Is this asbestos?

Aydin

Hi everyone!

I am a new house owner. It is built in 1948. Previous owners had a ceiling light hanging in the middle of the living room and when they left there is only a big hole left behind from this ceiling light. When I look into the hole I see a material and I don't know what it is. Its color is somewhat light brownish yellowish. Please see the pictures. What do you think? Could this be asbestos? Or is it like a sound insulation or something?

drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwkHbix-CS-VRFFqS3B2OUtjMFE (please add http in the beginning of the link)

Thanks in advance to everyone!
Aydin

George_Michael

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwkHbix-CS-VRFFqS3B2OUtjMFE


The last picture could be asbestos sheets but to be honest, it's extremely hard to tell from photo's, especially as it's been painted.

FreeBear

The only way to tell for sure is to send some samples off for testing. Either contact your local council environmental health dept for recommendations or do a google search - Expect to pay in the region of £40-£50 for each sample.

TheCyclingProgrammer

It's probably just insulation but to be on the safe side just leave it alone. Surprised old owners took light fitting without replacing with a basic one. Just put a new light up there and forget it.

stator

From picture number 2 I would say it is asbestos containing cement board. I have plenty of hardboard like material with a dimpled back that is asbestos cement. However mine doesn't have loose fibres like you can see in picture number 1.
So I would definitely get it tested.

It's not harmful unless you try to remove it, so if possible it's best just to put up a new light fitting that covers up the hole!

Aydin

Thanks everyone. Just to clarify where the material is I drew a simple illustration please see the pdf in the same folder.

//drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwkHbix-CS-VRFFqS3B2OUtjMFE (please add http in the beginning of the link)

So the white ceiling you see on the picture is actually just plywood. The material I am suspicious of is just above that plywood. There is a gap in between. Second image (img_7138) is just the tile of that suspicious material which came off. I am not sure if this is clear. I also touched this yellowish material and it is kind of soft. Not hard.

Thanks a lot again!

stator

I understand now. It's definitely suspicious. It looks quite fiberous too, the more dangerous type. I would take a sample using full PPE gear, double bagged and get it tested.
Don't even disturb the dust up there if the substance has already broken.

See if you can find someone who will tell you the type of asbestos too. The cheapest tests just tell you "yes" or "no" (I even suspect they might always tell you "Yes"). You need to know how dangerous it is. If it's the really bad stuff you'll have to hire professionals

Aydin

Thanks Stator. I will definitely get it checked. I am not even going to touch it myself but let professionals do it and this may take a few weeks so I am still trying to understand what it is exactly. I closed to hole with some plastic foil and duck tape for now.

Daniel from inspectapedia.com said "If the material is soft it's most-likely a wood product or cellulose insulating board - very similar to Masonite hardboard but thicker, softer, lighter. It was widely used as an insulating sheathing board on walls and ceilings."

Anyone who is familiar with these?

leveller2911

Its insulation board and not asbestos.............Its very soft and damages easily. Imagine a very soft,fibrous chipboard with no asbestos. It was commonly used in the 70's-80's because it provided more insulation value than Gyproc , cheaper too as you just decorated it rather than needing to plaster the whole wall. Only downside was you had to cover the joints with thin timber battens otheriwse it looked hideous.

It was also used a lot for notice boards/pin boards.

Aydin

Thanks a lot for your inputs. I will get it checked and let you know what this material turns out to be. I am also leaning against the fact that it is just an insulation/acoustic board but nothing else. I found a similar looking fibreboard material online.

Thanks for your opinions again