone claims you caused their illness
Crew safety - that keeps your best people healthy and working. Your people are your number 1 priority after all... right?!
Client confidence - that you're not cutting corners
OSHA doesn't care about your timeline.
IICRC standards don't bend because you're in a hurry.
And asbestos doesn't become less dangerous because you didn't test for it.
Why Most Restorers Fail
Most restoration companies treat stabilization like a checkbox. Get in, set up containment and equipment, start demo. They skip environmental testing because:
"We can tell by looking at it."
No, you can't. Asbestos-containing materials (ACM) are in floor tiles, ceiling tiles, pipe insulation, drywall compound, roofing materials, and dozens of other products in buildings constructed before the in all eras of modern construction.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Dates DO NOT MATTER contrary to popular belief.
The USA imports a LOT of its building materials. The country of origin in many cases does not have the same regulations. There are plenty of reported cases of structures built in the last 10 years coming back hot.
You cannot identify asbestos visually or based on the date of construction.
That's not an opinion, that's OSHA regulation.
"Testing takes too long."
Good. While you're waiting 24-72 hours for lab results, you're billing for monitoring equipment, daily visits, documentation, and project management. That's revenue. And you're using that time to plan the actual scope of work based on real data, not guesses.
"The client won't pay for it."
Then you haven't explained it correctly. OSHA Publication 2254 and IICRC standards require supplemental testing for asbestos in structures. This isn't optional. When you frame it as compliance and liability protection—for both you and the client—they understand. If they still refuse, walk away. You cannot afford the lawsuit that's coming.
"We've never had a problem before."
You've never had a problemyet. Asbestos-related diseases have latency periods of 10-40 years. Your crew member who's been with you for five years won't show symptoms for another decade. When they do, and their attorney pulls your project files, what will those files show? That you skipped testing? That you visually inspected without respiratory protection? That's not a defense—that's evidence.
The real reason most restorers skip testing: they're optimizing for speed instead of profit. They confuse activity with progress. They want to "get in and get out" because thatfeelsproductive. But fast and wrong costs more than slow and right.
The Truth
The stabilization phase is not a delay. It's the foundation of every profitable, legally defensible, safe restoration project.
Here's what OSHA and IICRC actually require:
OSHA Standards:
According to OSHA Publication 2254, "Training Requirements in OSHA Standards and Training Guidelines," employers must ensure workers are competent to identify workplace hazards before exposure occurs. You cannot identify asbestos hazards without testing. Visual inspection is not competence—it's negligence.
OSHA's position is clear: if you cannot prove a material does not contain asbestos, you must treat it as if it does. That means full respiratory protection, containment, and disposal protocols. Testing is cheaper than assuming.
IICRC Standards:
IICRC standards, referenced alongside OSHA regulations, explicitly recommend supplemental testing for asbestos (and lead) for all structures. Not "older structures." Not "if you suspect it." All structures.
Why? Because the standard of care in this industry is not "good enough." It's "documented and defensible."
The Stabilization Advantage:
When you deploy baseline environmental testing during stabilization, you accomplish four things simultaneously:
You protect your crew. Asbestos, lead, silica, VOCs, PAHs—these are not theoretical risks. They are present in fire and water damage scenarios. Your crew's long-term health depends on knowing what they're working with before they start working with it.
You define the scope accurately. You cannot write a legitimate scope of work without knowing what contaminants are present. Guessing leads to change orders, disputes, and unpaid invoices. Testing gives you documentation that justifies every line item.
You create a legal benchmark. If a client or their tenant claims you caused their respiratory illness, your baseline test results prove what was there before you arrived. Without that data, you have no defense. The assumption will be that you caused it.
You bill for the time. Stabilization is not free. You are monitoring equipment, documenting conditions, managing the project, and waiting for lab results. That is billable work. If you are not charging for stabilization, you are donating your expertise.
The restorers who understand this are the ones building sustainable businesses. The ones who don't are the ones working themselves to death for 5% net margins and praying they don't get sued.
What You Need to Do
If you want to turn stabilization from a cost center into a profit center, here's your path:
1. Make environmental testing non-negotiable.
Every fire job. Every water job. Every job.
Period.
Dates don't matter.
Again.
The USA imports a LOT of its building materials. The country of origin in many cases does not have the same regulations. There are plenty of reported cases of structures built in the last 10 years coming back hot.
Every project where you cannot visually confirm the absence of hazardous materials. Baseline testing is not optional—it is the standard of care.
Deploy these tests during stabilization:
Airborne particulate levels (PM2.5, PM10)
Surface wipe tests for PAHs or combustion residue
VOC testing in areas with melted plastics or synthetic materials
Asbestos and lead testing per OSHA and IICRC requirements
2. Build stabilization into your pricing.
Stabilization is a phase, not a day. It includes:
Initial hazard assessment with proper PPE (minimum N95 or half-face respirator)
Environmental testing and lab fees
Daily equipment monitoring and documentation
Project management and planning while waiting for results
Client communication and education
This is 3-5 days of billable work on most projects. If you are not charging for it, start.
3. Document everything.
Your Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) must include:
Pre-work hazard assessment with photo/video evidence
Environmental test results and lab reports
PPE requirements based on identified hazards
Daily crew compliance documentation
Post-cleanup verification testing
If it is not documented, it did not happen. Your documentation is your defense when the lawsuit arrives.
4. Train your crew on the "why."
Your crew needs to understand that PPE is not optional, testing is not a delay, and compliance is not negotiable. OSHA's training requirements under 29 CFR 1910.178 make this clear: workers must be trained on workplace hazards, and that training must be documented.
If your crew does not understand why they are wearing respirators during initial walkthroughs, they will take shortcuts. Shortcuts kill people. Slowly.
5. Educate your clients.
Most property owners do not understand the difference between cleaning and decontamination. They think fire damage cleanup is janitorial work. It is not. It is hazardous material removal.
When you explain that OSHA and IICRC standards require testing, that asbestos cannot be identified visually, and that baseline testing protects both of you legally, most clients understand. The ones who do not are the ones you do not want.
The Bottom Line
Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.
If you are sending crews into fire-damaged structures without environmental testing, you are not taking care of them. You are exposing them to carcinogens, respiratory hazards, and long-term health consequences because you did not want to wait 48 hours for lab results.
That is not leadership. That is liability.
The stabilization phase is where you prove whether you are running a professional restoration company or a cleanup crew. Professional companies test, document, plan, and execute. Cleanup crews guess, rush, and hope nothing goes wrong.
One builds a business. The other builds a lawsuit.
You decide.
Next Step:
Pull your last five jobs where materials had to be disturbed. Look at your project files. Did you conduct baseline environmental testing? Did you document hazard assessments? Did you verify post-cleanup air quality?
If the answer is no, you have a process problem.
Fix it before it becomes a legal problem.
If you need help building a stabilization process that protects your crew and your profit margin, please reach. But you have to decide that cutting corners is more expensive than doing it right.
The choice is yours.
