Asbestos

jangor_2

I am buying a 1960's property and the surveyor noted the possibility of asbestos fibres in the ceiling artex, the soffit boards and the garage roof. I have contacted a company dealing with asbestos and they have advised they will need samples to check whether asbestos is present and will charge £125 + VAT. They went on to advise that removal of asbestos is a costly business. The vendor, I guess understandably, is not too keen on samples being taken. I am just not sure what to do. Is it usual for asbestos to be present in houses of this age and does it generally cause a problem?

Any advice appreciated.

RAS

If asbestos is found, then it has to be removed by a specialist company and it is expensive.

TJ27

RAS wrote: »

If asbestos is found, then it has to be removed by a specialist company and it is expensive.

Well, not necessarily. The best course of action is very often to leave it undisturbed. It's generally when you start breaking it up that fibres are released.

I'm not sure what the laws are regarding DIY asbestos removal. My local tip provides the public with special bags and a special skip for asbestos, so I guess there must be a way of doing it yourself. The usual advice is to damp it down before removing it, wear protective equipment and not to break it up.

sandy2_2

From what I understand Asbestos is only a problem if it's starting to degrade and break down ie if the ceiling is cracked or damaged, or the soffit boards and/or starting to break up. The surveyor has to point out any possibility of asbestos in case you sue him when he didn´t mention it. Do a google search on asbestos and artex and I´m sure you´ll find more info. Asbestos was banned in everything since 1999 I think.
If all the artex had to be replaced across Britain it wouldn´t bear thinking about!!!!

epz_2

TJ27 wrote: »

Well, not necessarily. The best course of action is very often to leave it undisturbed. It's generally when you start breaking it up that fibres are released.

I'm not sure what the laws are regarding DIY asbestos removal. My local tip provides the public with special bags and a special skip for asbestos, so I guess there must be a way of doing it yourself. The usual advice is to damp it down before removing it, wear protective equipment and not to break it up.

diy asbestos removal is a bit like diy bomb disposal only it takes longer for you to die painfully. its probably possible to do it right and save a few quid buy if you get it wrong you will spend 20 years drowning in your own spit and slowly suffocating.

TJ27

Yeah, I hear what you say epz. A good friend of mine is a senior HSE inspector and I remember asking her how much asbestos it would take to kill you. Her answer was that potentially one fibre could be fatal.

But if my local council tip actually provide facilities specifically to cater for DIY asbestos removal, and offer advice, then it must be a viable option. There are few organisations more H&S cautious than the council. I guess it depends on the type of asbestos and the condition it's in.

BigBenson

Asbestos removal is not a DIY job, all contractors need to be fully certified and registered with the HSE. I wouldn't even contemplate removing it yourself. Not worth the health risk and possible fines.
Best bet on the artex is to encapsulate with plasterboard over the top if you dont want to leave it on view. Garage roof will need to be sprayed and stripped and disposed of under licence. You definately cant throw it in any skip.
Will cost you.

TJ27

Guys I really do see where you're coming from. Asbestos can be damn hazardous. You do need to know what you're doing if you touch it and you need to take care. But my local council website does specifically use the words "DIY asbestos removal", although to be fair this does refer to small scale works. Honestly, it really does. And councils generally don't take chances with H&S. They send me on enough flipping courses to know. So I'm fairly confident that minor work involving asbestos is most definitely doable yourself.

I completely agree that you can't bury it in the bottom of a skip. But I don't agree that it will necessarily need to be stipped and disposed of. Like I say, the best course of action is quite often to do nothing. Just leave it alone unless it's friable, or breaking up, or somehow else releasing fibres. Soffits in particular are likely to have been protected from the elements, will probably be in a reasonable condition and will not present a hazard if left alone.

So if it really does need stripping, and it's a biggish job, well OK it's likely to cost a bit. But don't automatically assume that it will, just because it's asbestos and it's scary stuff.

Gorgeous_George

TBH, I think the scares over asbestos are greatly exaggerated. This is so that 'victims' can claim £££s and is not closely related to the actual risks.

I removed the corrugated asbestos panels from my garage's flat roof a few years ago. I tied them to my roof rack and wrapped them in a tarpaulin for the 6 mile trip to the local tip (with asbestos facilties). No problem. A year later, a neighbour asked me to help with his and I repeated the trip. No problem.

Maybe this will come back to haunt me in years to come but I doubt it. If I'm wrong, it'll take weeks for them to cremate me. Be careful with the stuff but don't fall for the hype.

Live your life by your own (informed) decisions.

Would you feel so concerned if disposing of MDF (medium density fibreboard)?



GG

adr0ck

i 2nd georges comments

i would be a bit more concerned about removing the artex ceilings as this could be messy...probably best to leave these alone

just buy a suit like these

http://www.protecdirect.co.uk/Personal_Protection_PPE/Protective_Workwear/Disposable_Workwear/Disposable_Clothing/SMARTGUARD%20ORIGINAL

get a proper full face mask, gloves

and read this

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg255.pdf

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD

There are different types of asbestos

One is cement based, can be removed by DIYers wrapped in plastic, and taken to your local tip.


The other type is a softer material, sometimes used in place of plasterboard and is extremely lethal :eek: cannot be touched by DIYers, It's against the law.