Asbestos in textured ceiling?

[Rich Lord]

I recently had a survey done on a house we are looking to buy.

The report on the ceiling said this:
"Ceilings are of plasterboard. A textured finish has been applied to some ceilings. It is now known that such finishes may contain low levels of asbestos. These appear to be in satisfactory condition at present and should present no health risk if undisturbed. Ceilings appear to be in generally satisfactory condition. Condition rating 1".

Most people will probably gloss over (no pun intended) this as it was condition rating 1, but we, like many others who aren't experts have fears about the mention of asbestos.

We would like to remove the possibility of any asbestos. We have commissioned a test to be performed on the ceilings and sincerely hope that it comes back negative. Having read this excellent forum, I have become a little more reassured that it shouldn't pose a risk.

We are not sure of what level 'if undisturbed' would consist of. We wish to remove the ceiling fan in the lounge. We wish to change the light fittings too. Would these be considered as disturbing?

If the report comes back positive, can someone give me a ballpark finger in the air price of how much it would cost to replace a ceiling / irradicate all asbestos that measures 18' x 11'. Are we likely to be talking few hundred quid, or over a grand or more? Would it likely to just need to remove the current surface and replaster over and paint?

 

[Charlie613]

Hi,

I had the same issue, the bank surveyor stating that sealing may consist some asbestos, so we had an asbestos survey and it came back positive. But it was considered low risk, however we didn't like the idea of having asbestos at home so we informed our Plasterer that there are low risk asbestos in the ceiling, we showed him the asbestos report. We just wanted him to be aware of it before he starts his job, however he was not bothered at all. He said that it is very a very common asbestos and can be removed by any builder by just wearing a mask on the face. So I saved myself quite alot of money. I did get a quote from a professional firm to remove it, I can't remember the exact figure but it was in the low £1000 for the whole hallway walls and some ceilings.

Hope this helps.

Charlie