Survey indicates possible asbestos in property

tallac

The surveyor for a property I'm looking to buy has speculated certain parts of the house may contain asbestos. They do not know 100% but they said it is very likely. This is based on the the surveyor knowing the local area very well and other houses in that area and what is generally normal for houses of this specific age (built in the 1960s).

The surveyor has said it is of the white asbestos variant which is the least worst of all asbestos (not sure what to make of that though). They also said that it does not need to be removed as long as it is not disturbed (more stuff I'm not sure what to make of). They said it can easily be sealed in by skimming over the affected ceiling or walls with plaster and then sealing it in with lining or paint. They also said the cost of removal is not cheap as it requires a specialist company.

My initial reaction is that I do not like the idea of asbestos being in the property and feel better if it was all removed. However, this will be costly and I'm thinking if this is an overreaction simply because it has been pointed out. I have lived in a few different properties and never looked or found out if those houses had asbestos, so is it a case of more information just makes things psychologically worse?

If I end up choosing to seal it in. Then do I need to be careful of which ceilings, walls or floors when I start doing DIY stuff e.g. if a wall has a layer of asbestos that has been sealed in, do I need to worry about drilling a hole to put up a shelf? What if the drill hole goes through the underneath asbestos material?

Any suggestions or advice?

Hasbeen

Are you talking about artex? If you grind it to powder or drill through it and breath it in? it may well be hazardous to health. 

But as said  most houses from that era before and slightly after may contain asbestos to a certain degree and should not really be disturbed.

If you are worried buy a newer property.

Davesnave

Asbestos in Artex type finishes is not a big issue. Long before people got freaked out by the slightest risk, some of us were attacking it with steam guns and lifting it off by the bucket load. We're still here and you're paying our pensions!

Sorry about that.....I'll start again. Once encapsulated in plaster skim coat, artex finishes present no risk, unless you drill into it, when you would naturally take adequate precautions in line with HSE advice. freely available on their web site.

TELLIT01

The surveyor is trying to cover themselves by saying there may be asbestos, but also stating that they haven't found any.  They might as well say there may be any other defect, but they haven't found any.

Niv

Your surveyor is not an asbestos surveyor and even if he was they are not allowed to say something is definitely asbestos until it is analysed by a lab (as an asbestos surveyor in a previous role I can understand from a completeness point of view but I do not believe I have ever been wrong when I have said something was asbestos. If artex - that is covered above. What else are they saying, you mention walls, is that textured coating too or something else? If they are saying if it is then its all white then it possibly is just textured coatings. Most other asbestos products are not as clear cut.

[Deleted User]

Any house built in the 90's or older could contain asbestos in some form and I think most surveyors note that in their reports as standard for any older property.   

Mistral001

It would seem to me that the surveyor is doing more than just covering himself.  He has based his advice on similar houses in the area which he knows has an asbestos problem.  He has actually given you some good advice.  Of course he cannot be definitive about the asbestos in his advice as he has not taken samples and sent them to a laboratory.  Thus he must use words like "may contain" etc.  

You will need a specialist asbestos surveyor if you want something more definitive and will need the vendor's permission for them to take samples.   The vendor, if they have nothing serious to hide, will no doubt agree. 

tallac

Mention of asbestos is in the following context:

1. Underside of the roof lining board maybe asbestos (abestolux).
2. Soffit boards below gutters could be made of asbestos.
3. Bathroom ceiling texture has a coating known as sandtex and is likely to contain asbestos.
4. Some of the ceiling may also contain asbestolux.
5. Under the carpet is old linoleum. This may contain asbestos.
6. A small section of an old boiler flue is visible in the garage and this appears to be made of asbestos.
7. Top of the soil ventilation pipe may be made of the white asbestos (not sure if this is talking about the pipe or the soffit board the pipe goes through).

All mentions of it only indicate some possibility of it being there. Nothing is said definitively (which is understandable in a survey report).

Is this level of asbestos possibility for a 1960s property normal?

Davesnave

Is this level of asbestos possibility for a 1960s property normal?

Completely, especially if the property hasn't received a high level of maintenance and renewal in recent times. Many of those things in the list are easily controlled or dealt with, not that they constitute a huge threat in the first place. Indeed, the heat pad on Grandma's ironing board could by now be far more dangerous than a painted soffit board

Mistral001

Many of the above items will have to be broken to get them off and ev

tallac said:

Mention of asbestos is in the following context:

1. Underside of the roof lining board maybe asbestos (abestolux).
2. Soffit boards below gutters could be made of asbestos.
3. Bathroom ceiling texture has a coating known as sandtex and is likely to contain asbestos.
4. Some of the ceiling may also contain asbestolux.
5. Under the carpet is old linoleum. This may contain asbestos.
6. A small section of an old boiler flue is visible in the garage and this appears to be made of asbestos.
7. Top of the soil ventilation pipe may be made of the white asbestos (not sure if this is talking about the pipe or the soffit board the pipe goes through).

All mentions of it only indicate some possibility of it being there. Nothing is said definitively (which is understandable in a survey report).

Is this level of asbestos possibility for a 1960s property normal?

Yes they are possible in a 1960's property as Dave has said.  However if you wanted to do any alterations to the house in the future many of the asbestos items will come into the category of being "licensable" even though they may be of the the "safer" white type of asbestos.  This is because they cannot be removed without deliberately having to break them up.   For example, they might be stuck to something else or they are in sheets too big to be bagged.  Licensable asbestos can only be removed by a specialist licensed contractor.  That invariably equates to "very expensive" as it usually involves sealing up the whole or a part of the building and very strick safety measures for the workers who have to go in to get the asbestos out.  

Niv

tallac said:

Mention of asbestos is in the following context:

1. Underside of the roof lining board maybe asbestos (abestolux).
2. Soffit boards below gutters could be made of asbestos.
3. Bathroom ceiling texture has a coating known as sandtex and is likely to contain asbestos.
4. Some of the ceiling may also contain asbestolux.
5. Under the carpet is old linoleum. This may contain asbestos.
6. A small section of an old boiler flue is visible in the garage and this appears to be made of asbestos.
7. Top of the soil ventilation pipe may be made of the white asbestos (not sure if this is talking about the pipe or the soffit board the pipe goes through).

All mentions of it only indicate some possibility of it being there. Nothing is said definitively (which is understandable in a survey report).

Is this level of asbestos possibility for a 1960s property normal?

To confirm with the above. Yes these are not unexpected in a property of that age if renovations haven't been undertaken throughout the years. But I have to point out a couple of things to you;
Asbestolux is a trade name for AIB (asbestos insulation board).
Most on that list cannot be confirmed as white only without analysis as I can say with certainty that AIB contains at least Brown and white and often blue. Cement can contain blue, so from your list 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 may not just be white. Textured coating and lino / floor tiles, if they contain asbestos, are likely to only be white. Also note that it is not just the lino but the bitumen glue used that can also contain white asbestos.