artex asbestos testing advice

[thetyreman]

I am wondering what the best way to go about this is? there are kits you can buy but then you read reviews saying that it's a scam and avoid at all costs, so I don't know who to trust, is it worth getting a company in to have a look?

 

[sunnybob]

For a very short time back in the 60's, I was an artexer. :shock:
Miserable back breaking neck bending work. But well paid. :roll:
Back then all artex was the same. Sometime in the late 70's the asbestos word reared its ugly head and all artexers lost their work.
I dont remember the year, but sometime around the late 70's an asbestos free version was developed.

So if yours is earlier than the 80's you can be pretty sure its in there. If its 90's or later, it isnt. If youre in the doubtful zone then only a laboratory can give you a definte answer.

But there is no harm if its painted and kept painted. If youre thinking of stripping it , then you would be best off sealing up the room from the rest of the house, and (while wearing GOOD face mask and eye protection, scrape it off while applying a fine mist water spray. Do not sand! Thats too much mess for anyone to clean up.
Of course, that would be a completely different advice from if you asked for official help from outside. :shock: :lol:

 

[novocaine]

It very much depends on the nature of the asbestos. if it was real artex then it doesn't fall under the 2012 regulations and it can be removed if suitable precautions are taken.

honest answer is I'd get someone in to test it before I removed it. to remove it, depending on what it is I'd want the right PPE, if it's encapsulated or granular than a standard N95 face mask, suit, gloves and eye protection is all thats needed, for anything else it's going to be better to get someone else in to deal with it (as it will be covered by that 2012 regulation). if you don't want to remove it then encapsulted it, paint it with a latex based paint then overboard it.

reason for this? having seen what mesothelioma does to a fit and healthy person, there is NO WAY I'd be willing to take a risk for me nor for my family. a truely terrible way to go.

 

[MikeG.]

........ having seen what mesothelioma does to a fit and healthy person, there is NO WAY I'd be willing to take a risk for me nor for my family. a truely terrible way to go.

My mum has it.

Yeah, I'd be overboarding and re-plastering. I wouldn't touch what's there.

 

[sunnybob]

Absolutely no argument from me on any precautions you feel you need.
But having grown up in the heart industrial London, playing with mercury balls that were on the pavement outside the transformer factories, sliding down 40 foot coal heaps in the gas works yard (mum wasnt happy! (hammer) ), hacksawing 4" asbestos flues for gas appliances in enclosed bathroom spaces and then sweeping up the dust, then fitting the flues into asbestos fittings, tamping down asbestos rope, and finishing the joints with asbestos putty (a well licked finger makes a really smooth finish to asbestos putty :roll: ), and all of this before I was 17.
Then a few months of dumping artex powder into old oil drums and hand mixing with water (all in complete innocence), I am not quite as paranoid as most.

So as I said at the start, I know what I am prepared to do as a reasonably fit 71 year old, but you should do whatever you feel is needed. 8)

 

[deema]

Plaster skim over it.

 

[RichardG]

I have been through this at the beginning of the year. We live in a Victorian cottage that was renovated (ruined) in the 60s and has artex on some of the ceilings. The one in the bathroom was cracked and loose and wasn’t suitable for skimming. The headroom is minimal and none flat so boarding over was going to take 25mm of headroom which I deemed was too much.

I contacted Artisan Surveyors and used them for an Asbestos test. Quick and professional and charged £20 which I thought was excellent value.

https://artisansurveyors.co.uk/

Ceiling tested positive so I followed the guidelines on the HSE site to remove all the loose and cracked Artex before sealing and then skimming over. I now have a double wrapped bag of waste which has to be taken to a specialist disposal agent (once they reopen).

I found X-TEX (Toolstation) to be effective if somewhat slow way of removal without any dust.

If you can, then don’t touch it, if you can’t then skim or board over.

Richard

https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/a28.pdf

 

[MikeG.]

Plaster skim over it.

That works well on the swirly patterns, but those dimpled patterns had some quite tall peaks. It's very easy to knock the heads off those accidentally with the trowel, or have them just too long for any practical depth of plaster. Obviously the surface needs a coat of PVA before plastering.

You've also got the philosophical issue of just hiding the problem from a future generation, making it more difficult for them to deal with if they make any alterations.

 

[AJB Temple]

Think this over. If you intend to sell the property at some point, do you really want to have to disclose (or lie about) asbestos that you have knowingly locked into the building.

Remember that asbestos removal firms are motivated to find asbestos (maybe that explains cheap tests?)

I used to run a property development company that specialised in converting large stately piles that no one wanted. In one of them in Sussex, all of the hot water and electrical systems ran through a crawl duct under the building (you could walk through it stooped over). This contained asbestos lagged pipes, which the survey had not revealed. We had the whole lot professionally removed and I sleep easier having made that decision, even though it was costly.

When we bought another house near Guildford (to live in) the I di ot builder demolished (as a favour for someone) an asbestos corrugated shelter (one of the curved war time ones - this was near the WWII airfield at Dunsfold. He proceeded to burn this close to the house and we complained to the developer. The authorities made him professionally decontaminate the burn site, the house (which was a large barn with build out still in progress) and the original site of the shelter. This cost him an arm an a leg, added to which he and the builder were fined. The builder then recklessly poisoned one of my dogs. I won't go into the repercussions of that.

I think asbestos is risky stuff and I would be rid of it in my house.

 

[lurker]

When I worked, I had qualifications concerning asbestos in an industrial environment .
My advice is , don't bother testing just assume it is asbestos.
Proper testing would cost you nearly as much as proper removal.

Asbestos in artex is well bonded to the substrate, so relatively safe to remove.
Having said that, I would board and skim. This is common practice.
There is only a small quantity of asbestos in your ceiling , compared to the stuff found in insulation, it is not a significant hazard.

In passing, I have just removed some Lino which I suspect is at least 50 years old. So I was very careful with it as it most likely contained asbestos, I wonder how many know that?

 

[RogerS]

........ having seen what mesothelioma does to a fit and healthy person, there is NO WAY I'd be willing to take a risk for me nor for my family. a truely terrible way to go.

My mum has it.

Yeah, I'd be overboarding and re-plastering. I wouldn't touch what's there.

+1 Our place had Artexed ceilings and I sent a sample off to a lab. It came back negative fortunately. But...we still overboarded and replastered because TBH it's the quickest, easiest, cleanest and IMO best way.

 

[lurker]

Just read a thread further above.
I know and understand asbestos testing.
There is absolutely no way someone could test and make a living at 20 quid a pop.

 

[RogerS]

If anyone is interested, this is the company that we used.

http://www.bradley-enviro.co.uk/

 

[Gerry]

I've always just stripped Artex off with a wallpaper steamer. It comes off a soggy lump with no dust

Gerry

 

[Trevanion]

I know some will be mortified but I’ve done a couple of ceilings by taking a floor scraper to the high spots and painting it all with blue grit then skim over.

I had plenty of ventilation and PPE but asbestos is still asbestos no matter how little and best avoided if possible.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I suspect most people with asbestos Artex have less than perfect ceilings, anyway. Board them over and have done.

 

[porker]

Boarded and skimmed a large ceiling like this on Tuesday. Much easier, less mess and looks a whole load better. Don't forget to use longer plasterboard screws (I used 75mm). You also need to know where the joists are so you know where to screw the boards.

I use one of those powerful little magnets to locate the previous screws/nails and ping a chalk line across the old ceiling.

Also measure carefully where any light fittings were so you can relocate afterwards.

 

[MikeG.]

I've always just stripped Artex off with a wallpaper steamer. It comes off a soggy lump with no dust

Gerry

One strand is all you need. One. Ingest or inhale one microscopic piece and 30 years later........

 

[lurker]

I've always just stripped Artex off with a wallpaper steamer. It comes off a soggy lump with no dust

Gerry

One strand is all you need. One. Ingest or inhale one microscopic piece and 30 years later........

To be pedantic
It’s “only “ hazardous when inhaled.
Or more specifically respired, which is not the same thing.
Keeping it wet and dust free is the standard technique for removal.

 

[MikeG.]

I've always just stripped Artex off with a wallpaper steamer. It comes off a soggy lump with no dust

Gerry

One strand is all you need. One. Ingest or inhale one microscopic piece and 30 years later........

To be pedantic
It’s “only “ hazardous when inhaled.........

Not so. My mother has peritoneal mesothelioma.....ie it's in her abdomen, not her lungs, and the route in is through ingestion.