Nice house...but has asbestos

[Ichinisan]

If it has asbestos insulation, they may have to rip out all the walls and essentially do a total gut.

That would practically guarantee exposure, right? I mean, how do you inhale asbestos particles when you aren't cutting it and ripping it up?

 

[NesuD]

Thanks for the replies!

Well, what I know is that the house was built in the 1940's. The asbestos is in the exterior siding, but not AFAIKT from the interior.

That's not friable asbestos so removing it is a fairly straight forward process. A licensed abatement company should be able to give you a fairly reasonable quote for removing it. I am thinking that you will still be way ahead having it removed and residing the house.

 

[zinfamous]

That would practically guarantee exposure, right? I mean, how do you inhale asbestos particles when you aren't cutting it and ripping it up?

That's why they put up plastic sealed tents over the house with negative pressure and wear tyvex suits with oxygen tanks for that type of removal. It's no joke.


For the siding...I would probably just leave it on and go for the bargain. Unless OP's plan is to rent that out. You probably have to disclose that, and good luck finding any kind of decent tenants that are willing to live there. That said, it should still be a bargain with the cost of removal for the siding...I think.

 

[cyclohexane]

Holy shit! Where do you live that you can get a house for $60k?

 

[TwiceOver]

Holy shit! Where do you live that you can get a house for $60k?

It's amazing what you can get when you don't want to live in a major city.

 

[IronWing]

But why remove it?

Risk aversion. Regulations can change and there may come a time when you can't sell a house with asbestos and disposal becomes even more expensive.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Asbestos is fine as long as you don't touch it!

If you go around America and look at the schools, many of them were build in the 50s/60s and 70s. All have asbestos THROUGHOUT!

Heck our public schools are full of it. Kids seem to be doing just fine.

Just be aware of the dangers and triggers. Leave it along and it will be just fine!

 

[Vdubchaos]

Risk aversion. Regulations can change and there may come a time when you can't sell a house with asbestos and disposal becomes even more expensive.

It's simply a buyers tactic to lower the price......Regulation changes and other what ifs are irrelevant.

 

[NetWareHead]

But why remove it? My childhood home had asbestos siding and that stuff was fine. I thought it looked better than most vinyl siding options, could take a beating, and had none of the mold problems I am experiencing with the siding on my own house.

As long as you didn't remove it, it was fine. I think my parents had to disclose it when it was sold but it was such a common occurrence based on the age of the neighborhood it was a non-issue.

Agree with this. Its a shame it is not made anymore. That asbestos siding lasts forever and stays looking newer than vinyl siding.

OP, find out what kind of asbestos they are talking about. If it is asbestos lined pipes/ducts, that will be a problem although you could remove it yourself as Dr. Pizza described. You are going to need in your lifetime a heating system replacement and that will have to touch/replace the pipes.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Agree with this. Its a shame it is not made anymore. That asbestos siding lasts forever and stays looking newer than vinyl siding.

OP, find out what kind of asbestos they are talking about. If it is asbestos lined pipes/ducts, that will be a problem although you could remove it yourself as Dr. Pizza described. You are going to need in your lifetime a heating system replacement and that will have to touch/replace the pipes.

Agreed the vinyl siding used on my house attracts mildew and is pretty fragile.

 

[desura]

Agree with this. Its a shame it is not made anymore. That asbestos siding lasts forever and stays looking newer than vinyl siding.

OP, find out what kind of asbestos they are talking about. If it is asbestos lined pipes/ducts, that will be a problem although you could remove it yourself as Dr. Pizza described. You are going to need in your lifetime a heating system replacement and that will have to touch/replace the pipes.

Will do. Thanks.

So I have to worry about Asbestos and Lead in this house. How to test for lead? Anything else I ought to look out for in a 1940's vintage house?

Oh, and asbestos siding could just be sealed, right? Like, spray a sealant on it and be good?

 

[DrPizza]

There are test kits for lead. If you're not sanding the paint, you're fine. The only realistic danger with lead is if you have flaking paint and kids. Apparently, lead paint flakes taste sweet to kids. Yum! Better than corn flakes.

Given that type of a price drop, I'd check on a couple of things:
1. How much will it cost if you have an asbestos abatement company remove it, and how much will it cost for new siding?
2. What's the area like, as far as permits and stuff? In my area, if your entire house was asbestos shingles, no one would give two shits if you decided to carefully remove them yourself. My neighbor's is, and we've been expecting them to do this for a few years. When we cleaned our barn years ago, we found a huge pile of leftover asbestos shingles that match the side of their house - checked to see if they wanted them, they didn't, so just filled a couple boxes and took them to the landfill. Is it a job you can do yourself? Also, if it is, then you can probably install the vinyl siding yourself - 90% of the work is incredibly easy. Maybe even hire a person to do the trim around the windows, then do all the siding yourself.

 

[Imp]

That would practically guarantee exposure, right? I mean, how do you inhale asbestos particles when you aren't cutting it and ripping it up?

... Jesus?

That's why they put up plastic sealed tents over the house with negative pressure and wear tyvex suits with oxygen tanks for that type of removal. It's no joke.

It's Tyvek. Know your overlords' names, you capitalist whore...

 

[slag]

I'm not convinced asbesos is even bad for you. I mean, We had it at the grade school I attended along with lead paint. I licked the wall daily and have never had any issues.

 

[NetWareHead]

Will do. Thanks.

So I have to worry about Asbestos and Lead in this house. How to test for lead? Anything else I ought to look out for in a 1940's vintage house?

Oh, and asbestos siding could just be sealed, right? Like, spray a sealant on it and be good?

You only have to worry about the asbestos that is friable; that can flake and throw airborne fibers. Usually only pipe, boiler/furnace duct or other kinds of thermal insulation poses any concern. If you have asbestos siding, tiles, popcrn celing etc... you are generally safe as the asbestos is locked into the tile,siding etc... If you remove this, you run the risk of damaging or cracking the siding and possible releasing fibers.

In general, most of the time asbestos is best left alone. Your mortgage lendor or FHA might make you abate the asbestos before they guarantee the loan. Another major exceptio: if you have asbestos heating pipes, ducts or a boiler covered with it, that would be a showstopper for me. You will most likely need a heating system upgrade/repair in an old house or in your lifetime and presence of asbestos is going to be something you will need to deal with down the road somewhere. Plumbers know asbestos insulation and most wont work on it. Meaning when you call a plumber for a no-heat condition in February, he is going to recognize an asbestos insulated boiler and refuse the job. He goes back to his warm house while you (and your pipes) freeze.

House built in 1940, for sure it has lead paint. Dont even bother testing because its all they used back then. Be on the lookout for flaking paint that chips off

Also: Home depot has lead test kits in the paint aisle I beleive.

 

[Imp]

There are test kits for lead. If you're not sanding the paint, you're fine. The only realistic danger with lead is if you have flaking paint and kids. Apparently, lead paint flakes taste sweet to kids. Yum! Better than corn flakes.

I'm not an expert on lead, not a doctor, bla bla bla...

Eating lead paint is one part of it.

The other part is lead dust that you can breathe in or unknowingly eat. Every time you rub up against a wall, or have some wind/water weather a wall, a little bit comes off. You may not see it, but it's there. Over a couple years or decades, that exposure adds up.

The lead layers have probably been covered up with safer paints over the decades, but if it chips off or wears down far enough, boom, lead.

 

[zinfamous]

There are test kits for lead. If you're not sanding the paint, you're fine. The only realistic danger with lead is if you have flaking paint and kids. Apparently, lead paint flakes taste sweet to kids. Yum! Better than corn flakes.

So you're saying a taste test is both effective and cheap?

 

[Imp]

House built in 1940, for sure it has lead paint. Dont even bother testing because its all they used back then. Be on the lookout for flaking paint that chips off

Also: Home depot has lead test kits in the paint aisle I beleive.

The "better" testing device is supposedly some x-ray spectrometer for a couple grand. May be available for a rental or hire a guy. But x-rays, yo.

 

[Jumpem]

1940s?

That house lived through the "lead is safe" era so there's probably a layer or two inside. Just another thing to think about...

Yup. Lead paint remediation as well.

 

[NutBucket]

Meh, just paint over it. If you're not eating it don't worry about it.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Well Romans loved lead acetate as a sugar substitute.

 

[lykaon78]

Will do. Thanks.

So I have to worry about Asbestos and Lead in this house. How to test for lead? Anything else I ought to look out for in a 1940's vintage house?

Oh, and asbestos siding could just be sealed, right? Like, spray a sealant on it and be good?

If you are truly talking about asbestos exterior siding, you need to do nothing. Leave it or paint it if you want but as long as you leave it alone, you'll never have a problem. Wear a mask if you need to drill into it to install a light fixture but that is as concerned as you need to get.

I think asbestos exposure is overblown. The guys that were getting asbestosis and other similar lung conditions were working day-in and day-out with the stuff inhaling the fibers. Even if you abated you whole home without a mask you'd probably never develop any long-term problems. Just don't do 50 homes.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Unless there's some stupid regulation or other BS of that sort that would make your life a head ache, I would not really worry about it, especially if you don't plan on any major renovations. If you do plan then just use proper precautions. For mold and asbestos one of the main keys is minimizing the dust. You want to wet everything, and in some cases seal off the area.

You probably ingest more toxins in your body eating produce that has been soaked in all sorts of pesticides, or food that has all sorts of weird questionable ingredients that are eventually found out to cause cancer.

 

[zinfamous]

Well Romans loved lead acetate as a sugar substitute.

I can't wait for the "Roman diet" to start showing up at the local health food stores.

 

[Gunbuster]

I think asbestos exposure is overblown.

More like Asbestos is a proven money printer. All the marketing is to make the homeowner freak the hell out. Then a guy or two show up with $50 worth of supplies (Mask, Tyvek Suit, plastic, tape) and walk out an hour later $3000 richer.

Asbestos, Radon, and Lead paint are a gold mine for exploiting homeowners.