Artex ceilings and the possibility of asbestos

If you use a steam stripper to soften it then when you scrape it it will fall off as sludge with very little dust if any
 
Russinating you're stuck between a rock and a hard place if you remove it all it will cost a few quid and if you skim over or overboard you're right any leak and subsequent insurance claim will see your income vanish for a few months.

We had a leak and the insurance company wanted to strip every ceiling out, put us up in a hotel for two weeks, our neighbour has had the same, a structural issue on one elevation which meant they moved the family out for two months into a hotel and removed the lot.

Surely knocking the price down enough to be able to afford to have it all stripped out will only add value to the rent when it's nice and fresh looking?
 
The 2012 amendment to the control act has this little doozy in it;

"the control limit for asbestos is 0.1 asbestos fibres per cubic centimetre of air (0.1 f/cm3)."

This is the lowest nominal level of fibres that the HSE deems as non notifiable. Now, there was a time when this wasn't the case. Notifiable work was categorised by type like AIB, texture coating etc.

Our local council and principal customer along with many others have interpreted this to mean all removal must be carried out by a licensed contractor. How else can you test to see if you are below the threshold or not? Most homeowners don't have a fibre air test facility on tap.

Granted, most ceilings are typically 1 - 3 percent azz and this will most likely be below the threshold.

I've been on site when the HSE shutdown a local council house refurbishment contract for a month because a plasterer pulled out a 1mtr section of ceiling. It was texture coated - big deal. Their point was the texture coating might be on an AIB board which you have to be licensed for.

OP.

Realistically do what you like. Nobody will know, wear a mask and double bag it when you take it to the tip.
 
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BradUK this will be the difference between a business and domestic. Many laws are enforced differently on domestic users like CDM for instance.
Personally I would get it tested then read the HSE guidance that applies to your instance 1-3% crycotile encapsulated might not be horrific with regards to required controls.Don't rush to a decision, whilst you are not disturbing it and don't know what it is you aren't doing anything wrong.
 
There were builders merchants still selling the stuff then yes and people stocked up the stuff because there was no good alternative.
 
I think I'm going to get a lab in for £80 (they're one of two UKAS labs in Bristol, as opposed to actual contractors). Our broker said we might be able to wiggle a bit off the price if they confirm it contains asbestos, especially as our accepted offer was a best and final/closed bid, as opposed to a bidding war, and the seller wants a quick sale so will be reluctant to start all over again.

Either way I think I'll go down the steamer and removal route. I prefer the idea of doing it properly and removing any issues further down the line, especially as this is a house I'll hopefully always own (albeit rental). We also have the advantage that all the carpets and wallpaper need to come up anyway so it's not like we'll be doing it in a furnished or refurbished area. We can also live upstairs whilst we do down, and live down/in the 2nd room whilst doing upstairs.

One long weekend and a lot of cups of teas in December should sort it!
 
When you get the test done, get it done by TWO companies and make sure they know you're not using them to remove it, so they have no reason to lie. And make sure they test everything, including walls, loft etc. There are various levels of testing they offer, so go for the top one otherwise it's a waste of time.

I think doing it yourself is stupid, if you can afford to have it removed professionally, but it's up to you. Just make sure you properly cover and seal doorways and skirtings etc. so none of it gets into any cracks, or floorboards etc.
 
Just unibond it and skim over it, people only claim "You must board" because they're rubbish at skimming anything but flat board.

Asbestos was in some forms of artex in the 90's but not the late 90's IIRC
 
Russinating said:
Really? According to the HSE website, everything I've read there and their flowchart the job isn't licensed and doesn't require notification.
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Removal of textured coating does fall within the notifiable non licensed work category. You also have the problem of disposing of it once you have removed it many councils will only deal with asbestos cement sheets.

Do not, as suggested, use the existing carpet to catch any mess all you end up with is a carpet that is classed as asbestos waste.
 
BF-Bert said:
Do not, as suggested, use the existing carpet to catch any mess all you end up with is a carpet that is classed as asbestos waste.
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What difference does it make if you're having to dispose of a load of other asbestos waste anyway?
 
Based on Bristol's website there's no requirement of what state the asbestos has to be in so long as it's doubled bagged and it can be taken to any of their recycling centres.

Is it worth looking at the ceiling construction from underneath the upstairs floorboards? And if it's some kind of boarding remove with a mixture of a damp and cut into larger 30/60cm pieces method? I'd be happy to start from scratch and re-board the ceiling if it makes the removal a bit easier/less messy.
 
Russinating said:
Based on Bristol's website there's no requirement of what state the asbestos has to be in so long as it's doubled bagged and it can be taken to any of their recycling centres.

Is it worth looking at the ceiling construction from underneath the upstairs floorboards? And if it's some kind of boarding remove with a mixture of a damp and cut into larger 30/60cm pieces method? I'd be happy to start from scratch and re-board the ceiling if it makes the removal a bit easier/less messy.
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Bristols website, while not specifically naming asbestos cement, only mentions sheet material. Would be worth giving them a call to clarify prior to proceeding. You would still have to notify the HSE tho.
 
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