Full Building Survey Completed - Asbestos Found

planemad

I have just received the report of a full survey that I have personally instructed to be done on my proposed purchased which is a repossession.

The property was build in 1968 and the whole estate was build by the same builder so all properties on the estate will be the same

The house seems sound, but the surveyor has brought to our attention that the house has many artexed walls and ceilings that contain asbestos.

The garage ceiling is also corrugated asbestos sheeting.

Would this pose a health risk to me? would it be advisable to get a plasterer to skim over the whole lot.

Or would it be best to just drop out of this purchase?

Am I worrying to much?

TomsMom

I think the health risk comes in when you try to remove it, i.e. remove the artex or repair/remove the roof. In these circumstances I think it's recommended that a specialist does this work or, at the very least, you wear some kind of protection. If you like the house I wouldn't drop out of the purchase until you've done some research. I'm sure google will provide more detailed information.

tbs624

Surveyors clearly have to cover their backs by mentioning every possibility within a property, but most properties ,other than new-builds, are likely to have asbestos- containing products somewhere in them.

Has the surveyor said that the artex definitely contains asbestos or that it *may* do ?
(Its use was prohibited in textured coatings after 1988.)

There are different grades of asbestos: blue, brown or white (lowest level of danger).

The garage roof (white asbestos cement) will be fine provided that you monitor its condition, and don't drill or cut into it or otherwise disturb it: if you wanted to get it removed this does not need to be done by a licensed contractor. You simply have to take appropriate precautions when dismantling it - damping it down, wearing gloves, dust mask, disposable overalls and double wrap it in polythene (marking it as asbestos waste) before taking it to a council tip which will take asbestos sheeting.

On the Artex issue - depends how much you like artex, and if it was pre or post-1988. See here for further info:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1525683/Christopher-Booker's-notebook.html

As you say, you can get it skimmed.

Check out your local council website which should have a page specifically on asbestos and be aware that the asbestos removal industry has its fair share of "cowboys": don't get charged over the odds for work that is not necessary. The HSE website also has useful info


Also talk to your surveyor about it - they are there to answer questions about the results of their reports too.

squoog

There are different types of asbestos, some are harmless if left alone. Probably the case with your garage roof. It would be worth getting some more advice on the artex though, It may require specialist work to remove it which would be expensive. You could either ask your surveyor for more advice or ring an asbestos specialist company in the yellow pages.
HTH

wildbri

I suspect that you are worrying to much. I live on an estate that was built by a single builder, as far as I know all the houses were artexed including mine. over the years I have seen lots of them have extensions added including mine, where ceilings and walls have been knocked down without any concern, But here is something interesting..... bungalows on either side of me have had ceilings damaged by water and both were covered by insurance claims. one had builders come and fit new ceilings and painted a job quickly done.... now the other a trailer arrived which was a mobile decontamination unit, the workmen wore special clothes an masks and they had to go in the unit at the end of the day to be showered! this is the only time that I have ever seen this unit on my large estate. I suspect some one is using scare tactics to make money.I spent the last 12 years working in a workshop that has had a asbestos ceiling for over 40 years and the health and safety inspector was never concerned regards..bri

planemad

I will be doing a rewire in the property one on there and this will involve drilling the ceiling to install lighting as there is currently no ceiling lighting so I will and could be exposed to the risk.

Is it worth me making a lower offer to the repossession company saying that I would feel safer after the asbestos is covered over with skim.

littlesos

Asbestos in artex is not that big a problem. It has been downgraded in classification and you can remove it yourself. Make sure you're wearing overalls and face mask before you start. All the stuff you remove (and the overalls and face mask when you've finished) needs to be double bagged and labelled as asbestos and you can take it to the tip for disposal.

We are going through this process at the moment as we have artex in our 1930's house, which we sampled and had tested. The stuff in the kitchen contains asbestos. We are removing it by steaming, so long as you keep the stuff damp so there is no dust floating around you're alright, we also bought some quite expensive artes stripper, which is blue gunge you paint on and it softens the artes so you can remove it with a scrapper.

If you are going to be drilling holes in it, just skimming over with plaster first isn't going to help as you'll still be drilling into the artex layer and releasing dust. Don't be scared of artex.

The garage roof is a different matter. If it is sound then there should be no problems, however if you decide to remove it you will need professionals to do this job.

tbs624

littlesos wrote: »

......The garage roof is a different matter. If it is sound then there should be no problems, however if you decide to remove it you will need professionals to do this job.

Interesting to hear of your own experience but this part is a myth - if you are competent at DIY and you have help with lifting any large roofing sheets you can do this yourself - it does*not* have to be done by “professionals”, or a licensed contractor.

Useful pdf available from most council websites, as mentioned in my previous post, eg:

http://www.chesterfield.gov.uk/site/default.asp?CATID=259&CID=4382&CH=1&ttype=full

http://www.chester.gov.uk/council_services/environment_and_health/health_and_safety/asbestos.aspx

or see
http://www.thameslabs.co.uk/guidance/forum/thread.html?threadID=12

and this, from: http://www.asbestoswatchdog.co.uk/residential/documents/FactSheet-AsbestosCementMaterials.pdf

If you want to remove asbestos cement from your domestic property yourself, can you?

If you feel you are competent enough to remove asbestos cement products (such as garage roofs, asbestos cement water tanks, etc), asbestos cement is not licensable, so you are able to carry out the work yourself.

As with all such work, we urge you to take care handling materials and observe appropriate safety procedures. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) suggests you kit yourself out with all the necessary precautionary safety equipment (mask, gloves, etc) and treat the asbestos cementwith respect. If you need to break it up, do so carefully and double bag it ready for disposal.