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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

House with asbestos

45 replies

Crazypetlady · 07/10/2015 15:48

Hello , I am worrying again, as always.
My dm and df are going to rent a house that has asbestos in the cladding. It can't be mortgaged because of this. My df says it is safe, but I am not so sure. They can live where they choose but they expect me to take my young ds to visit. We visit them in their current house fairly often.
AIBU and worrying over nothing or am I right to keep my ds away?

This is more of a help than AIBU but wanted the traffic.

OP posts:

lalalonglegs · 08/10/2015 08:23

Actually, smokers do have a higher risk of developing asbestosis than non-smokers given similar exposure.

sproketmx · 08/10/2015 11:41

Yes it was risky but it was one we had to take. yes we will have to do it again. We're skint, always have been so we can't afford the professionals who come in. We live hand to mouth every month so even if I did have the 2 n a half grand they want to remove it I wouldn't spend it on contractors. I'd probably buy new beds for all the kids

VashtaNerada · 08/10/2015 12:04

That's really shit sproketmx, can the council not help at all? Not wanting to scare you but FIL only did one building job involving aspestos and got sick. Is there no other way round it?

AnotherEffingOrangeRevel · 08/10/2015 12:16

Hi OP.

Normally, I'd agree that visiting was fine in a house with asbestos (loads of houses have it in some form) unless it's being disturbed.

But it does depend on the type (white, blue, brown) and the form it's in. Unfortunately, I believe that lagging around pipes (is that what you mean?) often contains high percentages of blue/brown, and is in a form that can fairly readily release fibres even with minimal disturbance.

Personally, I'm not sure I'd be happy with my kids spending a lot of time there, but that might be a bit OTT.

Also, exposure under the age of 30 seems worse than over that age. Your parents, therefore, will not be at that high a risk.

Do you know where in the house it is? If it's tucked away in a cellar, it would be better, I think, than if it's all over the living areas.

AnotherEffingOrangeRevel · 08/10/2015 12:32

Sorry, ignore that. You said cladding, not lagging.
Cladding should be fine if not disturbed. As you were.

eedon · 08/10/2015 12:45

I don't think my home has any (1950s built) and ive done a lot of work in it.

Its probabably fine unless your a builder and messing with it for many days.

They used to make slave clothes out of it as they could be put in the fire to be cleaned.

sproketmx · 08/10/2015 12:46

Nah. We bought our house off the council so it's private and we don't get help. We used breathing masks used by the pain team at work (lorry garage) and wore our overalls and gloves etc. We kep the asbestos in oil drums out the back till the council started redoing the kitchens and bathrooms round here then snuck out at night and dumped it in their skips so that helped I suppose.

eedon · 08/10/2015 12:49

If my heating was installed in the 80s would it have it on the pipes? I'm worried about my airing cubaord now

sleepyelectricsheep · 08/10/2015 12:56

"We kep the asbestos in oil drums out the back till the council started redoing the kitchens and bathrooms round here then snuck out at night and dumped it in their skips so that helped I suppose."

OMG I can't believe you just wrote that. You do realise you are putting the lives of others at risk?

Please, please educate yourself about this stuff before tackling any more of it.

TheCraicDealer · 08/10/2015 13:00

Too right, sleepy. You did what?! At least you had masks, the people walking past that skip, the builders putting stuff in on top of it and the dump workers didn't! I get having limited options but that's crazy irresponsible. That stuff has to go to specialist disposal facilities. If you couldn't afford to take it out and dispose of it safely you should've left it intact.

Gottagetmoving · 08/10/2015 13:02

Another asbestos related thread?!

We probably all visit buildings that have asbestos in them, lots of times but you are not aware of it.
I can't see it would be any more dangerous to visit your parents house than it would be to go into other buildings unless you want to check the asbestos content of every where you go?

gamerchick · 08/10/2015 13:06

sproketmx seriously that is breathtakingly irresponsible man

I really wouldn't worry OP from what you've said.

My house is saturated with the stuff. Every ceiling bar one and the whole passage and staircase walls in the artex. I'm not paying to remove it as its not my house and the council refuse to.. So I'm stuck with the horrible stuff. As long as it's not disturbed it's fine.

sproketmx · 08/10/2015 13:07

No no no. We used the skip the council were using for the asbestos they were taking out the non bought houses. Sorry, thought I explained that

sleepyelectricsheep · 08/10/2015 13:12

Ah OK, cunning!

And phew!

sproketmx · 08/10/2015 13:23

Yeh if I wasn't that bothered about getting rid of it I'd have run it up the coup myself but I was. Hence the reason we welded it into oil drums and stored them for Fucking ages until the council came back to redo the other end of the street.

mummytime · 08/10/2015 13:24

sproketmx - do you realise that the risk for a smoker of getting lung disease from asbestos is much higher than the combined risk of smoking and asbestos?
I've worked in the asbestos industry, and we wore gas masks when investigating, hand filter pump to measure particle release, double bagged everything. And the real strippers worked in negative pressure tents, in paper suits with breathing apparatus, and stripped and had showers before leaving the tent.

You will have shred fibres all around the area, including your home.

But OP it matters how the asbestos is there. If its in artex, or boards that are left alone - then I'd be fine about it. If it is in lagging, or otherways loose, then I would be concerned.

I've never heard of somewhere not being mortgageable due to asbestos, so I would be concerned.

sproketmx · 08/10/2015 17:15

Indeed but lower than the risk of us all dying of starvation and becoming homeless by spending more than both adults make in a month on removal. And before its suggested, we couldn't just leave it. We have an old baxi Bermuda back boiler in the chimney breast which needed fixing so it had to come out to get the boiler out.

PseudoBadger · 08/10/2015 17:22

Did you fit the gas boiler yourself too? Damn all these professionals charging for doing things safely and all

eedon · 08/10/2015 17:43

Looks like I could have lagging in the attic that might have a. Is this a concern if its in the attic that is closed?

Also my garage roof might have it.

Is it worth getting these tested? I bought my house at auction so no survey done.

sproketmx · 08/10/2015 20:47

No, guessing by the age of it the boiler was put in long before I was born. And it was a plumber that repaired it on a homer but we had to get rid of the old hearth and surround to get the fire out and get to the boiler. The council put the Fucking asbestos in when they built the house in the 60s but they weren't offering to take it out.

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