8mm Forum: Asbestos advice please

This is topic Asbestos advice please in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on July 16, 2005, 05:11 PM:

Hi I`ve been living in my terraced house for 3.5 years and just realised that there is a vent in my kitchen roof that is under an asbestos roof.
IE it blows in from under it a little into my kitchen and I have just realised as it was sort of obscured a little.
A chap has told me its possibly the white and not as bad stuff but have to be honest knowing this went is at the bottom of the roof and has been blowing in all of this time and possibly before I moved in. Its a bit concerning, its quite old.
Does anyone think blocking it all in and lots of hoovering and damp clothing everywhere many times will be enough to mke it safe or am I worrying unnecesarily. Bloody daft stuff.
In hope I`m here for a while longer.
Best Mark.

Posted by Jan Bister (Member # 332) on July 16, 2005, 06:31 PM:

3.5 years, you say?

Well if you ask me, if this were actually the dangerous kind of asbestos you'd have expired LONG AGO. Also, I trust that there was a home inspection when you moved in? If not, you might want to consider having one done now, if for no other reason than to put yourself at ease.

But from a purely logical standpoint, it seems you're safe. [Cool]

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on July 17, 2005, 12:57 PM:

The only way to deal safely with asbestos is to call your local council and have them remove it for you so it is taken away. I had exactly the same and the cost down here was around 50-£100 and that was everything all in inc blocking up the hole.

Posted by Mike Peckham (Member # 16) on July 17, 2005, 01:14 PM:

Mark

For the last three years I've worked for Environmental Health as a building surveyor, we are asked about asbestos at least two or three times a week by anxious home owners and the advice is always; if you don't start rubbing it, cutting it, drilling it or breaking it up you'll be fine.

Many Councils [ours included] don't offer a service for removal of asbestos but would recommend that if you are going to carry out alterations in an area where you suspect there might be asbestos then get a specialist contractor in from the yellow pages.

In truth there are very few houses in the UK built before 1980 that are truely asbestos free, at one time it was used in Artex [Yuck!], roofing and walling materials, furniture, household appliances, paint, white goods in fact you name it there was a chance that asbestos was there. Fortunately though for most householders the danger from asbestos is from exposure to the fibres which are only really present in the atmosphere when the stuff is interferred with, as your man has already said, don't worry half as much about the white stuff as you would the blue.

If it's of any further comfort, we were recently asked to survey an asbestos bungalow for a concerned tenant. To be on the safe side we solicited the services of a specialist asbestos surveyor, the result was that there was no tangible risk living in the property all the time it was in sound condition and nobody disturbed the structure. However when the property is alterred, or more likely demolished then specialist contractors would be required to carry out the works.

Don't worry about your bit of asbestos roofing Mark, provided you don't set to with the Black and Decker or start Chopping it up with an axe it won't be any risk to you or any one else.

Mike

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on July 17, 2005, 03:02 PM:

Thanks Mike and everyone, some solace and a bit less panic, here, much appreicted. The good woman inists it goes from wherever we find it as also possibly in wall boards, bloody stuff.
No cutting etc but I had heard it can come away from vibration etc so was a little wary of say heavy rain.
If it wasn`t for the little daft hole at the bottom edge of it in the kitchen stuff I`d have been less worried as air seems to blow through.
Anyway I`ll seal it up for now then work out how to pay for getting it taken away and a new roof put on that part of the house. Groan.
Thanks again.
Handy place this.

Posted by Jan Bister (Member # 332) on July 17, 2005, 05:02 PM:

Gotta have a roof over your screening room, eh [Wink]

Posted by Scott G. Bruce (Member # 384) on July 17, 2005, 10:39 PM:

Dear Mike (and everyone else),

My wife and I just closed on a house in Boulder, Colorado (a tiny ranch house built in 1954). It has hardwood floors throughout, except for a small carpetted bedroom with a large closet that has linoleum tile on the floor. We intend to have a new carpet put down in the room and the closet too. When a contractor came in last week, he announced that the tiles in the closet (and undoubted the original floors under the present carpet) were laid with Mastick (from what I understand, an asbestos-based glue). He told us that it would be safe to carpet over it (so long as we do not compromise its physical integrity and thereby releasing the fibres), but we were quite alarmed, especially since the inspector who went through the house didn't mention it. Can you confirm our contractor's evaluation of the situation, Mike? It would certainly put us at ease. Thanks, SGB

Posted by David Park (Member # 123) on July 18, 2005, 04:24 AM:

Here in UK my daughter recently moved house and an asbestos type ceiling was spotted by the Builing Society surveyer the BS would not lend unless proven non hasardess, or removed if asbestos.
My son in law took a sample, had to be double bagged to a specialist to annalize, it was a safe material.
You could do the same. Local Council should be able to advise action.

Posted by Mike Peckham (Member # 16) on July 18, 2005, 05:48 AM:

Scott

If it were me I would check to see that all the floor tiles are sound and then just carpet over them. Here in the UK vinyl flooring with a high asbestos content was widely used throughout the 50s, 60s and early 70s, in fact, the majority of new build houses from that era were released with such flooring and most of it is still there under our carpets.

Again the advice from my office would be; check to see that they are sound and then put a new floor covering down over them. If however the floor needs to be interfered with ie; when carrying out alterations to the property, use that as an opportunity to get a specialist contractor in to remove them.

Remember that whilst technically anyone could develop an asbestos related illness through exposure to the airborne fibres, it was the workers in the factories who were cutting the stuff up and drilling and profiling it who were most at risk. It is almost unheard of for people outside of the industry to develop asbestos related illnesses.

Solihull has a good web page dedicated to the treatment of asbestos and I really can’t add anything to what is said there; http://www.solihull.gov.uk/wwwes/hs/infosheets/asbestosdom.htm

Mike

Posted by Scott G. Bruce (Member # 384) on July 18, 2005, 09:38 AM:

I'm grateful for the response, Mike. Thanks so much, SGB

Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on July 18, 2005, 09:32 PM:

Mike is correct regarding the loose friable, and broken pieces of asbestos which have become broken in floor tile are dangerous, and not what is already in tact.

I think that there is a floor patch putty that applies soft and hardens to a cement rock hard consistancy. A spackling knife will work fine to apply this substance. I do not know the name of it. Check at the 'Home Depot' or any home improvement center, or hardware store and ask if there is this type of item to seal over broken parts of asbestos flooring? I have noticed the custodian use it at school, and it seems to do the trick. But ask if this is the correct application for correcting asbestos in floor tile.

Michael

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on July 22, 2005, 09:22 AM:

Hi Mike, thanksagain for the advice, actually selling the house. The chap who came round to look it over for me is also a deveopler and gave me a very good offer and is going to demolish the whole extension where the roof and possible other bits of asbestos are and start again.
Pleased really as couldn`t afford to get it done as the building itself wasn`t worth the effort or cash or anew roof on the old walls.
Bit of a backwards step mind, back to renting, but glad it will be stripped out and gutted and completely done as that sorts it comepletely.
I was interested though how you can tell asbestos lino etc, the kids house has some very old stuff under the upstairs carpets( I`m there at the moment) it seems to be two layers with hessian in between, well at least one of them is. Its open board and beam so not sure if that would allow fibresto work through the boards etc as we walk about on top.???
Bloody stuff etc
Anyway thanks again
PS I was told you shouldn`t try to hoover etc in an asbestos situation as the fibres are so small they actually go through the hoover and filter or bag and all and go all over, just thought I`d mention it.

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