Asbestos may be present in ceiling according to survey - should I still buy?

[Snoopy10]

We are buying a house which may have asbestos in ceiling according to the survey. Not sure what to do if the test comes back positive to several rooms. Do I go ahead and get it covered or removed once in? Do I ask the seller to deal with it first or ask for the cost of dealing with it off the asking price - Or just forget the whole thing? Any previous experience with asbestos in ceilings appreciated. Don't want to make things difficult for sellers or use it as leverage for lower price - it's just that I'm paying asking price for house so don't have budget left for major renovations. Thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to answer this.

Asbestos is fine unless damaged. So it would be an issue if you wanted to pull the ceilings down, or if they are damaged. If thats the case it is a professional company needed and a chunk of money. Otherwise there is no implication to it. How old is the house? Asbestos was only used before 1980s so if ceilings done after that they won't be asbestos.

Is it in one of those patterned ceilings? I can't remember the name of them! If so, I understand it's no problem as long as it's not disturbed and if you do want to change the ceilings you could plaster over it or make sure a builder removed it properly.

I don't think it's a problem or unusual though.

Artex, presumably.

Date of house? Surveyor arse covering or possible?

As above - harmless if undisturbed.

If its artex it's no problem unless it's disturbed, as previous poster says.

This came up on the survey for our 1930s house when we bought it 5.5 years ago - as per PP it's fine if left alone. It was only in the main bedroom which was the only room in the house that had the patterned artex on theceiling and above the picture rails. We only decorated that room a couple of years ago and had it skimmed purely because I didn't like the look of the artex, rather than anything to do with the asbestos.

I bought a house with so much rated in it, I'm surprised they didn't use it for the floors.

No one cared, no money was taken off, we were just given the advice as above about removal/damage.

I had it all skimmed, as I was sick to death of ripping my hands to shreds every time I carried a basket of washing up the stairs.

rated = artex

This is really worrying me as a few weeks ago my DH put his foot through the loft and made a hole in the artex ceiling. We were all around nearby at the time and he cleared up the mess.
I keep worrying about it although like dh says it's done now & we can't change it.
The plasterer who came to repair it didn't seem concerned and has now repaired the hole & we've painted over but I can't stop worrying about it 😟

How old is your house?

Asbestos was used within textured coating (artex) up until approximately 1992. Textured coating contained 2 - 5% asbestos fibre which was bond within the coating. Textured coating is a composite material, meaning its self sealed.

Low asbestos content, self sealed material makes textured coatings a very low risk asbestos material.

To confirm if the material contains asbestos you should have it tested. A sample of the ceiling should be collected and sent for analysis at a UKAS accredited asbestos testing laboratory.

Cheapest way is to send a sample to the lab yourself. Analysis cost approx £10+ vat

If you want a professional to come out and sample the material the cost should be approx £95 + Vat

Thank you so much for all the replies. Very reassuring.Sorry to hear if your worry Honey1975 I have since read you can get air testing for asbestos but might be a bit late for that now. You could still call the experts - sure they would put your mind at ease. I imagine as it has been everywhere for so long there would be a much higher incidence of the poisoning reported by homeowners by now if it were that bad. Good to know that the percentage is so low Munsy. Will call Lab on Tuesday and get testing. It was built around 1980 according to survey but no exact date. Fingers crossed it is asbestos free otherwise plastering seems a good option. Thank you all so much for your replies and taking the time to share your experiences- vey kind X

There is strange legacy regarding asbestos. Approximately 5,000 people per year die from an asbestos related disease. More people die from exposure to asbestos than road traffic accidents. It's estimated that 2 million houses contain asbestos, however there is no direct legislation covering asbestos in privately owned domestic premises. Make sure you get an asbestos survey completed before purchasing any property. Even if the asbestos is in a good condition and poses no immediate risk, as a minimum you should use the results of the survey as a bargaining tool.

Hope this helps. Happy to help if you need any further assistance.

In the real world, there is so much artex around that it is not a bargaining tool (!) In older houses. If you want to avoid it totally, buy a newer house.

Not good stuff, but can be dealt with safely and the risk removed.

Thanks all - decided to get it skimmed over before we move in. It is only on ceilings and is in good condition - so will get lights fitted at same time and then should be able to leave it.

Snoopy could you pls advise what sort of cost it is to have it skimmed as we are in same situation with house we're buying. ..thanks

I'm in the same boat. The houses I'm looking at tend to have a lot of artex in, and it worries me. To have it removed is time consuming and a messy job and depending on how good the removal company is, there could be some floating around.

The cheapest option is to leave it, but simple things like hanging a picture frame on the wall or adding new light fixtures etc would mean you disturb it leaking asbestos around.

At the moment, I'm avoiding it due to the hassle but I'd definitely try to negotiate a lower price especially for the hassle.

We bought a 1930s house with a load of artex so same thing came up in survey. Got an asbestos professional in as we were rewiring and it turns out those ceilings did not have Asbestos in it. There was only one ceiling in the loft bathroom with it, and some lino type flooring hidden under the carpet, and part of garage roof. For the most part it wasn't too expensive or time consuming for them to remove it though. So now I am happy in the knowledge we can drill through anything :)