Anyone had asbestos removal done? Cost, experiences?

[YodhrinForge]

So I'm almost at the finish line on acquiring a house and I knew going in that it had been renovated pre-2000 and has artex ceilings so it was a good bet there was some asbestos there, but honestly I'm starting to freak out a little and I'm wondering if I've made a stupid decision. Not because I'm afraid of the boogeyman substance, I know how dangerous it is but also that properly handled it can be dealt with safely, but rather because I'm concerned I might screw myself by getting the testing done. All the firms I've approached have said I'll have to do the full invasive survey because I'm going to be doing some renovations that will have trades on site and once you have that done it's done, on record, so you either pay to have every last shred of the stuff scoured out of the property or the stain of it is there forever, you have to say Yes on the forms when you sell, you have to get regular reinspections done on anything that was encapsulated etc. The worst part is none of the firms who do removal in my area will give me even a vague ballpark figure for how much it could cost me in a worst case scenario until *after* the testing is done at which point I have no choice but to pay them to do it, since having the works & demolition survey done means you need a full action plan filed with the government and must use the licensed firms to deal with it.

 

I've seen some discussions online talking about spending a couple of grand and others saying it could cost 50k+. The present owners have made it clear they won't accept an offer subject to the test, so the risk will be all mine.

Edited January 23 by YodhrinForge

[twice round the block]

My local council ( Buckinghamshire) household tip takes it for free providing I double wrap it.

[Timedout]

Don’t panic.

 

Artex, textured wall and ceiling coating does not always contain asbestos. In my experience, less than half the stuff has an asbestos content. Get the coating sampled. With my own properties, I take my own samples and send the to a lab for testing. I think the last time it cost £60 for the four samples. I used Bradley Environmental. 

as an example, the bungalow we bought had four rooms with textured coating, all different types. When tested all four were NAD, No Asbestos Detected. I would be surprised if all of your coating tests positive for asbestos.
 

Removal can be done by wetting the coating and scraping it off as a mush. You don’t need any fancy chemical, just hot water in a garden spray. In practice, most professional contractors just remove the ceiling entirely. in a self contained house or bungalow that won’t be massively expensive. In a hotel or flats, it can be much more if there building is occupied.

 

if you engage an asbestos surveyor, be sure to explain that you won’t give them the contract for removal. Don’t take their recommendations for removal contractors either. That was standard policy when I was working in military facilities maintenance. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[YodhrinForge]

  On 23/01/2025 at 19:07, twice round the block said:

My local council ( Buckinghamshire) household tip takes it for free providing I double wrap it.

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Unfortunately if I have the test done and they find anything, I'm no longer permitted to DIY it, you need to pay a licensed contractor and get certification etc.

 

  On 23/01/2025 at 19:33, Timedout said:

Don’t panic.

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Doing my best, hah. I was planning to tear down the ceilings anyway as part of the retrofit, I was just hoping to do it myself like much of the rest of the work. I just started freaking a bit when nobody would give me even an idea of what the worst-case cost would be and I realized I won't even have the choice whether to DIY or not if I have the necessary level of survey done. It's a semi-detached stone worker cottage from the turn of the 19th/20th centuries, that was extended with a cavity block rear room and attic conversion some time in the first half of the 90's judging by the decor of the bathroom & kitchen and the fact the cavity is uninsulated. I don't know if there was already some of it in there from when the place was built or if it was all added with the extension, but it's on all the downstairs ceilings bar one room and the inner slopes and small ceiling of the attic rooms.

 

Regarding the mush stuff - I thought that was only sufficient if you were subsequently going to encalpsulate and leave undisturbed whatever substrate it was on? So wouldn't really be an option for me anyway as the ceilings have to come down at least around the perimeters so I can carry the airtight layer and IWI through the floor to upstairs. 

[Timedout]

You have to start with sampling and analysis. It’s the only responsible way to proceed. 
 

check out the HSE website , search HSE Asbestos Essentials. I have not looked at it for years but it used to have suggested task sheets. It should guide you on what you can and cannot do.

 

It is not going to cost you £50k. 

 

 

[Beau]

We recently found asbestos in the place we are doing up. After some deliberation we chose to deal with it ourselves. I didn't test to find out what type just treated it with greatest respect as if it was the worst sort. Full PPE with a quality FFP3 well fitting mask, disposable protective suit etc. Wetted down  areas as we removed to avoid dust. Hepa filter bag for the vacuum. Disposed of in double bagged asbestos bags from Amazon. Local council would have taken it for £15 per bag but as we had lots of old asbestos roofing sheets that needed getting rid of as well we paid for a dedicated skip. If you want to test I came across lots of testing kits on Amazon like this.  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Asbestos-Sample-Testing-Instructions-Postage/dp/B0862B9JZB/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=63795696136&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TS7zR6siGZmvW6hOwQ6q4c1haebaSiGZB7xI5nuGgELj8QZd53_AjhVwsWpbHJpFF4vJCBN7u0GrSXAMJyyADFvx5iBsfE--arACKeVEJZ0lpheocc8rsVqNLcF0OVHDsRTqvFtWCGWXOcYPAsjFKRkVrBcwKSTDzegweJXtm9KIBMQt7Hev8A64W6ZgEpfzoOCCnTTBSUQmJbDVdNU8I-0CP2hF9zK_-QkL4R2pY4v1g2ZarhdGU8Rpfiz7NT5daz-oUmk3eRumYyIfdkWIcPqtZXCkz0Xx9ie4A0Jz_J4.8Vi_AiaqfAKc5uc7rJlBD0diL5wiPv3-kl_eEj2aOeM&dib_tag=se&hvadid=318197641917&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9193111&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=11128230385786911236&hvtargid=kwd-296856693050&hydadcr=27760_1764367&keywords=asbestos+testing+kits&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1737671379&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

[Gone West]

At our last place I also did my own testing using an Amazon test kit and then got lots of quotes to have it removed.