Insurance work on ceiling. Asbestos Q

Jessy321

Hi all

At my house we have had a leak and the kitchen ceiling (flat and painted) is damaged. The house insurance have assigned a building company to carry out the work to fix it. The company originally sent off a surface sample survey to an asbestos laboratory which came back clear and so they were just going to just paint it.. . No probs.

But the insurance company one week later have now said to take down the whole ceiling as a paint job might not be enough. Do the company need to do another asbestos survey all the way through the ceiling as it might be double boarded or plastered over artex?

The company say they don't need to.?

I'm a bit confused on what to do before they start,

Thanks

davidmcn

They're the ones most at risk from breathing in dust, so I'd go along with whatever they think is needed.

Jessy321

So to confirm.

Ceiling not being taken down. Survey is done.

Ceiling being taken down. No survey is done.

And if there is any asbestos when the ceiling is taken down, then it won't just be them breathing it in.

davidmcn

Even if it were artex containing asbestos, the concentration would only be about 1-2%. The risks are mostly for those working with the stuff on a regular basis. If trivial household exposure caused asbestos-related illnesses then they'd be much more commonplace.

Davesnave

Jessy321 wrote: »

it might be double boarded or plastered over artex?

If it's coming down, why has no one determined whether it is double-boarded or artexed ? Takes all of 2 minutes to find out.


Even if it is, I agree that the risk would be very minimal, and could be minimised further by good working practices, as outlined on the HSE web site.