Asbestos in house we're buying

cth3403

Thanks for all the replies.

I just wanted to gauge opinion on whether you'd ask for the price to be reduced if you found the property you were buying had asbestos in it (an AIB ceiling to be exact) to help cover the cost of removal.

The answer seems to be a resounding 'no'.

davidmcn

cth3403 wrote: »

But when does it become a risk?

Once you've been breathing in a significant amount of the dust over a prolonged period of time.

(assuming you mean "a risk worth mitigating", because you don't eliminate all other forms of risk from your life, do you?)

Seriously, you're overthinking this.

cth3403

davidmcn wrote: »

Seriously, you're overthinking this.

I get that a lot.

stator

It's ugly and a pain to deal with, so I might consider reducing my offer. But it wouldn't put me off the house if it's a good one

AnotherJoe

cth3403 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies.

I just wanted to gauge opinion on whether you'd ask for the price to be reduced if you found the property you were buying had asbestos in it (an AIB ceiling to be exact) to help cover the cost of removal.

The answer seems to be a resounding 'no'.

The cost of removal, as said, is a few trips to the dump.
The significant cost will be in removing all the associated structure and getting the ceiling reskimmed as no doubt it will be a mess underneath that.
I'd reduce my price by a grand or two because of the suspended ceiling not because of the content of the tiles.
When I moved into this house the bathroom had a suspended ceiling, i just removed the tiles and took them to the dump. No idea if they had asbestos in them, didn't even occur to me at the time. The ceiling had a few cracks, plus taking the aluminum framework down left holes in it, I got it all skimmed.

Bonfire_Bride

I would discuss it with seller but wouldnt be suprised if they did not agree to a reduction.


I would get the tiles removed, ceiling plastered once we had completed but before we moved in...just for peace of mind.

teneighty

Just read this and cannot believe the bad advice that has been given.

Amosite asbestos is nasty stuff, far worse than you would normally find in a residential property and extremely unusual to find this outside of commercial buildings.

I've got quite a relaxed attitude the chrysotile asbestos you usually find in artex and asbestos cement and have lived in such houses quite happily but I would NEVER move into a house with Amosite asbestos.

Removal will be a licensed operation and will cost several thousand pounds. You could in theory live with it if it is in good condition but I would not want to take the risk that someone would disturb or break one of the ceiling panels releasing the very hazardous fibres.

Grenage

teneighty wrote: »

Just read this and cannot believe the bad advice that has been given.

Amosite asbestos is nasty stuff, far worse than you would normally find in a residential property and extremely unusual to find this outside of commercial buildings.

I've got quite a relaxed attitude the chrysotile asbestos you usually find in artex and asbestos cement and have lived in such houses quite happily but I would NEVER move into a house with Amosite asbestos.

Removal will be a licensed operation and will cost several thousand pounds. You could in theory live with it if it is in good condition but I would not want to take the risk that someone would disturb or break one of the ceiling panels releasing the very hazardous fibres.

Asbestos is not going to come down in the night, kill your family and rape your dog. It's a trivial matter to dispose of as long as you take sensible precautions - i.e: dampen the tiles, handle them carefully, wear appropriate clothing/mask and clean-up afterwards.

I honestly don't know how some people make it through life, with all these evils lurking in every corner.

Cakeguts

I would suggest that you find a different house. If the asbestos is worrying you and you can't afford to have it removed then this is not the right property for you.

cth3403

Spoken to the surveyor and he has said it covers a 6 metre squared section of ceiling in the kitchen.

He recommended having it removed before moving in and said if he were in the same position would do the same. If the pipes burst above the kitchen then that would pose a large risk.

As mentioned before, you need to be licensed to remove this stuff so going to let the professionals handle it. The surveyor reckoned it would cost approx £1800 to remove it.