Have anyone put an offer in on a house and then found out it contains asbestos?

inner_grace

This is the situation. We have been struggling to find a house but last week the perfect house popped up that is built in the mid 60s but nothing has been done on it since being built so it's basically a full re modernisation job. We have been told someone else has put an offer in around the same as ours but at the minute we have a good chance of getting it. The offer is high for a house that needs a lot of work, it should just about cover the cost of replacing everything. I'm having cold feet because there are tiles on the kitchen ceiling, I've been reading back in the 60s asbestos was used a lot in them. I wanted to rip them down when I moved in to renovate the kitchen but I don't want to pay out the expense and have the disruption of leaving my new home whilst it's being cleared out if what i suspect is true. It would be cheaper and more convienient for me to buy elsewhere. What would you do? I won't know until the survey is done and I read that the vendor should remove it to stop the sale falling through. I have 3 children as well. I'm thinking it's probably best to carry on and get it checked before we move in and if it pops up then request it is all removed and air checked by the vendor before we move in. The house is empty so it appears to be the best solution. Has anyone else been in this situation and what did you do?

emmatthews

A lot of older houses will have asbestos in them somewhere, it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

Getting it removed isn't hugely expensive and easily done.

I think it's unreasonable to expect the vendor to do it and I doubt they'll agree. I'm sure they'll find a buyer that won't be overly concerned by it.

Slinky

I very much doubt the vendor will sort this problem for you. Asbestos is generally only a problem if you start disturbing it. We have an old flue from a defunct boiler which has asbestos in. When we removed the boiler, we boxed in the flue, end of problem.

It would probably be easier to put up a new plasterboard ceiling and leave the old one above it.

Niv

So you know where I am coming from I want to start by saying I am a trained asbestos surveyor and analyst.


I would not ask the vendor to sort ahead of sale, for no other reason than how will you know for sure it was removed properly? All routes properly cleared etc. No I wouldn't touch that idea further.


There are a range of asbestos containing materials that were used in housing, some I would not be concerned about at all, others I would manage, some I would remove.


Materials include:
floor tiles (typically 9" x 9" ones)
glue for floor tiles
bitumen pad on underside of sink
asbestos paper
asbestos insulation board (known as aib)
asbestos cement products including guttering, downpipes, flues, corrugated roofing sheets, soffit, it goes on


This is not an exhaustive list.


AIB is potentially the most high risk product you are likely to find in a house. If in good condition, painted and not going to be disturbed then it is fine in place and can cause a lot of hassle to remove.


I have some aib around my wood burners, its in good condition and painted and is not in a situation where it is likely to be disturbed. So for now at least, it is remaining in place.


Having said the above, if your ceiling tiles in the kitchen are AIB and you are going to want to mess around at ceiling level with drilling for light fittings etc. then I would remove it. Over boarding is fine if you are then going to leave it alone but if you overboard the ceiling then how are you going to install the lighting? How would you guarantee that you would not drill through the AIB too? It would make me too nervous if I am honest. Often kitchens have an exit door so it makes removal slightly easier in that you can seal the internal door and remove straight outside.


If you go ahead with the purchase (this would not be a deal breaker for me) then I would do this job asap and make sure you get a licenced asbestos removal company in to do the job - I would not want to removal that amount of aib in that position myself if I am honest.


I hope my post reads balanced, I am not a asbestos scare monger, but aib in an area you are likely to disturb is a removal job in my opinion (for what its worth).

AnotherJoe

inner_grace wrote: »

I won't know until the survey is done and I read that the vendor should remove it to stop the sale falling through.

Wherever you read that, it seems the author wasn't living on this planet where you'd have no control over the quality of the job, and where most vendors will tell you to take a hike.

However, I see a potential way through, if unorthodox, which might work as it's an empty house. See if your vendor would agree to you having a reasonably long time between exchange and completion, 2-3 weeks, and within that period, they allow your contractors to remove the asbestos.

I know this is normally a no-no but I does happen and for the vendor I really don't see any downside other than, as you are in competition with someone else if they offer the vendor a more straightforward sale, they may decide in their favour.

Failing that as the expert has said, the removal could take place with minimal disruption and if you are too concerned about then disruption to kitchen just go and stay in a local premier inn or whatever for a week.

This of course only applies if these tiles are difficult to remove it may be a 20 minute job to remove the sort of tiles that make up a suspended ceiling and aren't glued to the original ceiling. When I move into this house we had a bathroom with a ceiling like that and just removed and bagged tiles and took to local dump. Took longer to drive to and back from dump than remove tiles.

inner_grace

That could be a solution. I am going to speak to the surveyor if we get the house. My dad thinks the ceiling tiles are more likely to be polystyrene and said he wouldn't buy a house with asbestos in it.

tykesi

Thanks goodness not everyone thinks like you and your dad then, nobody would ever buy a house from that era, there would be a lot of empty houses!

Hasbeen

inner_grace wrote: »

This is the situation. We have been struggling to find a house but last week the perfect house popped up that is built in the mid 60s but nothing has been done on it since being built so it's basically a full re modernisation job. We have been told someone else has put an offer in around the same as ours but at the minute we have a good chance of getting it. The offer is high for a house that needs a lot of work, it should just about cover the cost of replacing everything. I'm having cold feet because there are tiles on the kitchen ceiling, I've been reading back in the 60s asbestos was used a lot in them. I wanted to rip them down when I moved in to renovate the kitchen but I don't want to pay out the expense and have the disruption of leaving my new home whilst it's being cleared out if what i suspect is true. It would be cheaper and more convienient for me to buy elsewhere. What would you do? I won't know until the survey is done and I read that the vendor should remove it to stop the sale falling through. I have 3 children as well. I'm thinking it's probably best to carry on and get it checked before we move in and if it pops up then request it is all removed and air checked by the vendor before we move in. The house is empty so it appears to be the best solution. Has anyone else been in this situation and what did you do?

Polystyrene ceiling tiles popular in 60s 70s very light easy to take off, not dangerous.

Still get various designs https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/gvi/Polystyrene-Ceiling-Tiles-Terra-Pack-pcs-White/B00D0875JI

Norman_Castle

Niv wrote: »

Materials include:
floor tiles (typically 9" x 9" ones)
glue for floor tiles
bitumen pad on underside of sink
asbestos paper
asbestos insulation board (known as aib)
asbestos cement products including guttering, downpipes, flues, corrugated roofing sheets, soffit, it goes on


This is not an exhaustive list.

I've got 1970s fire doors in my flat. I recently removed a perko door slammer and the inside of the door had thick grey paper in it. Is this likely to be asbestos paper?

I've also got a 1970s inspection hatch into a roof space which is backed with what appears to be white plasterboard which i've drilled into :eek:. Asbestos?

Surrey_EA

inner_grace wrote: »

he wouldn't buy a house with asbestos in it.

That will rule out an awful lot of houses!

Niv

Norman_Castle wrote: »

I've got 1970s fire doors in my flat. I recently removed a perko door slammer and the inside of the door had thick grey paper in it. Is this likely to be asbestos paper?

I've also got a 1970s inspection hatch into a roof space which is backed with what appears to be white plasterboard which i've drilled into :eek:. Asbestos?

Not wishing to de-rail this thread but, the thick grey paper could well have been asbestos based on the age of the door and the colour you describe - often the externally installed expansion strip is not asbestos though (I am referring to the often plastic strip with powder in it which is designed to expand in the event of a fire to seal the door).


Regarding your loft hatch. Is the plasterboard lined with paper like modern plasterboard is? Or is it like plasterboard without any paper covering? If the latter then could be asbestos or could be vermiculate (which technically can be contaminated with a small amount of asbestos due to where most of it was mined back in the day). If it was a vermiculate board then (if unpainted) it would shimmer as you pass light over it.


feel free to pm if you have further queries (I am only thinking of thread derailment ).