A list of asbestos materials commonly found in domestic properties can be found in asbestos materials and in the asbestos gallery
All enquires for Asbestos and Insulation Freephone 0800 2118658
We carry out domestic surveys and sampling including communal areas of flats etc
Communal areas include gardens, entrances, corridors, stairs, landings, hallways, meter rooms, basements, laundry rooms, storage rooms, anywhere that is shared by more than one tenant, this includes the roof and external materials (guttering, facia, soffit, roof tiles etc).
Because asbestos was used in many different building materials, it is quite common to find it houses, bungalows, flats etc, which were built before 1990. Many materials are not easily recognised as containing asbestos because of the different reasons it was used in materials, sometimes for strength, sometime for flexibility and sometimes and most commonly for its fire protection properties. Most are low risk, some may be high risk but you need to know the difference in order to deal with it and manage it.
Domestic surveys and sampling are not yet a requirement of the asbestos regulations, unless it is the communal areas of rented accommodation or council housing stocks. Domestic surveys/sampling are usually requested by people buying a house who note that asbestos was mentioned in the building survey and are concerned that it is either dangerous or will cost a lot of money to remove. Mortgage and insurance companies have also requested asbestos surveys for similar reasons.
Most asbestos materials in domestic properties are quite safe and should be left alone unless the material is likely to be disturbed by refurbishment work to the property.
Most domestic asbestos surveys or reports are only a couple of pages and detail the type of material and asbestos content, based on the inspection and/or analysis. Removal is only recommended when the material is in very bad condition or going to be disturbed during planned refurbishment work.
What not to do
Don't take the word of a 'helpful' builder, plumber, friends mate, neighbours cat etc, asbestos is such a huge subject and the risk of exposure is not worth relying on the word of someone with very limited knowledge of it.
Don't let anyone tell you its the 'safe' sort when its not, AIB is AIB and Cement is Cement, if disturbed, one (AIB) will give you heavy dose of lethal fibres the other (cement) will not. If the material is in the way of building or refurbishment work there is more chance of you being told it's ok, just so the work can continue. Stand your ground and get it checked out by someone who knows what they are talking about, it usually doesn't cost anything and you could save yourself a lot of grief later.
Finding Out
We carry out single asbestos sampling and full domestic asbestos surveys, giving the full material risk assessments based on the same parameters (material information) as the commercial and industrial surveys, explaining the risk for each material and recommendations for management and risk reduction. If asbestos removal is required we can provide an honest and accurate cost for removal based on the current regulations.
Many domestic asbestos materials can be removed with modest control measures because of the nature of the material (low friability), honesty is the key here, as a rough guide, cost can be associated with friability (ability to release fibres) low friability (not many fibres released) = low cost, high friability (many fibres released) = higher cost.
What To Do
Having asbestos removed from a property, just because it is asbestos, is fairly common and quiet understandable because asbestos is an emotive subject and because of the common knowledge as to the health risks associated with the material. It is difficult to explain to people that removing the material actually creates more risk than is necessary, because it is planned disturbance and unless the very strict control measures are in place to contain the airborne fibres, exposure and invisible contamination could result.
The Real Risks
It is difficult to convey to people that some asbestos materials in houses are extremely low risk, like floor tiles and cement sheeting, the fibres are so tightly trapped in the material than even when broken the material is not going to release much.
On the other side of the coin we have AIB and Artex (textured ceilings etc) although Artex has a low asbestos content the most common method of removal is scraping which is very bad for asbestos materials because the act of removing thin layers of dry asbestos material increases the amount of fibres released with each scrape.
There are many other methods for removal that would reduce the risk to a more acceptable level or we would recommend over-boarding, skimming or removal of the whole ceiling rather than just the surface coating. AIB contains 30-40% Brown (Amosite) asbestos and when broken can release a huge amount of asbestos fibres, we always recommend that it is left alone wherever possible and should only be removed under strictly controlled conditions, this is where an honest appraisal will be of great benefit if a confirmation sample is required.
Domestic asbestos materials are not strictly governed by the regulations, its down to the individual to determine, which 'expert' to use, how safe they want to be and how much they want to spend on being safe.
It only takes a phone call to get the right answers
Sandwich 01304 614647 / 614453 Mob 07712068424