Asbestos in walls, how freaked out should we be?
July 24, 2019 8:46 AM Subscribe
We bought a place with plans to renovate it over time. We had a test come back with asbestos. On a scale of zero (do whatever) to one hundred (don't even put a nail into the wall to hang a picture), how freaked out should we be?
We're about to start a renovation of this house, and we needed to make sure any asbestos was removed properly before starting. So we took a sample of one of the walls that we plan to remove during renovation to a local testing company. The sample was scraped from a corner, so we hoped it contained some combination of paint, light texture, drywall and mud. The test identified two materials worthy of testing: "White compacted powdery material with paint" which came back as 2.3% chrysotile after point counting, and "chalky white material with paper" which had nothing.
So I figure that we'd hire an asbestos company to remove those areas that we plan to do work on. Fine. But now there's another niggling concern: how bad is it to live in a house like this? We can't remove ALL of the walls everywhere. And in the course of living there we'd invariably need to do things like:
* sand and repaint surfaces
* hang pictures, calendars, etc
* mount bookcases to the wall using drywall anchors
* scold kids for scratching up the walls
etc, etc.
How bad is it to live in a house with asbestos in the walls? Do we really need to take precautions for every single time we touch it?
We're about to start a renovation of this house, and we needed to make sure any asbestos was removed properly before starting. So we took a sample of one of the walls that we plan to remove during renovation to a local testing company. The sample was scraped from a corner, so we hoped it contained some combination of paint, light texture, drywall and mud. The test identified two materials worthy of testing: "White compacted powdery material with paint" which came back as 2.3% chrysotile after point counting, and "chalky white material with paper" which had nothing.
So I figure that we'd hire an asbestos company to remove those areas that we plan to do work on. Fine. But now there's another niggling concern: how bad is it to live in a house like this? We can't remove ALL of the walls everywhere. And in the course of living there we'd invariably need to do things like:
* sand and repaint surfaces
* hang pictures, calendars, etc
* mount bookcases to the wall using drywall anchors
* scold kids for scratching up the walls
etc, etc.
How bad is it to live in a house with asbestos in the walls? Do we really need to take precautions for every single time we touch it?
First, I agree with the above.
Second, repainting is fine but sanding may not be -- if you intend to sand existing surfaces you should consider testing more thoroughly (e.g., get a sample that's just paint from the center of a wall, get a sample that's an actual core sample of the drywall, and so on, so that you can work out more or less exactly what original material includes the asbestos). I bet (but cannot guarantee!) that your asbestos is in the joints of your drywall, not the panels. So then just don't hang pictures in a drywall joint...
Third, be aware that asbestos is more frequently found in flooring and ceiling materials (walls are somewhat less common unless they were fire separation walls, such as between house and garage). I say this because you might want to test your ceilings/floor materials as well (especially anything that looks like a spray-on texture, or which is obviously a vinyl product).
Fourth, from what I've been able to determine, the main risk in asbestos building materials is repeated exposure (so, for example, HVAC workers need to worry a lot more than me, because they are always ripping out old ducts with old duct seals, whereas I am not doing that), so as long as you stop it from getting generally airborne your life should be largely unaffected.
Hire a specialist removal company for anything you intend to demo during renovation, encapsulate the fuck out of whatever remains (if it is even accessible during normal usage; asbestos in a roof ventilation seal for example, would be largely irrelevant to you), and then just be careful later in life and you should be fine.
Oh, uh, use the specialists to demo anything you're gonna mess with now, even if you intend to do it in stages -- the removal process is a wet process. It's not gonna flood your house or anything like that, but holy crap does it make the place humid and you don't want that ambient humidity to be peeling off your brand-new pricey wallpaper or something.
[source: me, who paid specialists to remove asbestos off the ceiling of his entire house where he still lives, along with a section of vinyl flooring, but who still has asbestos tape in the vent boots of his house because nobody ever touches those and it's on the *outside* of the sealed vents).]
posted by aramaic at 10:36 AM on July 24, 2019 [4 favorites]
Second, repainting is fine but sanding may not be -- if you intend to sand existing surfaces you should consider testing more thoroughly (e.g., get a sample that's just paint from the center of a wall, get a sample that's an actual core sample of the drywall, and so on, so that you can work out more or less exactly what original material includes the asbestos). I bet (but cannot guarantee!) that your asbestos is in the joints of your drywall, not the panels. So then just don't hang pictures in a drywall joint...
Third, be aware that asbestos is more frequently found in flooring and ceiling materials (walls are somewhat less common unless they were fire separation walls, such as between house and garage). I say this because you might want to test your ceilings/floor materials as well (especially anything that looks like a spray-on texture, or which is obviously a vinyl product).
Fourth, from what I've been able to determine, the main risk in asbestos building materials is repeated exposure (so, for example, HVAC workers need to worry a lot more than me, because they are always ripping out old ducts with old duct seals, whereas I am not doing that), so as long as you stop it from getting generally airborne your life should be largely unaffected.
Hire a specialist removal company for anything you intend to demo during renovation, encapsulate the fuck out of whatever remains (if it is even accessible during normal usage; asbestos in a roof ventilation seal for example, would be largely irrelevant to you), and then just be careful later in life and you should be fine.
Oh, uh, use the specialists to demo anything you're gonna mess with now, even if you intend to do it in stages -- the removal process is a wet process. It's not gonna flood your house or anything like that, but holy crap does it make the place humid and you don't want that ambient humidity to be peeling off your brand-new pricey wallpaper or something.
[source: me, who paid specialists to remove asbestos off the ceiling of his entire house where he still lives, along with a section of vinyl flooring, but who still has asbestos tape in the vent boots of his house because nobody ever touches those and it's on the *outside* of the sealed vents).]
posted by aramaic at 10:36 AM on July 24, 2019 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I am an asbestos professional but not your asbestos professional. Hiring a licensed asbestos contractor to remove the asbestos-containing plaster walls that you're going to remove is the right thing to do. Some states require it by law. The state where you live licenses the contractors. The company, foreman and workers should each have an asbesos license. Expect to pay about $1.20-1.50/sq. ft. of wall to be removed. The quote will include labor, materials and disposal. The process will be disruptive in that you'll be banned from the space where they're working. They should clean the space before removal, set up a negative pressure enclosure, put a dropcloth/poly sheeting on the floor, use poly sheeting to seal all windows and HVAC ducts and unneeded doors, and put poly sheeting over everything that can't be removed from the workspace before removal starts. After they're done and remove the negative pressure enclosure, the place should be spotless/dust- and debris-free. Your state's environmental protection office/Dept of Environmental Quality will have a list of all the licensed asbestos contractors.
For picture hanging, re-painting, daily/accidental scuffs, and dents shouldn't be a worry (about 1 on your scale) with the asbestos-containing material (ACM) walls. Do take care when sanding (very light sanding) in that you sand the paint but not down to the plaster. The people who are getting sick are the pipe fitters, ironworkers, plumbers, and careless asbestos professionals. If the ceiling is an ACM and you might want to enlarge holes to accommodate ceiling fans, consider those fixtures now so that you can have your asbestos contractor make those holes for you, even if the anticipated ceiling fan hole is in a different room than the to-be-removed wall.
There isn't any state or federal grant or insurance policy to help pay for asbestos abatement.
posted by dlwr300 at 10:53 AM on July 24, 2019 [17 favorites]
For picture hanging, re-painting, daily/accidental scuffs, and dents shouldn't be a worry (about 1 on your scale) with the asbestos-containing material (ACM) walls. Do take care when sanding (very light sanding) in that you sand the paint but not down to the plaster. The people who are getting sick are the pipe fitters, ironworkers, plumbers, and careless asbestos professionals. If the ceiling is an ACM and you might want to enlarge holes to accommodate ceiling fans, consider those fixtures now so that you can have your asbestos contractor make those holes for you, even if the anticipated ceiling fan hole is in a different room than the to-be-removed wall.
There isn't any state or federal grant or insurance policy to help pay for asbestos abatement.
posted by dlwr300 at 10:53 AM on July 24, 2019 [17 favorites]
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The internet suggests that you may have asbestos in the drywall joint compound (or "mud"), in the drywall itself, or both, so it would be useful to test them separately. If it is only in the mud, then using drywall anchors might be something you are okay with.
posted by mai at 8:58 AM on July 24, 2019 [7 favorites]