Asbestos in the house

sammiejayne_2

Hi, we have just moved home, our house has warm air heating which we don't want so we had some quotes for central heating, during the quotes we found out that the entire warm air flue, airing cupboard interior, boiler cupboard interior, hot water heater cupboard and some of the exterior fascia panneling is made of asbestos which was NOT highlighted during the survey as it was a basic homebuyer survey, as I have 2 children (one is a new baby) I was panic stricken and have today had the exterior panneling replaced which involved replacing all the front windows and doors...I hadn't budgeted for this! I still have to have the flue etc removed but obviously I will be left without heating or hot water when it goes and it has been so expensive with having to replace all the front of the house I will not be able to have the central heating done at the same time so I am in a catch 22...sorry about such a long post but I am so worried. Please does anyone have any advice for me...can I get anything done on my buildings and contents or is there a period of time before you can claim, is this kind of thing even covered? Do I have any comeback on my seller for not telling me...is there anything at all...I will be VERY grateful for any advice and I do apologise if I have posted this is the wrong place or for any spelling mistakes, I am on a roll...

PasturesNew

It isn't something you can claim on insurance.
There is no claim to be made on the sellers.
There is no claim on the surveyor either as you just had a homebuyers' and at best they might have said it needed investigating.
It's just one of those things.

Asbestos isn't a problem, so long as you don't knock it about/damage it. And if you have it removed it has to be disposed of legally/properly. It's only dangerous if it's on the loose, so if you'd decided to rip it all out yourself without any protection.

silvercar

Abestos is only dangerous if it starts breaking up. Pieces that are intact and in good condition are not dangerous.

If you do get any removed, this needs to be done by specialists. If there is only a small amount the council may clear it for you if it is correctly stored (double sealed bags) otherwise you also need to pay for disposal.

I don't see why replacing the fascia means new doors and windows???

I would expect a homebuyers survey to mention that there may be a danger of asbestos, particularly if it is very visible.

I hope you had the facia checked out and weren't conned into thinking everything needed replacing by builders short of work. I suppose the judge of this is how protected your workmen were when they did the removals. Personally, if I was having work on asbestos, I would stay out of the house all day.

sammiejayne_2

Thanks for that, Im just so worried with the children. Im not planning on going anywhere near any of it so I won't be knocking it about, and I am getting it removed at the earliest possible convenience. I was reading a thread which had some real horror stories saying just one fibre can cause a horryfying death....it spooked me somewhat!

sammiejayne_2

Its difficult to explain really, the houses were built late 50's by Appleyards and are timber framed so the windows are all on one frame kind of wall to wall, its a bit like a dolls house, the whole front comes off in one piece. We had them replaced by a window company...they didn't wear any protective clothing and just left the asbestos panels on my front lawn and they were picked up late this afternoon by a van with Bramley Asbestos Disposal Company on the side...me and the baby were in the house during the works though. I am really panicking now...

bo_drinker

Don't panic if it was a grey colour. Yes it is asbestos but there are different types and the grey is not dangerous. You would need to be exposed to it for years to affect you. It will need sorting but you do not need to panic, you are probably getting as close to asbestos on occasion through the week without realising it. Google it (is asbestos dangerous)and learn a bit about it, just no need to panic. :cool:

Zelie

Don't panic.

Asbestos is a bit of a bogeyman. It *can* be dangerous but the exposure you and the kids have had is nothing to worry about. The danger is if it has been broken up and bits of the dust are inhaled. Just having the stuff there is not in itself dangerous. Think of it like cigarette smoke - yes it's dangerous if your kids are around smokers but if it's just someone smoking across the street then the likelihood of health problems are vanishingly small. Same with asbestos in the house.

tbs624

Sammiejayne - there are 3 types of asbestos: white, brown & blue. The white is the least harmful and can be removed by non-specialist contractors, but does have to be bagged properly and its recommended that its damped down, and dustmasks/gloves are worn. This sort ifswhat you get in, say, corrugated garage/outbuilding roofs or some old watertanks in loft spaces. (described as "grey" by another poster above) As others have said if it's left in place & monitored for damage, the risks from this sort are likely to be tiny.

The blue or brown *must* be removed by registered disposal companies and there are "cowboy firms". It is likely that flues/laggings and heating cupboard liners may have brown asbestos content.

Go onto your council website and search on asbestos - there will be a specific pagee on it. Get someone from the Council to come and talk to you before you agree to any expensive and/or unnecessary work.

Your Homebuyer Report should have included a paragraph that mentioned that there was likely to be asbestos content and that you were advised to seek further tests. That is usually in there "as standard", along with the same sort of thing on timber rot, and damp.Look back and check that report - if there is nothing in there you should contact the surveyor's firm and take it up with RICS.

There are firms who will come and do asbestos sampling tests for you - these are independent labs and have no vested interest in flogging you an asbestos removal service.