Asbestos test ruined garage contents?

choccyface2006

Hi, my parents are going to have their internal garage converted into a dining room so yesterday they had a company out to replace a small flat roof.

While they were there they said they could take a small sample of the ceiling for asbestos testing and my dad agreed as long as they did it at their own risk as it needed doing and they had been unable to get anyone else out to do it.

The guy just had a face mask on and sent the sample off for testing, they rang back a few hours later to say they were 99% sure it was the most dangerous type of asbestos so they had sent it to a lab in Manchester for a confirmation. My dad has requested a full report in writing.

My dad has now sealed off the garage which is cammed with stuff, furniture, bikes, diy tools and some of our camping gear and says the entire contents will have to be disposed of now in case spores have escaped where ceiling has been disturbed.

So a few questions, can anything be salvaged, non porous items maybe? Can other items be cleaned in any way to make them safe? Is is really to dangerous to use tents etc.. that have been stored in there? Surely the company doing the test should have warned my parents that a positive test would mean there belongings would be at risk?

I am angry as these items will cost thousands to replace.

Thanks

Sarah

bryanb

It's the fibres that are dangerous. There are no spores.
So long as it's worked damp no fibres should be released.

uk_messer

Sounds very fishy. Could this be an eleborate scam?

You're either sure it has asbestos or it doesn't. What does 99% mean? And do these tests come back that fast?

There is asbestos in a lot of stuff and a lot of scaremongering around it. Yes, care should be taken around it but we've all breathed it.

choccyface2006

UK messer, see that's what I thought, it didn't sound right to me which is why my dad has insisted on a full written report, he is waiting for that from this lab.

As far as I know it was not dampened down and my parents did not witness how this test was done and won't go in there now to look.

uk_messer

I'd google the company name and 'asbestos'. Might bring up something. Were they changing the felt or timbers and the plasterboard too?

choccyface2006

They were replacing the flat roof, just the external bit, the felt I think.

I have googled them but the name of the company brings up lots of results not even relating to them.

uk_messer

If they were replacing the felt why the hell did they need to test the plasterboard? Getting fishier by the minute.

Tell your Father not to get stressed. He'll be fine.

choccyface2006

They have done a lot of work on my parents house and knew they were having the garage conversion, my dad has been stressing out about getting the test done and they said they could do it there and then for him even though there were there to do as different job.

trailingspouse

I think the simplest solution would be for your Dad to get another test done by another company. Then he'll know for sure. When they said 'it's the worst sort' did they say exactly what sort it was? The white asbestos, which I think was standard for integral garages at one time, is safe enough as long as you don't damage it. I think it's the blue asbestos that is the worst.

Our integral garage ceiling was asbestos, and when we were having the house re-wired the electrician spotted it and said they wouldn't be able to work on that part of the house until it was sorted (reasonably enough). I called a company called Aastec - I think they are just local to me, but I found them by googling 'asbestos removal'. They came and took a small piece for testing, and then when the results came back (the following day), they arranged for removal. I rang them at 10.30 on a Wednesday morning, they arrived to take the test piece at 12.30, rang the following day with the results and did the removal on the Friday. Very quick, very impressive and at £1200 for a large double garage, including safe disposal, I didn't think it was a crazy price.

Our garage was full at the time - there was no suggestion that this would cause any future problems.

DTDfanBoy

Your father is grossly overreacting a few fibres of asbestos never hurt anyone it's not nuclear waste for goodness sake


As this is MSE you may want to be aware that you'll save yourself a small fortune if you remove it yourself, the vast majority of council dumps allow you to dump asbestos for free :j

BlueC

DTDfanBoy wrote: »

Your father is grossly overreacting a few fibres of asbestos never hurt anyone it's not nuclear waste for goodness sake


As this is MSE you may want to be aware that you'll save yourself a small fortune if you remove it yourself, the vast majority of council dumps allow you to dump asbestos for free :j

This, all day long.

He is being taken for a ride and seems they are trying to scare him into some no-doubt expensive removal that will be very financially beneficial for them.

There are no "spores" - it is not a bacteria or some kind of deadly fungal agent! There are fibres. Sheet materials that were used in roof constructions are generally not the "dangerous" type of asbestos.

They sound like chancers trying to use fear, uncertainty and doubt to make a quick quid from your poor dad.

There is also absolutely no need to seal off the garage!