Asbestos in walls or ceilings?

psd99 · 2 Apr 2014 at 08:41

Hey all,

I just bought a house that was built in the 1930s. Lovely property just needs some tlc the plasterboards look old and not been touched in years.

when we showed my father the place he seemed to think that the ceilings may contain asbestos, a quick google search has got me slightly worried.

Nothing came up on the home buyers report - but does anyone have experience in this type of stuff and have a good experience with any particular company who can test this out?

Cosimo · 2 Apr 2014 at 08:47

https://www.gov.uk/asbestos-in-home

nutcase · 2 Apr 2014 at 08:54

Whereabouts are you? A 1930s house if something hasn't been added over the years won't have much if any in.

MikeRossyBoy · 2 Apr 2014 at 08:55

Speaking as an Asbestos Consultant I might be some help. Typically in 1930's properties you don't generally find asbestos as they are too old (1960s to 1970s being the worst era) but if it has been refurbished then they may have introduced asbestos products into the house.

What is the ceiling made from? Is it a lath and plaster or ceiling tiles?

pitchfork · 2 Apr 2014 at 09:07

You might have a bit if it's ever been artexed.

Otherwise I'm pretty doubtful, you can send some samples off for testing but personally I wouldn't bother unless you plan on ripping down walls and ceilings - asbestos is fine until you start ****ing about with it.

If it's boarded it's not original, 1930's is lath and plaster.

psd99 · 2 Apr 2014 at 09:07

I reckon it is lath and plaster and the house is on the outskirts of west london.

I didnt want to ruffle it too much but it was like cement up there easily broken and penetrated.

unsure if it was refurbished or not after 1930 u see. I've asked local council on their opinion too.

psd99 · 2 Apr 2014 at 09:08

yes we do plan to rip down ceilings lol the place is outdated and needs to be modernised.

MikeTheNative · 2 Apr 2014 at 09:10

Don't try snort it and you will probably be fine.

MikeRossyBoy · 2 Apr 2014 at 09:19

psd99 said:
I reckon it is lath and plaster and the house is on the outskirts of west london.

I didnt want to ruffle it too much but it was like cement up there easily broken and penetrated.

unsure if it was refurbished or not after 1930 u see. I've asked local council on their opinion too.

If it is lath and plaster then you're fine. Asbestos was very common in cement for a long period so it could be an asbestos cement ceiling (but in housing I have never seen this so I doubt it)

If you are still unsure then you could take a sample to a lab for analysis (make sure it is a UKAS accredited lab) a sample will typically cost about £10.

If you do get a specialist in be VERY careful of what they tell you. As someone who works in the asbestos industry I can safely say the industry is 90% cowboys who take advantage of peoples lack of knowledge on the subject.

psd99 · 2 Apr 2014 at 09:27

MikeRossyBoy said:
If it is lath and plaster then you're fine. Asbestos was very common in cement for a long period so it could be an asbestos cement ceiling (but in housing I have never seen this so I doubt it)

If you are still unsure then you could take a sample to a lab for analysis (make sure it is a UKAS accredited lab) a sample will typically cost about £10.

If you do get a specialist in be VERY careful of what they tell you. As someone who works in the asbestos industry I can safely say the industry is 90% cowboys who take advantage of peoples lack of knowledge on the subject.

thanks this is what I am worried about....
false information them telling me that there is asbestos when there really isn't just for financial gains!

pitchfork · 2 Apr 2014 at 09:47

What you need to watch out for is animal hair in lath and plaster, not sure if it was around 1930's (doubt it) but I've seen some older victorian houses with animal hair.

All kinds of risk with that, anthrax and all sorts.

Nightglow · 2 Apr 2014 at 09:52

MikeRossyBoy said:
Speaking as an Asbestos Consultant I might be some help. Typically in 1930's properties you don't generally find asbestos as they are too old (1960s to 1970s being the worst era) but if it has been refurbished then they may have introduced asbestos products into the house.

Was also around from the early 50's,did a house refurb some years ago, once we started stripping it back, we found the original finish, which hadn't been touch in years, there was asbestos insulating board everywhere, a asbestos water tank, & even the old floor tiles were asbestos based.
Even the hot water cylinder which dated from early 80's had a 'may contain asbestos' sticker on the rigid insulation.

LOAM · 2 Apr 2014 at 11:07

pitchfork said:
What you need to watch out for is animal hair in lath and plaster, not sure if it was around 1930's (doubt it) but I've seen some older victorian houses with animal hair.

All kinds of risk with that, anthrax and all sorts.

You really wont find plaster from that period without bovine hair in. When we did ours it was full of the stuff lol.

pitchfork · 2 Apr 2014 at 11:42

Nightglow said:
Even the hot water cylinder which dated from early 80's had a 'may contain asbestos' sticker on the rigid insulation.

Yep, pipe and boiler lagging was pretty much all asbestos from the early 80's

Nightglow · 2 Apr 2014 at 11:44

pitchfork said:
What you need to watch out for is animal hair in lath and plaster, not sure if it was around 1930's (doubt it) but I've seen some older victorian houses with animal hair.

All kinds of risk with that, anthrax and all sorts.

LOAM said:
You really wont find plaster from that period without bovine hair in. When we did ours it was full of the stuff lol.

If you have house with real old plaster which used bovine,horse hair,etc there is remote risk of contacting Anthrax, even though you had a regulations passed in1907 to control it, it was in-affected until the start of WW2.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...woDAAQ&usg=AFQjCNGWQNGK6pXw9RgaereZ63Lv-hbiQA

And another one is arsenic, in old wallpaper & paints, this apparently was also used for treating animal hair used for binding plaster.

psd99 · 2 Apr 2014 at 11:50

gosh all of these problems and risks
I love a bit of DIY myself but getting terrified now!

DB_SamX · 2 Apr 2014 at 12:52

Get an asbestos survey done if you are worried; it will be useful if you plan on doing DIY.

psd99 · 2 Apr 2014 at 16:54

yes that is what I am going to do but as MikeRossyBoy said there are far too many cowboys in this industry and I'm not sure who would be trustworthy or not.

DB_SamX · 3 Apr 2014 at 13:50

I've just had a report from C&N Asbestos Consultancy Services and it read well (for a school refurbishment). They are Essex based.

psd99 · 4 Apr 2014 at 11:28

thanks so I got some quotes from people

the best quote I have got is £150 cash (obviously) and he will give me results within 48 hours
he has some good reviews online - looks like he works on his own too

other companies are a bit more expensive at £200 to £300

too many cowboys right?