There's an outside drain pipe (useless nowadays) that most likely has asbestos in it (in the form of fibre-cement). My contractor is offering to remove it for what looks like a reasonable amount of money (about 500 quid), given the need to put in scaffolding, the potential hazard, etc.

 

 

The architect was just trying to dissuade me, however - she was saying: fixing one problem leads to another, you may find yourself under a cascade of bills, you were not planning to fo work on the outside (this is the courtyard side, not visible from the street), etc.

 

The contractor is reassuring us that the matter will stop there, and that he has ways to make the mark left by the drain pipe inconspicuous.  

 

My instinct is to have it removed:

(a) even if the risk is less than it would be if it were indoors, there has to be *some* risk,

(b) if removing the pipe leads me to learning about potential problems with the facade - well, knowledge is better than ignorance (even if I do currently have the budget to fix any major problems)!

 

What do you think?

I suspect your architects caution is well advised from dealing with poor builders. Many would not be able to patch the roof and wall to a good standard.

 

If you trust your builder ( I seem to remember them being very good) I would go for it. 

 

 

47 minutes ago, Iceverge said:

If you trust your builder ( I seem to remember them being very good) I would go for it. 

 

 

 

Right, I trust my builder. (He sometimes has communication issues, or gets upset because of delays caused by people other than myself, but it would seem that he is good at everything he does.) Recall he was the one who managed to magically transfer moulding on top of the insulation. Notice also the nice job he has done putting a second layer of glazing on top of the stained glass (picture above).

Tasty

5 minutes ago, Iceverge said:

Tasty

 

I thought it was lead paint that was tasty? Ah, second layer of glazing. Well, whatever I should call it...

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