Homebuyers report ,Asbestos!!

stu68

I have just got my “home buyers report” back on a property we are buying, this has taken so long to get (mortgage company dragging their heals) as we are only 6 weeks away from completion.
Its come back with loads of work to be done, but manly the fact that Asbestos could have been used in the walls, ceiling etc.
The place is 100 years old and while I believe a house of this age would not have had Asbestos in its cement when it was built, a second half of the building was added at some date after but don’t know when?

I did get a few thousand off the asking price but looking at the list of jobs, the money is going to mount up big time, an Asbestos surveyor wants £350 to do a survey, the seller wont pay this so its down to me .My solicitor says I need to get a full collection of quotes for all the work and we go from there, but the seller has already said that they wont pay for any work or quotes.

I will pay the £350 for the Asbestos inspection but if it comes back positive for it, well what then??

I am very nervous of Asbestos as I watched my father die slowly from cancer caused by it, so this is a pretty dire situation.

Any advice.

silvercar

General advice on asbestos is that if its not broken, don't fix it.

Where is the asbestos? If its in a roof or within artexing etc you try to avoid moving it. Asbestos is fine until it starts degrading. So ideally, you either leave it intact (eg in artexing) and skim over it or you professionally remove it. If a roof wasn't leaking you wouldn't touch it.

Do you KNOW there is asbestos, or is there a butt-covering report saying it might be present?

stu68

That’s the problem unless I have the Asbestos survey done I wont know for sure, and as there is a lot of work needs doing I would not want to take the chance .The survey says its most likely in the cement and artex.

I had not budgeted for getting in professionals for the work as it was stuff I could handle but if it turns out that asbestos is in the house that’s that out of the window.

pinkshoes

I found this online about doing home improvements to a house containing asbestos material:

Take care when doing DIY

If you have asbestos materials in your home, extra care should be taken when doing DIY. DO NOT attempt work involving sprayed asbestos, lagging or insulating boards, as this must be undertaken by a licensed asbestos removal contractor. If in doubt, SEEK ADVICE.

If you do any DIY with asbestos materials take the following precautions:

1. Keep other people away from the area of work.
2. Wear protective clothing (e.g. overalls), preferably disposable, and avoid breathing in asbestos dust (a disposable dust mask ’CE’ marked to EN 149 with FFP2 particulate filters is recommended).
3. Keep asbestos materials wet to avoid producing dust.
4. Work outside if possible and avoid working overhead.
5. Do not drill, cut or disturb materials are very soft and can release large numbers of fibres if rubbed or scraped.
6. Use hand tools rather than power tools.
7. Do not use a domestic vacuum cleaner to clear up the dust. Hire an industrial vacuum cleaner that conforms to BS 5415 (Type H).
8. When you have finished work, clean up and then take off the overalls carefully to avoid raising any dust which may have collected in the fabric.
In the case of disposable overalls, double-bag them, clearly mark ‘ASBESTOS’ on the bag and dispose of them as asbestos waste. Wash non-disposable overalls straight away, separately from other clothing, in a washing machine.

silvercar

If there "could be" asbestos in the walls, does it matter; are you planning on knocking the walls down?

I would phone the surveyor and find out if they think there is a real likelihood of there being asbestos or if they are covering themselves.

arthur_dent_2

Our porch has a very very small amount (4m square max)of asbestos in it, should this be a problem to dispose of when we come to replace it?

stu68

silvercar wrote: »

If there "could be" asbestos in the walls, does it matter; are you planning on knocking the walls down?

I would phone the surveyor and find out if they think there is a real likelihood of there being asbestos or if they are covering themselves.

It matters because if you do need to start working on the walls and drill in to them then there is the chance your going to get the dusk coming out?


Iv seen first hand what even the smallest amount of asbestos dusk can do and its not good.

livinginhope

Asbestos is commonly found in artex,is there artex on the walls or ceilings? when our house burned down,the bit that was left standing had to be re plastered,the builders had to get the artex checked for asbestos before they could scrape it off,a small patch was removed,about an inch,taken away and checked,this cost £50,the results were positive and specialist people had to be brought in to remove the ceilings,that was expensive!

sandy2_2

I understand that the only way to check if Asbestos is present is to have a portion of the material in question sent away for testing. As this causes damage to the ceiling or whatever I can´t see the vendor being happy about it.
I understand that Asbestos is OK until it is damaged or starts degrading. So ideally, you either leave it intact (eg in artexing) and skim over it or you professionally remove it.

eatmyfish

sandy2 wrote: »

I understand that the only way to check if Asbestos is present is to have a portion of the material in question sent away for testing. As this causes damage to the ceiling or whatever I can´t see the vendor being happy about it.
I understand that Asbestos is OK until it is damaged or starts degrading. So ideally, you either leave it intact (eg in artexing) and skim over it or you professionally remove it.

Jesus christ! Tell the vendor where to go, do you really want to live a house that might give you cancer?

sandy2_2

How many of the houses in England have artexed walls or ceilings, millions I would think