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When demolition is done correctly in Ambler, you’re not just clearing space — you’re protecting yourself from real liability. The borough’s history with Keasbey & Mattison, the two EPA Superfund sites sitting within its borders, and a housing stock built during the height of asbestos manufacturing all point to the same conclusion: what’s inside your walls here isn’t a guessing game. It’s a documented concern, and it deserves a documented response.
That means before a single wall comes down, you know exactly what you’re dealing with. We test for asbestos and certify the results. We assess for lead. We identify mold if it’s there. Then the demolition happens cleanly, with HEPA filtration containing any airborne material, and debris hauled away when the job is complete. No second contractor. No coordination headaches. No wondering if the crew that showed up knew what they were walking into.
For Ambler homeowners — especially those in the older twins and pre-war singles that line the streets off Butler Avenue — this kind of thoroughness isn’t overkill. It’s exactly what the situation calls for. You get a clean result, a compliant job, and documentation that protects you whether you’re renovating, selling, or just finally dealing with something that’s been on your list for too long.
We’re based in Glenside — about five miles down Bethlehem Pike from Ambler — and have been working in Montgomery County for over two decades. That’s not a franchise territory. That’s actual time spent on actual homes in Ambler and the surrounding area, learning the housing stock, the permit offices, and the kind of problems that show up when you open a wall in a pre-1940 Ambler property.
Eric runs the business personally. When you call EJS Environmental Services, you’re talking to someone who knows what a Superfund site means for a community, and what it means for the house you’re about to renovate. Our team is EPA and HUD certified — not just RRP-compliant, but fully credentialed to inspect, test, and certify lead and asbestos conditions before any demolition begins.
We’re fully licensed, bonded, and insured. We provide free estimates. Cash discounts are available. And yes, the phone gets answered at 2 AM if that’s when the pipe bursts.
It starts with a free estimate. Someone from our team comes out, walks the property, and gives you a clear picture of what the job actually involves — scope, timeline, and cost. No vague ranges, no mystery fees that appear later. If there’s any reason to suspect asbestos or lead paint (and in Ambler’s older housing stock, there usually is), that gets flagged upfront and handled before demolition begins.
From there, we pull the necessary permits through Ambler Borough. Pennsylvania’s Uniform Construction Code requires a permit for structural demolition, and proper utility disconnection documentation has to be in order before work starts. We handle that on your behalf — you don’t need to figure out which forms go to which office. Under the EPA’s NESHAP regulations, asbestos notification and certified abatement are also required before any demolition on a structure that may contain asbestos-containing materials. Given Ambler’s history, that step isn’t optional — and we handle it in-house.
Once everything is cleared and compliant, the actual demolition or gutting work begins. We use HEPA filtration and negative air containment throughout any abatement work to keep your home’s air clean. When the job is done, debris is removed, and you’re left with a clean, compliant result — not a pile of questions about what was in those walls.
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Most demolition contractors show up with a crew and start swinging. We start by finding out what’s actually in your home — because in Ambler, where asbestos manufacturing ran from 1881 through the 1960s, that step matters more here than almost anywhere else in Montgomery County. The services we cover under one engagement include asbestos inspection, testing, and removal; lead inspection, testing, and encapsulation; mold sampling, testing, and removal; water damage restoration and waterproofing; full demolition and interior gutting for residential and commercial properties; above-ground oil tank removal; environmental clean-outs; and construction debris removal.
For Ambler homeowners dealing with water damage specifically — whether it’s a burst pipe in an older twin or a basement flood from Tannery Run backing up during a heavy spring rain — our response goes beyond drying things out. If the water reached walls or ceilings that contain asbestos-based materials, those can’t be torn out without certified abatement. We handle that connection automatically, because the same team that assesses the water damage is also credentialed to manage what’s inside the material being removed.
This is also relevant for anyone preparing to sell in Ambler’s active real estate market. Pre-sale abatement — getting asbestos or lead paint addressed before a buyer’s inspector flags it — is a growing part of the work we do in this area. It protects your transaction, removes contingencies, and gives buyers confidence in the home they’re purchasing.
In most parts of Montgomery County, the honest answer is “possibly, depending on the age of the home.” In Ambler, the honest answer is closer to “probably, and you should find out before anything gets disturbed.” The borough’s housing stock is heavily weighted toward pre-war and mid-century construction — homes built during or after the peak years of Keasbey & Mattison’s asbestos manufacturing operation, which ran from 1881 through 1962. Asbestos-containing materials were used in floor tiles, pipe insulation, ceiling tiles, roofing materials, and drywall joint compounds throughout that era.
The right move is a professional asbestos inspection before any demolition or gutting work begins. We hold EPA Certified Inspector credentials — not just the basic RRP contractor certification — which means our team can legally inspect, test, sample, and certify the condition of asbestos-containing materials in your home. If asbestos is present, it gets abated under proper containment before the demolition proceeds. If it’s not, you have documentation confirming that. Either way, you’re not guessing.
Yes. Ambler Borough requires permits for structural demolition, and Pennsylvania’s Uniform Construction Code applies to all demolition work statewide. Before any structural work begins, you’ll need a permit from Ambler Borough’s code enforcement office, along with documentation showing that utilities have been properly disconnected. Skipping this step doesn’t just create legal exposure — it can result in stop-work orders that delay your entire project.
Beyond the borough permit, the EPA’s NESHAP regulations require asbestos notification and certified abatement before demolition of any structure that may contain asbestos-containing materials. Given Ambler’s housing age and documented asbestos history, this federal requirement applies to the vast majority of demolition projects in the borough. We handle permit acquisition on your behalf as part of the job. You don’t need to navigate the borough’s building department or figure out which federal notifications apply — that’s part of what you’re hiring a licensed contractor to manage.
Interior demolition — sometimes called gutting — involves removing the non-structural components of a space: drywall, flooring, ceilings, cabinetry, fixtures, and finishes, while leaving the structural frame of the building intact. This is the most common type of work we handle for Ambler homeowners undertaking major renovations, water damage repairs, or pre-renovation hazmat clearance. Full structural demolition involves taking down the entire structure, including its foundation elements, and is typically associated with complete teardowns or redevelopment projects.
For most residential clients in Ambler — particularly those renovating older twins or single-family homes in the historic core — interior demolition is the more relevant service. It’s also the work most likely to disturb asbestos-containing materials like floor tiles, pipe wrap, and plaster, which is why certified inspection before gutting is so important here. We handle both interior and structural demolition, along with all associated debris removal, so the scope can be matched to exactly what your project requires.
Water damage and demolition are more connected than most homeowners realize, especially in Ambler. When water intrudes into an older home — from a burst pipe, a basement flood, or storm water coming in from a creek like Tannery Run during heavy spring rains — the affected materials often have to be removed entirely. That means cutting out drywall, pulling up flooring, and sometimes removing ceiling sections. In a pre-war Ambler home, those materials can contain asbestos or lead paint, which means the “demo” portion of a water damage repair requires certified abatement, not just a contractor with a utility knife.
We handle both sides of that equation. Our water damage restoration covers emergency response, water extraction, drying, and waterproofing. Our demolition side covers the gutting of affected areas, with proper hazmat handling if the materials require it. Mold remediation is also included if growth has started — which in Ambler’s older, less-ventilated housing stock can happen within 48 hours of a water event. One call handles all of it, which matters a lot when you’re dealing with an active emergency.
Demolition costs vary based on the scope of work, the size of the space, and — critically in Ambler — whether hazardous materials are present. A straightforward interior gutting of a single room in a home with no identified hazmat concerns might run a few hundred dollars. A full gut renovation of an older Ambler home that requires asbestos abatement, lead paint encapsulation, debris removal, and permit handling is a more involved engagement, and the cost reflects that.
What you want to avoid is hiring a cheap demolition crew that doesn’t factor in the hazmat side, then discovering mid-project that the work has to stop because asbestos was disturbed without proper containment. That scenario costs far more than getting it done right the first time. We provide free written estimates that cover the full scope — including any testing, abatement, permits, and debris disposal — so you know the real number before work begins. Cash discounts are also available, which is worth asking about when you call.
Yes — and Ambler is a community where this matters more than most. The borough sits on a documented asbestos legacy: two EPA Superfund sites, a housing stock built during Keasbey & Mattison’s decades of asbestos manufacturing, and homes that were literally constructed by workers whose trade was asbestos production. The EPA has spent over $26 million remediating contamination in this borough. That history doesn’t disappear when you open a wall in a pre-war Ambler home.
We hold EPA Certified Lead Inspector and Risk Assessor credentials, and our team is fully EPA and HUD compliant for asbestos and lead work on pre-1978 structures. We use HEPA filtration systems and negative air pressure containment on every abatement job to prevent fiber migration through the home during work. If you’re renovating, gutting, or dealing with water damage in an older Ambler property and haven’t had an asbestos inspection yet, that’s the right place to start. We can handle the inspection, the testing, the abatement, and the demolition that follows — all under one roof, without you needing to coordinate multiple contractors.
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