MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
We've just has our offer accepted on a property which has pretty much every wall and ceiling covered in thick Artex, we intend to get some samples tested but i'm pretty confident it will be positive for Asbestos content.
Due to the nature of the refurb it pretty much all has to go, removal of stud walls and taking back to 'brick' to recoat in lightweight breathable insulating plaster, anyone had similar dealings? what route did you take and what were the costs, any first hand information would be appreciated.
What makes you so certain it contains asbestos? Wait until the results are in. Although there was a period of time where asbestos was used in artex, it wasn't used in all artex.
Our house has asbestos in artex and textured paint. Plastered over it and follow the appropriate precautions when drilling through.
The work your planning on sounds like it would get expensive. I'm not as paranoid about it as my fiancee is but it's not worth messing around with.
A friend recently bought a house with this exact same problem. He haggled them down by £15k to cover the cost of ripping out most everything. I think he's started now.
As the artex is probably well-sealed under paint there is very low risk unless you're planning on removing it. I have artex ceiling in my current house and simply had them smooth-coated with a modern coating - zero risk and a lot less expensive and messier than having it removed.
Plenty of info online - specialist (expensive) contractors tend to over-egg the risks- I previously worked in the design and manufacture of respiratory protection, I understand the issues
I may have 30 years to live as I just put a quality dust mask on and ripped our artex ceilings down.
specialist (expensive) contractors tend to over-egg the risks
You seem to be implying that contractors are "over egging the risks" for financial reward, which may lead some to believe that Asbestos, albeit White Asbestos(the most commonly used in households) is less risky.
I understand the issues
Hmmmm....
Approx. 3000 asbestos related deaths a year in the UK and still a fair few years to go yet before that beigns to drop. If you are going to do it then make sure it's done right.
We had ours skimmed over .It was all over the hall, up the stairs and on the walls of the landing. Think it cost 600 pounds all in. Painted it ourselves.
I may have 30 years to live as I just put a quality dust mask on and ripped our artex ceilings down.
You probably wasted your time then... your "quality" dust mask probably didn't filter out particles as small as an asbestos fibre (then combined with the fibres that will have been on your clothing when you cleaned yourself down after).
Don't mess around with asbestos, it's a horrible way to go.
Rugbydick - H&S consultant (and lost my dad to mesothelioma)
Approx. 3000 asbestos related deaths a year in the UK and still a fair few years to go yet before that beigns to drop
The industry experts think that it actually may rise and we won’t see a peak for 10-20 years. Why? All the people who made asbestos in factories have pretty much died now, the deaths are coming from people who are ripping it out. Homeowners, DIYers, builders etc have been taking it out more often since the 90’s - give it 30/40 years from then and you have a peak that’s yet to come and might last a long time.
Its a shockingly awful way to go, well documented yet people risk is to save a few hundred quid.
Working in the Insurance repair industry I am becoming more and more alarmed at the current lackadaisical attitude towards the risks of asbestos in domestic properties.
The commercial world has had to take this seriously but in the domestic world it seems that people have forgotten what the end result of exposure can be.
are there any stats about how common it was in artex and wall plaster? and what the real risk of developing it is?
I took off a small section of damp damaged plaster with just a dust mask then someone told me about asbestos in plaster.
basically means you have to fork out £££ for testing every time you plan to do work, and from what I've read they still can't guarantee it' free of the stuff as they may sample a bit without it in due to the way it was mixed
<div class="bbcode-quote">
I understand the issues
</div>
Hmmmm….
I used to sit on the European Standards Committee for Respiratory Protective Equipment....