DIY Asbestos Removal for Property Renovation

ddaddy

I am planning major renovations to a house I am completing on next week.
Part of the renovations include knocking down several internal walls and extending externally.
I have had tests come back positive that the ceiling artex and wall plaster contains chrysotile (white) asbestos, and the sale price of the house has been renegotiated.

I have had a quote of £30k to remove all the plaster and ceiling coverings in the house (approx 420m2) which is a lot of money, however it needs doing and I would rather get the whole lot done while the whole house is empty and under renovation.

I have been doing some reading up and there seems to be mixed reviews on how dangerous chrysotile is.

For the sake of saving 30k, would I be crazy to tackle this myself?

I have spoken with the council and they say if I double bag it once removed, they will give me a certificate to take it to the local tip.

There's plenty of masks, suits and asbestos bags available to buy for around £100.

My only worry, is that this is much different and difficult compared to removed an asbestos drain pipe. I would literally have to take a hammer and chisel to the walls and ceilings to remove all the plaster.

Has anyone else done this or even thought about it?

Kiran

If your budget is critical, can you skim it or overboard it? There are less risky methods than smashing away with a hammer etc. but as with a professional removal you would need to make sure everything is cleared up afterward, its not just the big chunks of plasterboard.

Doozergirl

I think the HSE website has guides for you, but it's loose fibre asbestos that is the very worst. Asbestos that has been bonded is less worrying.

It might be worth putting yourself on a training course for the day as you don't need to be certified to carry out artex type work, but it's nice to be knowledgable.

When you say it needs doing anyway, you mean you were intending to remove it before finding out it contained asbestos? There is no need to remove it if you weren't doing it anyway. I'm guessing it's horrid textured stuff though?

ddaddy

Thanks for the replies.

Our budget isn't critical and we can afford to get the work done, however it seems a lot of money to spend if I can do it myself in a few weeks.

This is going to be our forever home, so I would rather have it all removed now for peace of mind in the future.

We always had plans to knock 3 of the downstairs walls down, so they will need doing before a builder will touch them.
We want to put underfloor heating throughout the house, so taking the downstairs ceilings down will be a win-win-win as it removes the asbestos, removes the unsightly artist and allows us to install UFH from below.
A couple of the upstairs walls are also being knocked through.

So all said and done, I think it's best to remove it from the entire house from day 1 whilst waiting for planning permission to come through.

It's a good idea about a training course, I shall have a look around.

stator

I've never heard of asbestos being in actual plaster, that's quite worrying.

For the artex yes it's a DIY job if you use the paste that you slather on and then scrap the artex off, no dust. The only problem is that it's labour intensive. Thick artex requires several coats and scrapings. The artex remover is quite expensive too.
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p83638?table=no

ddaddy

stator wrote: »

I've never heard of asbestos being in actual plaster, that's quite worrying.

For the artex yes it's a DIY job if you use the paste that you slather on and then scrap the artex off, no dust. The only problem is that it's labour intensive. Thick artex requires several coats and scrapings. The artex remover is quite expensive too.

From what i've been reading, they added asbestos to plaster to add fire-resistance to walls.
A lot of the gypsum manufacturers used it.

Thanks for the link to x-tex, I guess I need to find out whether the asbestos is in the coating or the actual plaster. My thought is the latter with it also being found in the walls.

teneighty

ddaddy wrote: »

From what i've been reading, they added asbestos to plaster to add fire-resistance to walls.
A lot of the gypsum manufacturers used it.

Really? That's a new one on me. What is the wall construction and why does a house need special fire proof walls?

Are you sure they didn't test artex on the walls?or just get the samples mixed up?

Anyway £30k to strip all the walls and ceilings is crazy. The risk from Chrysotile asbestos is very low so with the correct PPE it is well within the scope of a DIYer.

ddaddy

teneighty wrote: »

Really? That's a new one on me. What is the wall construction and why does a house need special fire proof walls?

Are you sure they didn't test artex on the walls?or just get the samples mixed up?

Anyway £30k to strip all the walls and ceilings is crazy. The risk from Chrysotile asbestos is very low so with the correct PPE it is well within the scope of a DIYer.

I can't post links yet as i'm too new, however when you Google 'Asbestos in plaster', the very first result tells you about it and also lists companies that mixed asbestos with their gypsum.

I'm starting to get very confused by it all now to be honest. I'm not sure where the samples were taken from, the report says textured coating, however when they explained the removal process I was told the walls would be taken back to brick.
If it's only the textured coatings, then a few tubs of x-tex should do the job.

I think i'll have to get a second option or have some more tests done.

London50

I think {although I could be very wrong} but the link you are talking about is USA plaster not the UK but I believe that the date your home was built would give a better understanding as to if or not it is in the plaster.

Link I believe you were looking at below

http://www.mesothelioma.com/asbestos-exposure/products/plaster/


I am no expert so if others know better I except any facts

ddaddy

Yes that's the link.
The house was built in the early 70's and very little has been done to it since.

I'm starting to think that it is just the covering that has asbestos.
The paperwork I have says the samples where taken from wall and ceiling textured coatings.
The quote they supplied also says removal of textured coatings, however I'm sure they said all walls would be taken back to brick.

stator

Remove some of the plaster yourself and send it off for testing. Costs about £25. Double bag it and wear a proper P3 dust mask, gloves etc.
Only way to know for sure.