House survey asbestos

foofi22

Hi

When we bought our house we had a full building survey. There was no mention of asbestos.

We've had the local council test a few ceilings. Two contain asbestos - is this something we should complain about to the surveyor?*

I realise the survey won't say it's present or not - however I think I might reasonably expect the survey to indicate that it may be present. Especially in materials visible without any destruction.

*I'm not looking for money, it's more a matter of principle.

davidmcn

Any house more than about 25 years old might have asbestos, and that's as much as I'd expect a survey to say. Are you sure it didn't at least have a disclaimer clarifying that you hadn't asked them to look for asbestos?

foofi22

davidmcn wrote: »

Any house more than about 25 years old might have asbestos, and that's as much as I'd expect a survey to say. Are you sure it didn't at least have a disclaimer clarifying that you hadn't asked them to look for asbestos?

I searched the report, there was no hits for "asbestos".

However if such "knowledge" is expected of the purchaser, why do surveys tell me there is a door and a window in a room?

fwor

The obvious difference is that you can't detect typical asbestos use without some type of "destructive" testing (i.e. you have to remove a sample) and full surveys do not usually include that type of activity.

In my 1980's house I can look at the ceilings inside and see Artex, which might have asbestos in it, or it might not. I would not expect a full house survey to give me a definitive answer either way, so is there any point in the surveyor speculating about that?

goodwithsaving

Blame culture again.

My surveyor said asbestos was present, I had an specialist survey (extra £300) and it wasn't...........I'm pleased he mentioned it however as the test was peace of mind. It has also ensured I know what to expect in the future when buying older properties.

Surveyors can't win.

Treat it as a learning curve.

jimbog

Why did you ask the council to 'test a few ceilings'? Seems an odd thing to do when purchasing a house.

Regardless, there are plenty of threads here and online regarding asbestos (in artex) and the threat is minimal unless disturbed

foofi22

jimbog wrote: »

Why did you ask the council to 'test a few ceilings'? Seems an odd thing to do when purchasing a house.

Regardless, there are plenty of threads here and online regarding asbestos (in artex) and the threat is minimal unless disturbed

I didn't say that. A few years after buying the house we started some substantial renovations, hence the risk of disturbing it was high. I asked the council to test some ceilings based on an observation from a tradesman. Doesn't seem so odd now does it?

Obviously having this sort of thing is assumed knowledge, thankfully surveyors point out the doors and windows!

foofi22

goodwithsaving wrote: »

Blame culture again.

My surveyor said asbestos was present, I had an specialist survey (extra £300) and it wasn't...........I'm pleased he mentioned it however as the test was peace of mind. It has also ensured I know what to expect in the future when buying older properties.

Surveyors can't win.

Treat it as a learning curve.

Blame culture? I'm not after money

I'm not saying they should categorically say whether it's present or not. However, in my case, textured ceilings were famed for it - as pointed out by a tradesman.

Unfortunately I didn't have any knowledge of asbestos having grown up in a time when it is banned. (yes I'm a "young" person sorry). If such knowledge is assumed why use a surveyor at all, can't we all just research stuff on the Internet after all!

Lesson learned - surveys are not worth the paper they are written on.

ed67812

I agree with the original poster. Given all the disclaimers that go in a survey, just the mention of it would then allow sone research and an informed decision about specialist testing.

I had no idea about artex containing it until we moved house this time. Because asbestos was mentioned in the survey, I knew to carry out further testing.

Its hardly blame culture.

Rusty_Shackleton

Our homebuyers report specifically mentioned, 1930s house + artex ceilings = possibility of asbestos. Garage roof, possibility of asbestos. It really should be mentioned, although the a*** covering nature of these surveys should be explained - our homebuyers report had so many red marks. If anyone is actually worried, the best thing is to ask the surveyor "if you were buying this house... would x, y and z concern you personally" - our surveyor then gave a lot of reassurance about why he'd phrased things the way he did and about his professional responsibility, rather than what is likely to be an issue. It's what I had assumed, but good to hear it from a professional.

HouseBuyer77

I'd say a decent surveyor would make mention of artex ceilings and their potential to contain asbestos as it's such a common, easily recognised feature (contrast with them failing to mention some asbestos containing material that hidden in a wall or behind something else that there's no reasonable way they could see or otherwise expect to be there)

However if they didn't, unless they'd specifically said there was no asbestos present in the property, there would be no claim against them.