Vpete wrote:BladesofSteel wrote:Asbestos sticky tiles on the concrete I take it? Good times. I assume there is also asbestos tape on the ducting down there. Be careful with that when you replace the furnace.
How high is the ceiling? 7'?
So far so good pete.
I'm not sure if they were asbestos sticky tiles, never heard of those nor did my contractor think they were them. There were actually a bit like marmoleum tiles. No asbestos tape on ducting either as it was all radiator heat and pipes. Have to take a few old iron pipes out but nothing major. The furnace had been updated from those old big ugly ones from 1920. Still a few kicking around though in Winnipeg.
I'm not trying to be an alarmist VPete, but ya should have just taken a 1" chip of the tile and a sample of the drywall joint compound and a sample of the textured ceiling if you have it. It's actually cheap, Pacific Consulting on the North Shore tested ours for $35.00. Got results back within 5 days. I am Currently adding a legal basement suite to my house and in fact a Hazmat team started on it today, removing VAT (Vinyl Asbestos Tile) and Drywall in which it contained 1% Chrysotile Asbestos in the joint compound. Luckily none was found in the textured ceiling which is an expensive removal.
BTW, there are a shit load of fly by night hazmat removal companies out there, be careful when hiring. Actes Environmental and Quantum are two good companies.
Asbestos duct taping and textured/popcorn ceilings are considered the most dangerous since they are the most friable (becoming airborne by just touching it).
My wifes step dad died from Asbestos cancer to the lungs, it wasn't a pretty way to go. He was a plumber. Ever since seeing that I don't go anywhere near the shit, anymore. I've done plenty of reno's in my time and I know I have been exposed to the shit, I pretty much went swimming in Vermiculite insulation before word got out that some of it can contain asbestos. BTW, when buying an older house, the first thing you should look at is the attic for Vermiculite, lift up the bat insulation or dig through the Blown-In, cause most homeowners have it covered up. If ya find it, walk away from the home, having it removed is an expensive nightmare and it is the hardest of all asbestos to remove cause it's near impossible to remove all of it since the shit slides down wall cavities etc. I know all vermiculite doesn't contain it, but there is a good chance it's the Zonolite variety that was mined in Montana and installed in a lot of Vancouver homes back in the day.
You can pretty much be guaranteed to find it somewhere in any house built before 1980. Most likely the drywall joint compound cause pretty much every drywall mudder used it in the 70's. If your house was built in the 70's I'd bet my bottom dollar that you will have it in the drywall joint compound. That being said, it will most likely be Chrysotile Asbestos which is the least harmful of the all asbestos. One should still be careful, one cube of asbestos the size of a sugar cube if broken up would contaminate a building the size of BC Place.
It's unfortunate for people buying older houses with plans to renovate them, a common thing in the housing market. I kind of crossed our fingers knowing we wanted to do a reno. When I tore up the carpet in the basement I got sick to my stomach when I saw the tile and of course with my luck, it too turns out to be VAT. Couple that with the discovery of the drywall joint compound containing it as well. Our bill is going to cost us around $7,000. Because I live in the GVRD, we have to ship it to Calgary at $1.03 a square, the only place that takes it for the GVRD homes. We are having 1400 sq. feet of drywall removed and just a few areas of VAT. We have to cut into concrete slab for plumbing and two 3'x3'x10" concrete pads I have to form for point loading of a steel beam we are putting in place of a load bearing wall. We had to remove a ton of shit from our reno budget because of the HazMat costs. Personally, I think they should institute an new rule whereby thee seller of a house has to have the house inspected for Asbestos. When someone buys a house, the buyer can't cut out a sample of drywall and tear up old carpet to look for VAT as part of some sort of Subject To Inspection. In this market, Subjects put you out of the game. If there is an oil tank on the property the seller has to have it removed before selling, that is, if it is discovered.
I've heard from some people in Work Safe BC and Permit Officers that they are really gonna start clamping down on the renovation market over asbestos soon. The day is coming when you pull a permit, before construction begins, the house will have to go through a testing and if found the asbestos has to be removed by owner before construction begins. It will be the new leaky condo. Now, they just leave it up to the contractor and homeowner on the honorable system by handing you a blue flyer stuffed in with the permits and approved plans that gives you an outline on where you can find asbestos, in which most of them don't care cause it's usually the lowly labourer who is removing it. Just turn a blind eye. The homeowner and contractor only care about bottom line.
