Asbestos Dry Lining?

[Hughie]

Hi
The house is Victorian - 9 inch solid walls with render - mostly dry lined.
I am gradually replacing the dry lining so as to add insulation. I have just stripped the wallpaper in a bedroom and discovered that one of the walls is lined with cement baords rather han plasterboard.
I estimate the current dry lining was installed around 1960 - how likely is it that these boards are asbestos-cement? How can I tell and what are my options if they are?
As it is a kids bedroom I would really like to remove them rather than seal them up.
Thanks
Hughie

 

[gday2uk]

There are lots of people on here with opinions about what should and shouldn't be done when someone questions whether something is asbestos or not and I'm sure they'll be along soon.
The cheapest, quickest and easiest way to deal with it would be to overboard and forget about it. I would have thought it more dangerous to start removing them rather than to leave them alone.

 

[jeds]

First of all, have it tested. Then you will know for sure what you are dealing with.

Take a small sample. Seal it in a plastic bag. Take it to a local test lab - there are loads about. Look for environmental services on Yell.com. You will soon find one. Cost will be about £25...ish.

If your not sure get the company in to take a sample for you. They will probably wear a space suit when doing so but that's just to prepare you for the eyewatering cost they will quote you to remove the stuff.

When sampling, take sensible precautions. Wet the sample area with water from a spray gun. Wear a dust mask. break or cut out a small patch. Have something on hand to paint over (to seal) the damaged area. Some old paint should do for now. Don't hoover the dust - that will just spread it about the place.

Secondly, don't panic until you know what it is. If it is chrysotile asbestos cement then it's not impossible to remove yourself. Your local authority tip will dispose of it as long as it is properly double bagged and taped. If you decide to do this you must take precautions though. Ask again.

In asbestos cement boards the asbestos fibres are largely bound within the cement and pose a low risk. To put it into context, Artex textured coating - of which there are hundreds of thousands of acres on walls all over the country - is a notifiable material. Asbestos cement is not.

Finally, gdaytu is right. It is usually best to overboard the stuff. But I would think twice if it was one of the nasty asbestos types. You won't know that until you have it tested.

 

[^woody^]

Cement boards from the 60s will almost certainly be asbestos based

These will be perfectly safe if left and boarded over, and this will carry less risk than removing them and all the work involved in that.

You just need to remember that any subsequent holes drilled in the wall or such work will require some care.

 

[alittlerespect]

Asbestos cement sheeting (ACS) would be the most likely candidate for the time period that you have mentioned. ACS is fine so long as it is left alone - you can paint it directly (but whatever you do don't rub any of the exposed board down with sandpaper, or you can use lining paper if needed then paint the walls, or if you really want to make a difference (assuming the wall cladding is soundly fixed) you could stick say a 50mm or 80mm urethane insulated plasterboard directly to the existing wallboard, tape and joint and paint (1 mist coat and 2 full coats of either matt or silk emulsion paint) and forget the problem ever existed. A further absolute 'no' 'no' is not to drill holes for fixings through the ACS as this would release too many airbourne asbestos fibres and would be a danger to you and your families health.

Final solution - if you decide you really can't live with the wallboard, get a licensed contractor to provide a quote to remove the wallboard, however, you may find the wallboard was installed to cope with a condensation problem, in which case if you remove the board you will need to reinstate with some other material and you may find the cost of such a solution to be prohibitively expensive and you may prefer to hide the board.

Regards

 

[Hughie]

Thanks all
I've since discovered that the chimney breast area over the (disused) fireplace in the same room is also boarded in the same fashion - I suspect because of an earlier damp problem from the open flues behind (now properly ventilated)
The other external wall (it has 2) in the same room is boarded with plasterboard from the same era so it is a curious mixture. As the whole reason behind this is to improve insulation I will investigate the insulated board on top technique.

H