To pull out of house purchase for this? Or am I crazy

[Newhome25]

This is causing huge amounts of stress with me and DH. I am six months pregnant and I do have anxiety so I realise this could be playing into my fears. We found a great house in the area we want. There’s barely any for sale and it’s not a forever home but a great start and perfect for life for the three of us for now. We have got to the stage where searches are happening and I said I wanted a damp survey and asbestos survey as the house was built in 70s.

Damp survey really reassuring but the asbestos one says there’s asbestos on the roof (described as sheets) and on the garage and on the plan it looks like also around where the guttering sits. These are all apparently stable and the roof is in ok condition generally. However, this still makes me feel sick with anxiety. The worst one is that parts of the loft have been filled in with filler that contains asbestos. We’ve been advised that these should be covered and the sellers have said they will sort this before the sale goes through. But… I’ve been reading into it and now I’m in full panic mode that if the areas haven’t been covered previously then little bits could have come off and be inside the house now. I’ve read even one bit could be dangerous. I can’t get it out of my head and want to pull out of the sale. DH is saying I’m crazy and he can’t proceed with it if im going to be like this but equally he feels we’ve spend hundreds on surveys and should just take the advice to get the problem areas covered and then get on with our lives. The surveyor has been re assuring but he’s not the one going to live there.

I have been worrying so much and just don’t feel comfortable exposing our baby to this. Am I being crazy? Is this a pregnancy induced panic that I will regret if we pull out? Please help!

There are different types of asbestos, and some are riskier than others.

Most houses and buildings before 1990 are likely to contain some asbestos, (1999 is when it was fully banned) but usually part of artex or a concrete asbestos roof. These are generally considered fine to leave alone although no drilling into them or breaking them up. Loose asbestos as insulation is more unusual and as the fibres are easy to disturb it is more dangerous.

There are companies who specialise in asbestos removal, I would find out what type it is (probably white), then call and get quotes and ask vendor to reduce the price by that amount to cover the works. Get it done before you move in. They will be incredibly diligent, wear full PPE and hoover every surface with a bag that cannot let any fibres escape. Check the company’s credentials and their work method - any less than this and I wouldn’t work with them.

With this work it will be as safe as can be - if this won’t reassure you perhaps this is not the place for you.

I think that's a very useful point of view - the few hundred of pounds have potentially saved worry in the future (by giving you information to decide if this house is for you and your family).

I wouldn't want to live in a home with confirmed asbestos, especially with a baby.

It might be fine, but I might need work done to the house that could disturb the asbestos, or the mortgage lender might refuse to lend in these circumstances, or it might be difficult to sell in the future.

Find something else if you can.

This. Sorry OP but there’s no way I would go ahead with this purchase. It’s not your forever home, you’ll also have to declare it when you try to sell.

Just pull out, for reasons others have said. If you go ahead you will never stop being anxious, especially every time anyone in the family gets a cough.
Removal of asbestos could be hugely expensive as disturbing it creates the very particles that cause the problem.

Personally this wouldn't put me off. Your loft is actually classed as an outside space and is unlikely to affect you and your family.

I worked as a plumbing and heating engineer for over 20 years and encountered many forms of asbestos. It is even hidden in artex pre 1990. Gutters, and soil pipes were popular in this material too.

The removal of asbestos is very controlled now, but expensive. A team with suits and tents will remove the asbestos, and you will not be exposed to it.

Talk more with your surveyor about this. It's definitely worth paying under market value for this property so you can afford to get the asbestos safely removed.

You would be extremely unlucky to get asbestosis from this. My ex father in law used to mix asbestos into a paste to insulate pipes without any protection. He remained disease free until he passed in his 70's from dementia. As people have mentioned, the concrete asbestos is very low risk. It's the blue asbestos that is very hazardous.

You pay for a survey to find this stuff out, then you decide what matters to you and what you're willing to overlook or ask the sellers to sort out. We were willing to overlook a lot of things on our house. Because it's 500 years old and we love it! But anything that's going to cost you unacceptable amounts of money or unacceptable hassle or unacceptable anxiety is a deal-breaker. I don't know much about asbestos, other than undisturbed sheets on a garage roof wouldn't worry me, insulation might do, and that might make me too anxious to proceed.

We had asbestos floors, artex and drainpipes, it’s mostly gone now but I understand your fear OP.
My mums house has asbestos cement ceilings and one fell on me as a child. It’s a fear in the back of my mind for the last 30 years that one day it will turn nasty as PP above.
The asbestos I’ve dealt with in my house was the less harmful kind but insulation doesn’t sound like a good one…

My fil died of asbestosis he got in prison, that's a whole other story. Out house has an asbestos roof on the garage, asbestos guttering and the whole thing is that pebble dash wallpaper which is also asbestos. It doesn't concern us as it is undisturbed.

Edit to say artex is the name for the wall covering

Our survey revealed asbestos in the garage roof and under the stairs. No way would we move into a house with asbestos in it, so we got a quote for its removal and dropped our offer by that amount, which was accepted.

I suggest you do similar.

Pebble dashed paper?
Do you mean wood chip paper?
That is literally chips of wood sandwiched in paper, it isn't asbestos.

OP I would look for a different house. Your home is meant to be your sanctuary and you won't relax in this one.

My house was built in the 1970s and we didn’t even get a survey done. Tbh it wouldn’t bother me one bit.

This

All of my artex is asbestos so I got the whole lot skimmed over before I moved in. No longer a problem.

A good number of the people on here saying they would never buy a home with asbestos are probably living in homes with asbestos. Unless you stick to new builds there’s a good chance it is somewhere in your home. Even with a survey you cannot be totally certain- we had one one done and even so as we move through renovations we occasionally encounter material in the fabric of the building that needs to be tested - so far just one bit has been asbestos, but there really is no telling what lurks in places an assessor cannot see.

the good news is that it is largely safe as long as it is undisturbed. The major risks from asbestos occur in those who work with it - the rest of us are living and working in asbestos containing spaces with no ill effects.

I would pull out personally.

I honestly don't know how I would feel about this but, from what you have said, if you proceed you will never have a moments peace. Always remember anything which costs you your peace of mind isn't worth it.
There will be other houses this one is not the house for you and that's OK.

Nah. Loads of stuff has asbestos. Not really a huge issue anymore

Its popularity was really 1920s - 1970s.

Agree. They will only test the easy to get to areas. We had the whole house tested and they only chipped off one piece of artex on one ceiling!
we uncover tiles from time to time which contain it.

Asbestos is a naturally ocurring mineral, in some parts of the country it is always in the air in trace amounts, wind blowing across factory rooftops that have asbestos "big six" panelling carries small amounts of asbestos - it was also commercially used in, to name but a few things

Paint
Artex
Plastics
Roofing Sheets
Guttering
Pipe insulation
Gasket Paper
Filters
etc etc...

Its everywhere, visit a building with it in, particularly in an open roof (ie inside a barn) you will certainly inhale a fibre.

Now the good news, only Crocidolite & Amosite (Blue & Brown) are so dangerous that a fibre can kill. More commonly Chrysotile (White) was used - it important to note that whilst Chrysotile is in the same broad family of serpentine silicate minerals, it is quite different from the former two.

Chrysotile is nowhere near as deadly as the others, the fibre and chemical structures are different, it is unknown for certain if it can cause Mesothelioma (the cancer related to asbestos) it might in some rare cases, what it does cause is Asbestosis, which is a type of silicosis which diminishes lung capacity over time, and is caused by inhaling fairly significant quantities (ie: occupational)

Just knowing you have asbestos is like just knowing you have a tree, it tells you little, a proper asbestos survey will tell you the type, risks and required remediation.

In most cases, if left un-distrubed, asbestos is safe.

Asbestos is OK as long as it isn't broken, when it can get into the atmosphere. Blue is more dangerous than white. All sorts of places are insulated with asbestos nd it is quite safe if not disturbed.

When building works are done and asbestos is present, specialists are employed to remove it; they set up a secure enclosure, wear protective clothing and masks, have to bag and seal the asbestos before taking to a designated disposal place, thoroughly vacuum the enclosure, and very importantly the air is tested for any fibres. There is more to it than that but those are the basics.

I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, op.

My guess is your uncle worked with it and was disturbing it, before they knew how dangerous it was like alot of people where back then. My ex fil also became every ill layer on in life which was a result off working with asbestos bk in the 60s they has no idea off the dangers and would pick it up with bear hands bk then!

Yes, but even older properties will have had updates during that period which might include asbestos - we are in a much older period property and despite it being largely neglected throughout the 20th century we still have asbestos. And asbestos was used into the 90s - unless you have a new build you really cannot be confident there is none in your home.

I don't think you would ever be able to relax in the house,no matter how many people try to reassure you. A house is a big investment, better to pull out now than go ahead and be forever worrying.