How To Know If House Has Asbestos – Take a look at the floor coverings in each room. They may all be the same or similar now, but you’d never know if the latest coating was laid directly on top of an old one. It is very common to find multiple layers of floor coverings to examine. There may also be layers of asbestos cement sheets or other materials between the layers of vinyl.
You can cut a big hole in the middle of the room to check but that will probably get you into a bit of trouble. Scout around edges and corners to find places that are easy to pick up. Sometimes you may even have the original floor covering loose at the bottom of cupboards or in the lining of shelves.
How To Know If House Has Asbestos
You are looking for plastic sheets such as plastic tiles, paper or millboard, as backing or even black adhesive (blackjack) used to glue these items to the floor. All of these products may potentially contain asbestos.
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Asbestos containing floor coverings or underlays are more commonly (but not exclusively) present in wet areas of the home (bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, etc.).
Maybe there are some questionable tiles and/or vinyl sheets that aren’t covered! Below is an example that is still being used in front of floors and stairs.
These products stick to the floor better if it is a nice flat smooth surface and a nice flat smooth surface can be a nice flat smooth piece of AC sheet. It was quite common to place AC sheet over wood or concrete floors to seal vinyl products.
Be aware that it can be very difficult to determine if these products contain asbestos. Even under a microscope it can be inconclusive until the vinyl is ‘cooked’. If uncertain, take the sample using the necessary precautions for analysis in an approved laboratory.
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Now, the walls can be a fantastic mix of products! Many effects have been introduced over time to personalize the home. Chair rails, dado rails, picture rails, textured looks, false panels, removing and inserting doors and windows, room extensions, heater changes, repair patches – well, you get the point. Once painted, it’s easy to be fooled into thinking everything is the same product. You should remember that asbestos cement products were molded into all kinds of shapes.
Familiarize yourself with each room individually, never assume two rooms are the same without checking them out first.
Go into the room and assess the texture of the surface – is it all the same; Is there a line where a repair patch might have been inserted; Is it smooth all the way, or are there cover straps on the joints; Can you see the nail heads sitting above the surface; Are there chair rails or picture rails, of some fashion, that divide the lower from the upper wall sections.
Corners may also have moldings. These can be curved and look like a modern ‘quad’ or they can be an L-shaped moulding.
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Grab yourself something solid, like a decent sized screwdriver, and start the ‘gentle’ tap test – try not to go too crazy, unless you’re planning on repainting soon anyway! Tapping at different locations can help identify changes in production. You’ll notice that some areas sound like a soft ‘thump’ while others can sound quite ‘sharp/thick’. It’s a good idea to tape the bottom (around knee height) and the top (around head height) of each wall.
It is usually ‘sharp/hard’ sounding products that require further investigation, especially if there are signs of nail heads, cover straps etc. Masonite, cement sheet and AC sheet can fall into this category. Masonite may be easy to dispel suspicion because it is a processed wood product. It has a very dark brown color, however, to assess this fact you need to disturb the integrity of the sheet. There is a risk involved while doing this and necessary precautions need to be taken.
Another thing to be aware of, some of the older style interior air vents had molded asbestos as well!
Remember that like floors, although not as common, walls can have multiple layers. Look for any ‘tell tell’ signs that may indicate this such as pine lining boards that may hide the original asbestos cement sheet wall – as seen in this picture.
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If you have access to the back of the wall sheet you may be lucky enough to see the ‘Contains Asbestos’ stamp on it! It’s usually not that simple though! Just because it doesn’t have ‘asbestos’ printed on it certainly doesn’t mean it’s not asbestos.
If you can see the interior of the wall, you should also look out for any ‘tape’ wrapped around the pipes. Asbestos tape was used for insulation, soundproofing and repairs in plumbing and for its fireproofing along with electrical wires.
We will start with the heater. AC sheet was an excellent material to use around heat because of its fire resistant properties. Asbestos is found in (but not limited to) products used for:
AC sheet was also commonly used to seal the chimney. A good example of this is when the chimney is sealed to house the oven. There the cement sheet can be used only to close the hole or there can be installed completely around it.
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Be aware that some asbestos ‘flue’ is still in use. As shown in this photo, they were used for heaters and also for hot water services.
Wet areas are prime locations for asbestos products. Behind sink splashbacks, bathroom feature panels, bath hobs, bath aprons, bath surrounds, etc. Asbestos can be in a product you can see and/or hide behind.
A good example to start with is the bath surround. Clearly these are ceramic tiles but when the faucet is removed it can be seen that the tiles are mounted on a cement sheet – this could be an AC sheet. Where possible, try unscrewing your taps, this keeps the tiles from flicking!!
Here’s an example that would require both a splashback and, if present, a cement sheet behind it.
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In many cases a splashback like this is simply lamipanel (non-asbestos) however, tilux is very similar and contains asbestos. Better to err on the side of caution and check it out!
Tilux is effectively a thin asbestos cement sheet with a plastic like coating/laminate. Tilux is usually not very shiny.
Lamipanel is a laminated wood product. Most lamipanels have a high sheen and almost look like they’re just a big sheet of plastic.
One more, unusual and very surprising discovery is the presence of bituminous lining used under the sink as insulation. This is usually glued under the draining board but can also extend to the sink bowls. Some of these materials contained asbestos.
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Now it’s time to look directly up at the ceiling. As with the walls, assess the texture of the surface – is it all the same; Is there a line where a repair patch might have been inserted; Is it smooth all the way, or are there cover straps on the joints; Can you see the nail heads sitting above the surface; Are there vent covers or weird light mounts?
The roof itself may be asbestos cement sheets. Cover straps may be asbestos cement if present and patches, light bases and vent covers are made of molded asbestos cement.
Grab that screwdriver again, and do a ‘tap test’ for each different surface identified, following all safety guidelines for ladder use. If it has a ‘sharp’ sound it will need further investigation.
Time to toughen up, push aside thoughts of rats and spiders, grab the ladder again and take a look at that little square on the ceiling you’ve always tried to ignore!
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The manhole cover is the first thing you will need to assess. ‘Tape’ test; Is it a ‘sharp’ or a dull ‘thud’? Check the edges, if they are raw you may be lucky enough to define the material used by color or texture. Unless it’s in really bad shape, you want to cut it up or need to dispose of it, you really don’t need to worry about this. It will sit ignored for as long as you like! Builders liked to use cement sheets for manhole covers because the edges would stay solid while the edges of plaster squares would start to crumble after you pushed them up a few times.
So once you take a big breath and stick your head into the ceiling cavity, and realize that your imagination was far worse than reality, start looking for sneaky tradesman/handyman signatures like:
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