Building Materials Containing Asbestos
Saturday, November 13th, 2010
A question about Asbestos Exposure?
* What advice you might give to a friend of yours who is about to purchase an old house built in 1920, one that contains all its original construction materials and heating fixtures.
It’s cheaper to have an abatement professional check it out. Trust me , they have done it before. I would also assume that it has lead paint. If something can be painted over, no problem. If it must be stripped (floors, etc.) lead dust can cause severe health problems. It is also likely to have horsehair plaster. Some of that plaster can contain asbestos. Old pipes may have asbestos as insulation on them. If it is solid, then you don’t need to disturb it. Just be aware that you will need to disclose it upon selling it. The wiring will need to be updated to meet code. The furnace, even if it is still working, will not be energy efficient. There is probably NO insulation in the walls. The fuse box will need updating.. The electrical service to the house may need updating, to run the modern appliances. Windows would be single pane and will cause sky-high energy bills.
My experience of living in 2 houses from the 1860’s- horsehair plaster, no electrical outlets/lights on second floor, glass circuit breakers, newspaper as insulation, rotten bathroom floor (if it has a bathroom), no insulation, lead paint, nothing 16″ on center, not a flat surface in the house (after we got the 6 layers of floor off the kitchen floor (some flooring can contain asbestos), it looked like Mt. Everest), asbestos, single pane windows, and doors that have huge gaps when shut, electrical service that wouldn’t support a dryer or stove or A/C, a staircase so narrow and curved I couldn’t get a box-spring upstairs without taking a window and frame out on the second story, a nest of mice and squirrels, and mice skeletons galore when ripping up a floor. It also has character. That you can’t get in a new house.
Plan on: insulating everything, replacing all windows and doors, electrical, plumbing, replacing or covering all walls, abatement for lead and asbestos.
One thing to remember: If you look for problems, you will definitely find them!
Construction Industry Asbestos Exposure
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