Is this dangerous? Panicking

[Stressedafff]

A hole has appeared on my external bedroom wall and this is sticking out
I have an asbestos popcorn ceiling
Does this look like asbestos? If so is it dangerous
I sleep in here with a 3 year old I am so so anxious it’s toxic

HA property full of holes and cracks but they won’t replaster it. I’m so so worried

I think that looks most likely to be some kind of insulation. How old is the property you live in?

Was built between the 60’s and 70’s
Its just randomly appeared

Agree with pp, looks like insulation to me. (Recently had the house done, and remember when my parents got cavity wall insulation.)

Is it dangerous?

No, I don't think so. Just unsightly.

Asbestos are usually fibres within the sheeting. The bit that fell out probably has the fibres (if it’s been confirmed that it contains asbestos). I’m not aware that insulation had asbestos, it was usually fibreglass.

I honestly feel sick with worry that it’s exposed us. I’ve got health anxiety and there’s so much wrong with this flat I don’t need this on top of it

OP said there's asbestos in the ceiling, but this is an external wall and unlikely to be asbestos. I had much insulation done on my house very recently and that looks to me like the foam variety. I should have added to my last post that when the guys were doing the insulation work, no-one needed special protective clothing, and I didn't have to leave to room. It's safe.

I was hoping you were going to say your property was much newer because if it was built after the mid 80's it shouldn't have asbestos in the artex or plaster.

Are the housing association refusing to even patch the hole up?

You shouldn't have to do this (but if it would give you piece of mind it might be worth it) but you could get it tested for asbestos. We had to do this a few years ago when we needed to remove our bathroom ceiling which we were concerned might contain asbestos. I think it was about £60 and someone came out and took a sample and we got the result the next day. I appreciate though that you might not have the money to do this. If it came back as negative hopefully you might be able to relax a bit, and if it did come back as positive (which hopefully it wouldn't) you would have something official to try and force the housing association to make repairs.

Anxiety is the worst I suffer badly from it so I know how awful it makes you feel.

It’s on tenancy forms that ceiling is asbestos. Nothing about this stuff though. I know the ceiling contains it but didn’t even know that wall was insulated, it’s riddled with damp in here anyway so whatever it is isn’t working

I only noticed the joke about an hour ago but I’ll be phoning first thing

Hole not joke

Yes, ironically, badly-done cavity wall insulation can lead to increased damp* - and whoever knew council workmen could be a little lax from time to time?

*search "cavity wall insulation problems" for more information .

Call them in the morning, and maybe see if you can email them the picture. Overnight you will be fine. Hopefully they will be able to put your mind at rest and then patch it up.

We actually had to have the cavity wall insulation removed from our house as it was bridging damp from the external walls to the internal ones. I live in an edwardian terrace and the men who removed it said cavities were there for a reason!

I’ll mention the link between the damp too! It doesn’t look like asbestos to me, more like the foam one which apparently is notorious for damp

Go over it with a bit of polyfiller.

Op. Asbestos is dangerous and shouldn’t be anywhere near you… it needs to be removed by professionals or sealed up…

I phoned this morning. Nothings been done apart from “sent over to relevant team” but heard nothing. The hole is the size of a nail head. No confirmation whether asbestos or not. Feel fucking sick I don’t want to be in this house anymore

Wall won't be asbestos. If it is a nail sized can you not just stick tape over it short term until it can be filled.

Omg you genius. I’m gonna put a bit of masking tape over it so I can’t see it! I don’t think of things like this 🤣 I just panic and fear the worst

Loads of ceilings have asbestos in - it was routinely used in textured artex type ceilings. It is generally considered safe if it’s not being disturbed, so don’t worry about your ceilings. People sometimes get a plaster skim over the top of them to seal the asbestos in, and you would need to take precautions if you were removing them, but they’re basically fine if they’re intact.

Your wall is a completely separate issue. It looks like insulation sticking out, which isn’t dangerous. If this is in the inside of the wall then you should patch up the hole with some kind of filler.

It’s nothing to worry about at all. Plenty of houses have cracks and holes. It’s not the end of the world.