Likelihood of asbestos?

[SparklingJoyous]

Hi
I bought my first property earlier this year and in the survey they did mention potential of asbestos in the ceiling of the lounge, it is a typical popcorn effect ceiling. As it is in good condition we were advised as long as it isn't disturbed it's fine, we're planning to get it skimmed over when we can afford to.
We noticed elsewhere in the house there's no nails in the walls etc at all so previous owners had no pictures up... we were just wondering what the potential of there being asbestos in the walls? Nothing mentioned in the survey. House was built in 1970s and is a terraced. Is it safe to put nails/drill into the walls? I've not heard of asbestos being in walls before until I googled it.

Is there swirly plaster on the walls (apologies but I have forgotten all the words for things today).

No its a patterned wallpaper which has been painted over

Artex ?

You can get kits to test them. All of the ceilings in our house had artex, but none of them had asbestos (thank goodness!).

More than likely be fine if it's wall paper. After is what most people need to be worried about but that's not what you have. You can buy home testing asbestos kits from Amazon if your really worried 😁

Yep thanks gas. That was the word I lost!

because you can't tell if artex contains asbestos without testing, any artex installed prior to when such ingredient was legally banned from inclusion in artex in 1999 one should assume it contains asbestos and therefore needs testing to give a definitive yes or no.

Testing kits readily available for modest cost

if answer is yes then skimming over is the cheap solution that is generally considered to be the answer provided you don't then start drilling holes in it.

If the the walls don't have artex then it is unlikely that they have asbestos in. You can get plasterboard with asbestos in it but it was mostly used to maintain fire breaks in commercial buildings as it is heavier and pricier than normal plasterboard. Like others have said, you cantest it pretty easily if you want peace of mind.

It’s the artex that potentially contains asbestos. If they are normal smooth plastered wallls, rather than textured ones, then highly unlikely to be any asbestos in them. If there was a slight chance of it then the survey would have mentioned it.

Thanks for replies
Just to add over the last few days I've noticed cracks in the ceiling!
Please can anyone advise on best action to take? Is this safe? Would it be best to skim over it.. is it safe to plaster over it if it's cracking? Sorry for being clueless.
I'm scared that the fibres are in the air!

Another photo

Skimming over is the safest course of action.
The only other alternative is to board over but in order to do so the builders would need to fix the board back through to the joists which means through the asbestos too, so a no no
As a temporary measure you could put flexible filler or tap the joint. Wear a mask when doing so,move furniture out of the way and throw one of those cheap plastic dust sheets down just in case.

@Stirabout Thank you

We had a survey done. Nit in any if the ceilings but was in floor tiles in one room. Had no idea it could be in tiles

Yes old vinyl floor tiles.
People assume asbestos was rarely used in homes but it could be anywhere
artex, tiling, insulation around pipes or a boiler, roof coverings etc.
It’s wise to assume the worst always as asbestosis is a truly horrible condition.
Never put it in your bin either, local councils have places for its safe disposal.