Plasterboard or asbestos insulation board

[Dave22]

Hi , many thanks for taking time to read this , currently I have worried my self to sick and I am at my Whitt’s end. A couple of years ago I bought a house the house was completely empty and I was having the artex plastered over but in one room the plaster wouldnt stick to the ceiling so the plasterer said he needed to over board it. Before over boarding it the artex had nearly peeled over it has been painted with a chalky white paint ligule if been distemper it’s something like that and the plaster just would stick so Hence the boarding . To find the joist he just hit a hole in the ceiling to board it. After reading about older properties this is a 1965 ish property but the room in question was an extension built in the mid 1970’s and I have read about asbestos insulation boards are sometimes used in the ceilings and as the plasterer just smashed through these to reboard the ceiling I am having a meltdown . Before reboarding it I remember seeing the ceiling it had not been plastered it was just painted and had a textured pattern in but the pattern just came off pretty easy, the ceiling looked white and smooth but I could see the gaps wear the boards met. Have any of you plasterer’s ever known a ceiling to be boarded out with asbestos insulation boards . I no people had ceiling tiles made from asbestos but these looked like plaster boards but I’m just worrying they could be of been asbestos insulation boards. Many thanks in advance for any replies .

[Mr Punter]

If it is asbestos it is usually fine if it not disturbed.  If you need to work on it you can carefully remove a small sample and send it for testing.  If you or anyone has already worked on it there is nothing to be done to mitigate this but unlikely to be harmful.

[Dave22]

Thanks mr punter , it was 2 years ago now. Have you ever know a complete ceiling be boarded with asbestos insulation board in a normal bungalow. The plasterer at the time never seem to think anything was sinister , thanks 

[MikeGrahamT21]

Was the plasterer of a reasonable age, and experienced?

 

If so I wouldn't worry about it, they tend to know whats dangerous and whats not, and an older plasterer would spot asbestos a mile off ?

Edited October 27, 2020 by MikeGrahamT21

[Dave22]

Yeh he was late forty been doing it all his life , he said it was just plaster board but you hear horror stories on line , out of curiosity though have you ever know people to have ceilings completely boarded with asbestos boards not the ceiling tiles , thanks 

[MarkyP]

is the ceiling board you are worried about under rafters or a floor joist? Could you access from above to inspect it without cutting through the ceiling? if you could access from above then taking a small piece and sending off for testing would put your mind at ease.

 

 I demolished a 1930's timber bungalow which was the original part of my house. I found all sorts of suspect stuff, none of which was asbestos - sheets of fibrous board lining the walls - turned out to be a non-asbestos insulating board product called superlux. Also sheets of fibrous tar lining paper, also not asbestos. But we took precautions and samples were sent to an accredited lab for testing and came back clean. In a previous house we had asbestos containing floor tiles but they were plastic and fibres were bound up in the tile, just heated to soften adhesive and lifted them and disposed of easily. 

 

You could take the view that even if it is asbestos and is now covered and not going to be disturbed then it's safe and not worry but if you really need to know then I would take sample and get it tested. You can readily find guidance on how to safely take a sample online - wear a mask, use a sharp blade, put plastic sheeting down, dont break or abrade, spray with water to prevent fibre release, etc.

 

 

[Dave22]

Hi thanks for your reply it’s a extension on a bungalow with a flat roof so I can’t access it . I just wanted to no from people experience if they tend to find ceilings that have been boarded out with asbestos insulation board , thanks 

[Gone West]

3 minutes ago, Dave22 said:

I just wanted to no from people experience if they tend to find ceilings that have been boarded out with asbestos insulation board , thanks 

We had a 1920s bungalow where the whole of the inside, walls and ceilings, were boarded with Chrysotile asbestos sheets and then had plasterboard put on top. If the area has been completely boarded out and there is no suspicious material visible I would leave well alone. If you have a sample of the material it can be tested very easily with a test kit from Amazon.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Asbestos-Sample-Testing-Instructions-Postage/dp/B0862B9JZB/

 

 

[Carrerahill]

2 hours ago, Dave22 said:

Hi , many thanks for taking time to read this , currently I have worried my self to sick and I am at my Whitt’s end. A couple of years ago I bought a house the house was completely empty and I was having the artex plastered over but in one room the plaster wouldnt stick to the ceiling so the plasterer said he needed to over board it. Before over boarding it the artex had nearly peeled over it has been painted with a chalky white paint ligule if been distemper it’s something like that and the plaster just would stick so Hence the boarding . To find the joist he just hit a hole in the ceiling to board it. After reading about older properties this is a 1965 ish property but the room in question was an extension built in the mid 1970’s and I have read about asbestos insulation boards are sometimes used in the ceilings and as the plasterer just smashed through these to reboard the ceiling I am having a meltdown . Before reboarding it I remember seeing the ceiling it had not been plastered it was just painted and had a textured pattern in but the pattern just came off pretty easy, the ceiling looked white and smooth but I could see the gaps wear the boards met. Have any of you plasterer’s ever known a ceiling to be boarded out with asbestos insulation boards . I no people had ceiling tiles made from asbestos but these looked like plaster boards but I’m just worrying they could be of been asbestos insulation boards. Many thanks in advance for any replies .

I would not worry about it. I read up on asbestos and researched it because I too had to deal with it in my house. I have also spoken to about 4-5 major demolition businesses that run waste transfer stations etc. who have then filled me in on all the details for legal transfer of this stuff and it wasn't too onerous - this is for white of course!

 

It would take me all day to put what I have discovered in writing and all the facts and reasons but let me go a little way towards trying to give you some information that may put your mind at ease.

 

First, get onto the HSE website and download the asbestos guide with the asbestos content % table which lists most materials and the type and % contained within them, this goes from Artex coatings, bitumen adhesives, flooring and brake linings.

 

You will note from reading this that content is almost always very low in these sorts of products, 2-10% and that is was normally chrysotile (white) asbestos which was the least dangerous, do not mistake me, it can still cause all the same health problems that the others do, but it has a lower risk. 

 

Asbestos containing materials, "ACM" such as cement asbestos, cladding, floor tiles etc. were commonly cut and installed by contractors wearing no mask, although there is a greater chance of asbestos related illness among these individuals, particularly those who installed or removed these materials for many many years or decades through employment they generally did not suffer and frankly die before now as badly as those installing brown and blue such as boiler and pipe laggers - so generally heavy industry.

 

You will often hear the comment that, 1 asbestos fibre can kill and that is true, however it is a but of a misnomer because it doesn't mean that you only need to inhale one fibre and that is it, you have had it. You do inhale asbestos, we all do, in a life time we will inhale over a billion asbestos fibres as it is in the very air we breath all the time, ambient background asbestos is about 10-200 fibres per cubic meter of air (they reckon the average person will inhale 265000000 litres of air in a lifetime), it will be worse near for example a primary school that is being demolished and may increase levels for some time (even when it is dealt with properly there is always an escape, even just any dust it left in the school being disturbed etc.) so if only one fibre killed we would all die of asbestos related illness. What it means is that that it will only take one fibre to get lodged in the lungs and cause the damage and scar tissue etc. that leads to the illness - but realistically we need to expose our self to a decent cloud of of the stuff as a one off to potentially get it, or many many short term exposures. 

 

1 of the biggest groups outside of contracting is school teachers and hospital workers who work(ed) in old building full of the stuff, it just gently releases dust as is get older, or a knock or a vibration, ceiling tiles were the worst, and the staff were in there for 30-40 years of their life breathing it in. Working outside with asbestos is far safer as it will get blown away, I took our asbestos roof off the garage, proper half face mask and brand new filter, gloves and old clothes with the sheets wetted down, done in the rain on one occasion and with a slight breeze, strip off and shower afterwards with most outer layers going in the bags for disposal too. 

 

I also know I cut through floor tile bitumen adhesive with a circular saw, I am fairly sure it will have had asbestos in it, not too pleased about it and know it may come back to bite but I had loads of windows open, a breeze through the room I was working in and I got out pretty quick once I spotted the black adhesive. However, it is also said that although I cut it, the bitumen will have adhered to the asbestos, it will have then become less small and light, and was also partly or fully encapsulated so the fibre release although still present wasn't a case of pure asbestos floating around my house. 

 

The HSE also permits the removal and disposal of these types of asbestos by home owners, the others are strictly trained contractor only, I just don't see the HSE saying yes no bother you can do this on ACM's that are simply deadly, my local tip also let me take some in, all double bagged, I told them what I had, they opened a container for me, I put it in, and left, no paperwork, no questions, no particular H&S to follow. 

 

My uncle told me they once installed a garage roof in the 40's and they cut all the sheets with a hand saw - he is still with us, just back issues he has! 

 

Do understand, asbestos is dangerous, I do not think your exposure is going to kill you, I don't think my exposure will be what kills me, it might, what I do know is that I will never knowing do any more ACM work again in my life without full PPE like that damn floor I cut up. I am confident that when I did the garage roof it was done correctly, so I think my exposure was minimal and I do not intend on doing any more - I am not letting it worry me. There is a far greater chance of you being killed in a RTA.

Edited October 27, 2020 by Carrerahill

[Dave22]

Thanks for your time and detailed answers , I don’t no why I’m thinking it was asbestos insulation board I’m sure th plasterer would have know and wouldn’t of smashed homes in it if it was asbestos , i think it’s because the ceiling was just boarded it had never been plastered , it just had a weird paint on it like a chalky paint I think distemper and then a textured pattern on top . I think I thought it was asbestos board because it wasn’t plastered and I just didn’t exspect a plastered board just to be paint with a textured paint to be the finished ceiling I though all ceiling would be plastered or am I wrong