Neighborhood initiative organizes remediation of asbestos roofs and making homes more sustainable

Biersteker Asbestos-Renovation BV was commissioned to handle this remediation and preservation. The firm itself specializes in renovating roofs and facades. With the project now in full swing, the construction partners are starting up a new home every day, which will then be delivered back five days later. Residents remain in their homes throughout the period.

Several years ago, a working group was established in the Vogelbuurt neighborhood in Nieuwegein, with the goal of looking at the possibilities of collectively remediating the asbestos roofs while making the homes more sustainable. This involves 62 homes on Gruttostraat, Pijlstaart, Zwanensingel and Kuifduiker. At a meeting in March 2018, the working group had shown local residents what a renovation of the roofs, insulating the ground floor and installing solar panels could do for them. The project was fleshed out, and by the end of 2019 most of the residents indicated they wanted to participate. Meanwhile, the order was given to main contractor Biersteker Asbestos Renovation BV to carry out the works. The Naaldwijk-based firm has specialized in roof renovation and installation for more than 25 years. As the demand for asbestos remediation has increased, a special department was set up 5 years ago to renovate asbestos facades and roofs.

Individual clients

"We first sat down with all the individual residents involved to determine what work needed to be done in their homes and to prepare an individual quote. Then we made an asbestos inventory for each home. During this inspection, it was determined that the asbestos roofs were totally obsolete, causing a lot of moisture in the homes. The new insulated roofs combined with the gutters should avoid this problem in the future. In addition, it was important to create a better fire separation between the houses," says Sven Holsteijn, co-owner of Biersteker Asbest-Renovation BV.
"During the execution of the works, we are supervised by an independent supervisor. We carry out the asbestos removal and insulation of the roofs as well as the installation of the gutters ourselves, but for the insulation of the ground floor and the installation of the solar panels, we rely on some regular partners. However, we are responsible for coordinating all renovation work. With good planning of the works and clear communication between the construction partners, everything runs smoothly and all subcontractors can also use the same scaffolding."

Residents do not move

An additional challenge for the contractors: the residents do not move and simply stay in their homes during the renovation work. "We always carefully determine what the clients want and do not avoid any challenges. Now that the project is in full swing, we start work in one of the homes every day. Five days later, the roof of that home is completely renovated," Holsteijn states. "We communicate with residents on a regular basis so that, all in all, the disruption to them is limited. We even made a special tent to put over the homes during the works. That way everything still stays dry during the night or in bad weather and work can continue smoothly."