Nice house...but has asbestos

[Dude111]

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

Why bother?

People used that stuff MANY YEARS w/o issue....... Its supposed to be very good insulation!

www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infsisters/infasbestos.html


Just dont breath it in if you go into your attic!!

 

[Red Squirrel]

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.

Pretty much. Yeah they are dangerous, but it's not rocket science to work with them either. Being around them on it's own is not really dangerous either, it's when you disturb them.

I find electrical tends to be blown out of proportion too. You normally have to do something really stupid to create a hazard. Plumbing actually scares me more than electrical, though I still do my own and never had issues. In electrical if you don't make something tight enough, it might burn up a little inside the junction box and open the circuit and that's that. In plumbing if you don't make something tight enough, it might work fine for 5 years, then decide to let go while you're on a 2 week vacation and flood your basement.

 

[squirrel dog]

cover it with acrylic latex exterior paint .

 

[desura]

Okay, so how do I identify asbestos in the interior? I'm going to do a in person inspection soon.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Hire a professional to do the ENTIRE HOUSE assessment for you. You will need their expertise. they will be able to tell what might be hiding behind the walls depending on the year of the house etc.

I know my share when it comes to houses as I've been working on them for years....I would still spend a bit and hire someone, just for a piece of mind.

Just make sure they are experienced and have plenty of knowledge. That's what you are paying for, not for them too look around/lock windows and tell you that the lock is broke.....

 

[NutBucket]

Okay, so how do I identify asbestos in the interior? I'm going to do a in person inspection soon.

AFAIK usual places for asbestos inside include insulation (wall, pipes, hvac) and flooring.

 

[desura]

So I got a chance to visit the house.

Here are a few photos of the more suspicious items:

I actually assume this is just insulation.

This is the inside at the bottom of a wood laminate interior panel, and it is the most suspicious piece.

It was a pretty weird house to be in. Like, it appears there was a flood of some sort and the family living there evacuated in a hurry. Like, they left behind family photos, television set, mother's day gifts, all sorts of stuff. And some good looking dressers. And it has been abandoned for a year.

The exterior has wood paneling, so I don't know where the asbestos is. I couldn't locate it.

From the inside, I'm actually not that worried about lead paint either, as there aren't really any painted surfaces.

There are significant drainage problems. Like, it's on a hillside and there's no drainage system on the upper part of the hill.

I dunno. If the house were in good shape, I'd love to have it, as the location is nice, but it looks like significant work is needed. It may even require just tearing it down and starting all over.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

So I got a chance to visit the house.

Here are a few photos of the more suspicious items:

I actually assume this is just insulation.

This is the inside at the bottom of a wood laminate interior panel, and it is the most suspicious piece.

It was a pretty weird house to be in. Like, it appears there was a flood of some sort and the family living there evacuated in a hurry. Like, they left behind family photos, television set, mother's day gifts, all sorts of stuff. And some good looking dressers. And it has been abandoned for a year.

The exterior has wood paneling, so I don't know where the asbestos is. I couldn't locate it.

From the inside, I'm actually not that worried about lead paint either, as there aren't really any painted surfaces.

There are significant drainage problems. Like, it's on a hillside and there's no drainage system on the upper part of the hill.

I dunno. If the house were in good shape, I'd love to have it, as the location is nice, but it looks like significant work is needed. It may even require just tearing it down and starting all over.

We looked at several like this, run down evictions.
The risk is if you can't get a traditional mortgage, like its not safe to live in then you need a construction loan. Those have a much shorter term like 4 years. Basically you end up paying much more per month and you have to watch your budget closely and account for overruns if you don't you end up with a half finished house you end up forfeiting to the bank. You also have to be very realistic because once the work is complete the bank may value it less than what's left on the construction loan which ends bad too.
Projects like these aren't impossible but you have to take it seriously and if you have a spouse they have to be 100% on board too.

Don't stress too much about drainage. French drains are pretty easy to do or have done.

 

[Squisher]

Asbestos can also be present in the form of vermiculite insulation.

 

[Printer Bandit]

Clear it out asbestos you can.