Looking to buy dream home.. Then I suspect Abestos

[Nindy21]

Good Evening Parents, I hope you can help or at least put my mind at ease. I recently viewed a lovely, affordable house in Bagshot, Surrey and on the second viewing noticed that all the ceilings had a popcorn style finish. The property was built in 1973 and the current owners confirmed that the ceiling has been the same since they bought it 28 years ago. They've only painted it to maintain it.
Now, I've a 3 year old daughter who means the world to me and I cannot afford at any cost to bring her into contact or even near this material. Does anyone have any thoughts or experiences on buying a house with Asbestos? How did you deal with it? Was there a large cost involved? Is it even worth it? I've just got an email through regarding a valuation that the bank will be doing and I'm also looking to get a separate test on the ceilings for Asbestos. Please help and or advise if you have any thoughts whatsoever.

I apologise in advance if I've opened the incorrect thread, or coming across a little naive here.

Many Thanks
N21

Well, the tests will tell you if it is present, and if so you can have it removed. Yes, it will be expensive, but the house price should reflect that.

Do you have good reason to suspect asbestos? It's unlikely to be there at that age. Also asbestos that is contained in a substrate that is not loose or is otherwise sealed (paint ) is not a direct hazard unless you are drilling or cutting. Whilst is hanging there its no threat, the cheapest solution is probably to over tack with plasterboard and then plaster, just be sure to earn anyone who needs to cut into the ceiling.

Popcorn style finish could be woodchip wallpaper or artex - I agree with pp it's not the right sort of age to be asbestos, but if it is you could adjust the price of the house accordingly to get it removed (maybe£ 2-4K ish) not a disaster imo

Artex contained asbestos until it was finally banned in 1999, so it is possible that if it's an Artex ceiling it could contain asbestos in a pre-2000 house. Testing will tell you for certain. It is only a risk if disturbed, so as engineersthumb says it's best managed by covering with plasterboard and skimming, and then making anyone who may need to drill into it aware.

Asbestos is only harmful when it gets damaged and specks of it get into the air. We where buying a house and survey brought up that the ceilings where likely asbestos and one was damaged, so didn't buy the house. Next house we went to buy, survey brought up ceilings where likely asbestos but none where broken so we bought the house and will get them tested when we can afford to do some upgrades - when you start looking for it, that style ceiling is everywhere so ignoring houses with it will take a large percentage of houses out of your options

Thank you for your speedy responses, I really do appreciate it.
So, previously I looked at a property in Ashford, Middlesex and again it was very nice. I actually had an offer accepted and then the surveyor reported that the property could have Asbestos - I was scared to my wits and didn't go ahead with the purchase. I guess partly it was down to the vendor who did not even consider negotiating the original sale price.
I think the main concern is knowing that the Asbestos is present, Having to be extremely careful when working in the house and or when changing lights - It's my first home which I'd be saving forever for and then I feel like I'd be treading on eggshells whenever a mini DIY project comes along - however small the project maybe.

I'm going to engage a surveyor to test the material and take it from there. I also noted in one of the bedrooms they had a old water tank with a red blanket around it. I'd probably get all that removed but I'm assuming now that the red blanket may also be some sort of Asbestos.

Now that I've said all of this, in years to come what if another buyer is concerned with the same thing?

Maybe I'm worrying too much, I wish it is and turns out to be nothing.
I will share my findings here as soon as I get feedback. Thank you again.

N21

If it's a big red puffy jacket on the hot water cylinder it is probably going to be glass fibre insulation.

The water tank jacket is not going to be asbestos. Asbestos lagging wasn't ever packaged that way as far as I'm aware. I wouldn't worry, arrange a test with the vendors to put your mind at rest. Hopefully there is no asbestos present, even if there is drilling a small hole in an asbestos substrate is not going to be fatal, keep it moist when working, wear a p3 mask and clean up well and you'll be fine. It's dangerous when handled poorly or not identified.

Asbestos is just as much a risk to you as to the kid, and at the moment you are more important.

You can get the ceilings removed and replaced by a specialist contractor. You also need to be better informed. Surveyors don't test ceilings so this warning will come up on most houses.

I think you worry too much. An awful lot (I would almost say the majority) of standard red brick builds from the 70's and 80's have artex ceilings, which more than likely contains an element of asbestos, because that is the way it was made. If you leave it alone it is harmless. If you don't like it, it can be covered in various ways and skimmed. We have done this in our bathroom, simply because the artexer had gone mad in there and done 'artistic' swirly patterns! The rest of the ceilings in the original house have the less offensive bobbly look. Covering it is a messy job and could be expensive for a whole house. As for reducing price because of it - well, I wouldn't lower the price of this house (not that it's for sale) because I don't see it as a problem, and I wouldn't ask for a lower price if I was buying a house with artex. There are so many things to worry about that are genuinely harmful (diesel particulates if you live on a busy road, for example), I think you are picking up on the wrong thing personally.

I think you're worrying far too much.

If it concerns you to this degree, I wouldn't advocate buying any house built before 2000.

An undamaged artex ceiling is no risk to health and will afford some protection should there ever be a house fire. To improve it cosmetically it can be skimmed over or plasterboarded over and skimmed and precautions taken when work is undertaken - to stop fibres getting into the air. Alternatively, it can be removed, which is a big, messy job and requires specialist contractors.

TBH, removing artex is probably a bigger risk because of the disturbance involved than leaving it in situ. Asbestos is often also in soffits, and again is best left alone if in good condition, otherwise it can be enclosed with new plastic soffits.

You sound completely hysterical TBH. Are you anxious in general or just about asbestos (which isn't a danger if undisturbed)

If it concerns you to this degree, I wouldn't advocate buying any house built before 2000.

^This

I think you should look for new builds, rather than spending money on surveys and specialists because i think the thought of asbestos is going to stress you out a lot. The first flat I owned had asbestos walls and roof, and I've lived to tell the tale.

Thank you for your input - I've really appreciated it. Based on the comments all of you and my immediate friends and colleagues I've decided to go with the survey and see what we find.
In the worst case scenario I guess I can no longer buy but in the case of a little asbestos, I will take your comments on board and skim/cover the ceilings, that of course is if the ceiling don't look too low. But it seems like this is something that is in every property and if everyone was as concerned as me, they'd be a lot more properties on the market due to this and nobody buying them. I will keep you all posted on the outcome and once again I'm so glad I signed up to Mumsnet - I'm overwhelmed with the kind words and help I'm getting from everyone. Many Thanks

Morning All

I wanted to provide you all with an update. I finally got the results back for the Asbestos testing. We received a "All Clear" based on checks on the Living Room ceiling and the bathroom ceiling.
I'm delighted and grateful to each and everyone of you who showed general concern for my query.

Have a great day and lovely weekend!

Many Thanks