Suspended ceiling tiles - asbestos?

sonastin

Not sure if this is the right place but here goes...

My mother is looking to have a new kitchen and my boyfriend has offered to fit it for her. There is currently a suspended ceiling with particularly hideous tiles that need replacing if the kitchen is going to look in any way modernised. My boyfriend doesn't want to touch the old ceiling and thinks we should get a specialist contractor in because he thinks there may be asbestos in them. My mother thinks he is overreacting and has offered to take them down herself because there is no way my father would have had them fitted if there was asbestos in them (my father passed away a few years ago so we can't ask him). Boyfriend's view is that there is no way that my dad could have known at the time as asbestos was in everything back then. They were fitted in the mid 80s (certainly after 1984, probably 85 or 86).

I know that the tiles have been lifted out on numerous occasions since they were fitted (to access the pipes running across the ceiling above) and no one else seems to have been worried about asbestos in that time. But equally, my boyfriend is from a ship-building area and knows several people who have died from asbestos related conditions and asbestos certainly used to be in ceiling tiles so I don't know if we have previously been naive or if he is now over-reacting.

Does anyone know if there is a way of telling whether they are asbestos tiles without getting a survey? And if we need to get a survey, do you have any idea of how much it is likely to cost?

Advice is appreciated as I'm feeling a bit piggy-in-the-middle on this one...

ormus

Consider the age of your home.
If your home was built between 1900 and 1970 you should have your home tested, as there is a chance that it could contain asbestos tiles.
You're most likely to find it in insulation, ceiling tiles and flooring.
Homes built between 1930 and 1950 are at the greatest risk of containing asbestos.

Asbestos was banned in the 1970s.

wallbash

Take the ceiling down , carefully ! no smashing away with a club hammer. No potential asbestos dust , no problem. Asbestos is ... safe . As long as you dont break it.

They were fitted in the mid 80s (certainly after 1984, probably 85 or 86).

Asbestos was banned in the 1970s.

If your boyfriend allows your mother to remove tiles ..... remove B/F

Plasterer

You sure the ceiling is suspended? That is to say that they used to "stick" tiles to ceilings in houses, don't think i've seen a suspended ceiling in a house kitchen!?! ( suspended ceilings have grids where the tiles "pop out") Not trying to insult your intelligence but just sounds strange. If the tiles are "stuck on" simply get your fella to overboard it if he has concerns.
All the best
P

sonastin

Its definitely suspended!

At some point the previous owners decided it was easier to run gas & water pipes across the ceiling than channel them under the concrete floor so when my parents bought the house, it was a bit of an unsightly mess. My dad figured it was just easier to put a false ceiling in to hide them so that's how we ended up with the suspended ceiling - I think it was the fashion at the time! The tiles have been popped out a number of times over my lifetime - usually to dry them out when the bath seal went and caused a bit of a leak - most recently by the guy re-fitting the bathroom (but I'm not sure what he was accessing up there).

Plan is for boyfriend to have a look at what might need accessing once the ceiling is down, and then put a new plasterboard ceiling up (with access hatch or something if necessary).

I just don't know which one of them is more likely to be right at the moment. The best I can find from googling is that ceilings put in (to schools and offices usually) before 1980 are the ones to watch but white asbestos wasn't completely banned until 1999...

ormus

we have a suspended ceiling on the landing, top of the stairs.
with what sounds like similar tiles to the OP.

wallbash

If the tiles 'pop' out , very easy to remove in one piece.
Guessing if the 'tiles' have not killed the occupants in the last 30 years ,
taking then down is not likely to be a hazard.

sammyjammy

Surely it's better to be safe than sorry. If your mum is happy to take them down then let her, it's her own risk. If it was me I would get someone to confirm either way just to check. Asbestos kills.

wallbash

Some of us are old enough to remember the amount of asbestos that we played with in science lessons ,
Not dead yet .

I would get someone to confirm either way just to check

Wonder how much that would cost ???




'cough' ,, cough'

aboard_epsilon

this asbestos in these tiles is news to me ..i didn't know ..about 15 years ago i put a double layer of them in my workshop roof ..they were free for the taking from a local decorating shop that was being refurbished ..

to think... i was cutting them with a band saw..probably breathing in the dust ..

there isn't anyway of telling other than sending samples off to be tested according to this .

http://www.asbestos.net/asbestos-products/acoustical-tile.html

i do think there is over-reacting about it ......companies are afraid of being sued ..this and that ........so they go over the top..blowing it up out of proportion ..i think as long as you wear a good quality mask ..and hoover up afterwards..and break the minimum of them you should be OK.

the only other alternative is to bring in the pros..they will come there wearing space suits .put plastic sheeting all over your house ...make a big song and dance...specialist air moving equipement..and plant, involve the council with other charges from the council ...street signs ..no go zone ..will take weeks ...... ..and it will cost .thousands.

all the best.markj

keystone

sonastin wrote: »

They were fitted in the mid 80s (certainly after 1984, probably 85 or 86).

If they were fitted before 1980 then its wise to consider that they MIGHT contain asbestos. Five years on from there they most likely don't although they could be another mineral fibre or possibly fibreboard.

In any event they come down so easily (lift, rotate and twist, remove) that unless you are totally careless then you are most unlikely to get any airborne particles. Asbestos cement is only dangerous if you cut it or break it and even then you have to cut or break one hell of a lot to even remotely put yourself in any danger.

Just take them down and bag them for disposal. Too much emotionially driven nonsense spouted about asbestos cement!

Cheers