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40 year old House - 'May' contain Asbestos Type Material?

Treacle44
Treacle44 Posts: 195 Forumite
edited 22 August 2009 at 12:18PM in House buying, renting & selling
We've just received out Homebuyers Survey this morning and there is mention of "may contain asbestos type material in the following:

Boarding to Soffits
Interal walls where artex is present. (also notes this could be expensive to repair)
Ceiling artex

It also states:

Asbestos cement flue and terminal above side roof slope.

Valuation isn't affected but must admit we're slightly freaked out by it as we have two young children. :(

The artex walls we were planning to have replastered to make them flat and probably the ceilings too in time.

Is this as bad as it sounds?

Any advise would be great.

Thanks
«1

Comments

  • poppysarah
    poppysarah Posts: 11,522 Forumite
    If you drill or interfere with it then it becomes a problem. Until then it just sits there.
  • asbestos2008
    asbestos2008 Posts: 144 Forumite
    Firstly dont panic. all houses built prior to 2000 are likely to contain asbestos soffits, artex etc

    Just because you have artex, it doesnt mean it contains asbestos. Sampling can be cheap to confirm presence or not.

    Removal of artex ceiling containing asbestos approx cost £950 plus cost of replacing ceiling.

    Artex walls - easier to plaster over the top if they contain asbestos. Do not sand it!

    Asbestos cement flue, again very common

    All of the above will NOT cause harm to you and your family if you leave them alone. As a home owner you are exempt from the Control of Asbestos regs 2006, however doing ant work on asbestos that you have no idea about, it is extremely harmful to occupants, friends and neighbours.

    The amount of asbestos in artex is historically very small and most homeowners dont realise the content, same with floor tiles! The asbestos is tightly contained and cannot get airbourne.

    I would have no qualms or worries about living in that house, or my children being in that house .
    BR date 18/11/09
  • MissMoneypenny
    MissMoneypenny Posts: 5,324 Forumite
    My mother's house had a leak from a flat roof, which meant that the plaster in parts of the house needed replacing. That plaster had asbestos in and it cost her a small fortune to have the work done.
    RENTING? Have you checked to see that your landlord has permission from their mortgage lender to rent the property? If not, you could be thrown out with very little notice.
    Read the sticky on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board.


  • Blackpool_Saver
    Blackpool_Saver Posts: 6,599 Forumite
    Up to 2000, really, I thought it stopped being used long before that...........
    Blackpool_Saver is female, and does not live in Blackpool

  • Treacle44
    Treacle44 Posts: 195 Forumite
    edited 22 August 2009 at 1:42PM
    I should add that one of the artexed walled rooms has a large crack in it that needs repairing. So obviously thats a worry and the crack is quite wide (not hairline).

    Thanks
  • Archlever
    Archlever Posts: 54 Forumite
    edited 22 August 2009 at 3:21PM
    Hi,

    The survey for the house we are about to complete on came up with suspected asbestos. We were stressed out by this too, but as OPs have pointed out it depends on what type of asbestos it is and what state it's in. We comissioned a level 2 asbestos survey (costing £330). Here they take samples from throughout the house and specially from suspect areas and comfirm whether asbestos is present. They also give an opinion on what (if anything) needs to be done is asbestos is present. Finally, you can also ask then to provide estimates of any costs needed to fix this.

    If you really like the house, you may want to get an asbestos survey done and take it from there. One peice of advice, quotes for our survey varied widely so shop around (our price was for a 5 bed detached property with double garage, so should be lower if the house you are buying is smaller).

    Finally, speak to your surveyor. Ours said that if the Asebstos survey confimed it's presense and costs needed to fix were substantial he will relook at the valuation in the light of the new information. So you could use this to renegotiate if necessary.

    Hope this helps, All the best.
  • Monks_habit
    Monks_habit Posts: 36 Forumite
    Follow the link for more advice. http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/gallery.htm

    Remember there are different kinds of asbestos.
  • Treacle44
    Treacle44 Posts: 195 Forumite
    I'm now wondering if this type of comment "There may be asbestos in artex" etc is just a standard comment is older houses to cover the surveyor in case of any future problems?
  • theartfullodger
    theartfullodger Posts: 14,591 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Removal of artex ceiling containing asbestos approx cost £950 plus cost of replacing ceiling.
    .
    It was once suggested to me that , if you are happy with this approach, "skim/fill" over the artex ceiling to give a new flat ceiling just below the level of the lowest artex point... replace/move any light fittings at level of new, lowered, ceiling and, hey presto! who'd ever know!!

    Of course some might considered this approach unwise, but each to his own. Me? Nope, never done it...

    Cheers!

    Lodger
  • daisygrabber
    daisygrabber Posts: 67 Forumite
    Our survey came up with all sorts of possible asbestos. Our solicitor felt it was just a safety caveat by the surveyor but I spoke to him directly and found it wasn't.
    This completely freaked the vendors who felt awful about it and gave us a £1k reduction in asking price which was half way to getting the problem rectified. We subsequently paid £106 for testing to find that there was no asbestos.
    As others have said, worth getting a cheap test done so at least you know what you are dealing with.
    Daisy x
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