House survey asbestos

sHAYM4N

Unfortunately I think its part & parcel of buying a property of that age, and something you've just got to account for, unless you can prove that there is none prior to purchase. We've just had pretty much the same, a level 2 survey from our mortgage providers, basically just told us there was asbestos in the garage roof.

It hasn't put us off the sale, we have already negotiated as far as we could go, so something we'll just have to be aware of and pay for when we can. I wouldn't be surprised if there was asbestos in the ceiling either given the properties estimated age (50 years) but we're planning to have an extension and garage rebuild within the next 5-10 years or so, so will just have to be aware until then. At the end of the day, whatever asbestos is there doesn't seem to have affected the vendors or the previous owners given that little work appears to have been done to the property, so we will just have to follow suit, or sleep in masks until we can afford to have it put right.

Guess you've just got to consider whether on a survey how you would have approached it? Negotiated further, pulled out of the purchase?

PhilE

foofi22 wrote: »

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.

My surveyor said, 'The ceilings are artex, which may contain asbestos.' He also advised that the concrete asbestos flue be removed, as I needed to replace the boiler.

He also mentioned the garden shed had an asbestos roof.

He didn't comment on the asbestos paneling, which actually had the highest content of asbestos. However, the asbestos he pointed out was obvious to someone who isn't an asbestos specialist. I wouldn't have expected him to point out the asbestos paneling.

Saying that if the ceilings were of the artex type, he could have commented on the obvious fact that they may contain asbestos.

You need an asbestos pro to have a look at the house, if you want to get a more detailed report on the asbestos in the house.

If the ceilings are in good condition they are fine.

societys_child

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.

My thoughts exactly. That's why I've never paid out for a "survey".

Kidder81

I'm amazed a surveyor saw an artexed ceiling and didn't say it MAY contain asbestos. I'd expect a competent surveyor to do that.

Thrugelmir

foofi22 wrote: »

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

Who needs a Doctor. When one can self diagnose using Google....:eek:

Mutton_Geoff

PhilE wrote: »

You need an asbestos pro to have a look at the house, if you want to get a more detailed report on the asbestos in the house

Not sure what "an asbestos pro" is. I discovered asbestos ceiling board in my house when I lifted floorboards upstairs and saw "asbestos" printed on the back of the ceiling so called in "an asbestos pro" to give me a quote. "It's AIB (insulation board), very nasty, £7,500 to remove".


I sent two samples off to be analysed, it was asbestos cement board. I got another quote via an online firm with my sample test and photos to remove that. They quoted £2k. Went back to the first "pro" to tell them and they offered to match the price.


So much for being "pros" even with the advantage of a close up look at the material.