“Asbestos is ok if left undisturbed”

velvetti

Why do people keep giving this advice? Let’s say you’re buying a house in which the kitchen ceiling has artex. Later on, if the upstairs bathroom had a leak that caused the kitchen ceiling to leak (or worse), wouldn’t the ceiling repairs be very expensive because of the possibility of asbestos. 

So how can this advice be given so often without this caveat? What am I missing?

Section62

velvetti said:

Why do people keep giving this advice? Let’s say you’re buying a house in which the kitchen ceiling has artex. Later on, if the upstairs bathroom had a leak that caused the kitchen ceiling to leak (or worse), wouldn’t the ceiling repairs be very expensive because of the possibility of asbestos. 

So how can this advice be given so often without this caveat? What am I missing?

1) The bathroom may never leak, so the problem wouldn't arise.  Spending money removing the artex in case the bathroom leaks doesn't make sense - better to spend that money making sure leaks aren't going to happen.

2) Removing artex/asbestos is not risk-free. You could employ a cowboy contractor that spreads asbestos all over your home (and garden).  Even the most careful contractor won't be able to prevent the release of asbestos fibre absolutely.  Removing the artex/asbestos on a just-in-case basis would expose you and others to risks you may never need to take.

Tucosalamanca

velvetti said:

wouldn’t the ceiling repairs be very expensive because of the possibility of asbestos. 

Not necessarily. What you're missing is knowledge
Rather than getting caught up in 'the fear' of asbestos, why not spend an hour or two reading up on it?
Asbestos is present in many, if not most buildings, in most situations it's low risk, working with or removing asbestos doesn't always need to be expensive.
HSE website is a good place to start, 'asbestos awareness' training is only a few quid if you wanted to do an online course for some basic learning...

theoretica

Expense in precautionary removal, or expense in dealing with it later if needed - it's a similar expense, but why not roll it into when work actually needs doing, rather than having two lots of work/decoration etc.

k12479

Section62 said:

1) The bathroom may never leak, so the problem wouldn't arise.

Even if it did leak, it doesn't automatically mean the ceiling will need major repairs. Depending on the severity it could just result in some staining.

user1977

velvetti said:

Why do people keep giving this advice? Let’s say you’re buying a house in which the kitchen ceiling has artex. Later on, if the upstairs bathroom had a leak that caused the kitchen ceiling to leak (or worse), wouldn’t the ceiling repairs be very expensive because of the possibility of asbestos. 

So how can this advice be given so often without this caveat? What am I missing?

Not sure what the relevant caveat is? Either you disturb it in the unlikely event of the bathroom leak forcing you to replace the ceiling, or you pre-emptively disturb it by getting rid of the artex first.

dander

I was literally talking to an asbestos surveyor this week. He described the kind of asbestos you sometimes get in Artex ceilings as "incredibly low risk". 

Section62

dander said:

I was literally talking to an asbestos surveyor this week. He described the kind of asbestos you sometimes get in Artex ceilings as "incredibly low risk". 

Yes and no.

Some artex-type materials were supplied pre-mixed.  Others were supplied as a powder which was mixed with asbestos fibre and water on site before application.  In the latter case the type of fibre and %age of asbestos are variable - in some cases it will be lower risk, in others working on the material can be high risk.  There's no way of knowing without getting samples of the material tested.

Using a phrase like "incredibly low risk" when talking about asbestos isn't particularly professional.  If the context of this conversation was you getting them to do work for you then you might want to get a second opinion.

velvetti

I see the point everyone seems to be making (i.e., don’t spend money or disturb asbestos unless you have to).
The reason I asked this question is that my homebuyer survey has shown that the kitchen ceiling is bowed down at one end (see attached photo). I asked the seller and they said they had a leak in the bathroom which was fixed but they couldn’t get the  kitchen ceiling plasterboards straightened, hence the bowed down ceiling. 

If I bought the house, I’d need to deal with artex ceiling and I don’t know how expensive it would be. Also, who should I contact to estimate the cost. Is it a plumber or plasterer or an asbestos specialist? Sorry for not providing this info in my OP.

velvetti

See attached photo for the ceiling issue I mentioned in my previous post 

velvetti

Photo of kitchen ceiling