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

trailingspouse

Is it asbestos or polystyrene?

Polystyrene is a pain to remove sometimes, but sometimes comes off in very satisfying sheets - a potential fire hazard so needs to be removed, but not dangerous in itself.

If it's asbestos, it's also not that big a deal, although you need to get someone in to take it down. We discovered that the whole of the ceiling of our integral double garage was asbestos (after we'd moved in - our electrician noticed it during the re-wire and reasonably enough said he couldn't work on that part of the house until it was removed). It was very straightforward - as soon as we discovered it (10.30 on a Wednesday morning) I rang a local specialist, they came round to the house within the hour and took a sample for testing. We got the test results later than afternoon, and they came on the Friday to remove it. It cost £1000 (for a large double garage), it was done in half a day, we didn't have to move out of the house (just stay out of the garage and keep the cat out as well), they removed and bagged up everything and took it away and gave us a certificate to say they'd done it.

At some point in the history of our house, integral garages had to have asbestos ceilings, for fire safety reasons - so if you're buying a house of the right age, it's no surprise to find there is asbestos present.

AnotherJoe

inner_grace wrote: »

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.

If his property was built before 1980 or so odds are he is living in one.

Niv

AnotherJoe wrote: »

If his property was built before 1980 or so odds are he is living in one.

To be more exact, Brown (Amosite) and Blue (Crocidolite) asbestos was banned in 1985.


White (Chrysotile) was banned in November 1999.


Even bigger chance he is living in one

inner_grace

trailingspouse wrote: »

Is it asbestos or polystyrene?

Polystyrene is a pain to remove sometimes, but sometimes comes off in very satisfying sheets - a potential fire hazard so needs to be removed, but not dangerous in itself.

If it's asbestos, it's also not that big a deal, although you need to get someone in to take it down. We discovered that the whole of the ceiling of our integral double garage was asbestos (after we'd moved in - our electrician noticed it during the re-wire and reasonably enough said he couldn't work on that part of the house until it was removed). It was very straightforward - as soon as we discovered it (10.30 on a Wednesday morning) I rang a local specialist, they came round to the house within the hour and took a sample for testing. We got the test results later than afternoon, and they came on the Friday to remove it. It cost £1000 (for a large double garage), it was done in half a day, we didn't have to move out of the house (just stay out of the garage and keep the cat out as well), they removed and bagged up everything and took it away and gave us a certificate to say they'd done it.

At some point in the history of our house, integral garages had to have asbestos ceilings, for fire safety reasons - so if you're buying a house of the right age, it's no surprise to find there is asbestos present.

That's not as expensive as I thought to remove. I read somewhere that said it would cost £1,500 plus vat for 20 square metres. I was panicking when I read that. Well I'm going ahead with things as usual and if I get the house or any that I have suspicions over I will get an asbestos surveyor in to check for any risks. Better safe that sorry with 3 kids.

inner_grace

Niv wrote: »

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).

Thankyou for your reply. Is asbestos likely to be contained in glue for ceiling tiles, or even adhesive for wall tiles in a 1960s built house?

Niv

inner_grace wrote: »

Thankyou for your reply. Is asbestos likely to be contained in glue for ceiling tiles, or even adhesive for wall tiles in a 1960s built house?

Not from my experience, it tends to be in that old bitumen adhesive used on the old 9" x 9" floor tiles.


Like others have said, it is definitely finding out if these are indeed asbestos tiles as opposed to polystyrene, when painted they can look similar.