Dust in loft - asbestos?

[jkgray]

I have a circa 1900 terraced house where the loft has been converted by the previous owners.

The loft space is very cold however as when you look into the eaves cupboards there is nothing between the underside of the tiles which are backed in part with what looks like the original cement type material and the inside of the cupboards. This results in a huge draughts so much so that it can actually blow the cupboard doors open!

The 'cement' clearly contains fibrous material (like horsehair) and has a crumbly appearance (like paper mache).

I am about to try and insulate the area but before I do so have one concern which may be completely unfounded but thought I get a few views:

There is a lot of dust in the cupboards, presumably where the wind has blown through.

Is there much chnace that this dust could be asbestos containing? Would the 'cement' on the back of roof tiles contain asbestos?

 

[big-all]

not shure why you think it may contain asbestos!!

the only asbestos you are likley to come across was used on thin boards and corrogated sheets of around 6-9mm thick and insulation

if you have normal roof tiles like everyone else your fine

asbestos was mainly used in the 50 and60s

 

[jkgray]

Thanks for reply.

Reason for my concern is that the 'cement' clearly contains fibrous material (like horsehair) and has a crumbly appearance (like paper mache).

 

[big-all]

ok fair enough

do they look like the other tiles you see on roofs around you!!

http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/gallery.htm

 

[justlead1]

Hi, It probably is animal hair it was used in the mortar to bond it together, you may well notice similar in the mortar associated with plaster and lathe ceilings / walls. The only negative side being the donating horses never won The National. Good luck

 

[jkgray]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Have looked at those photos on the HSE site. Doesn't look like any of those.

Tiles look like all the other tiles around me. We are in a conservation area so no-one (including us) could rpelace them even if they wanted to.

In any event, I am not really concerned about the tiles themselves as they just look like standard tiles it is the 'cement' material that is on the underside of the tiles that is what I am worried could be asbestos containing. There is no felt underneath the tiles. House dates from about 1900 so perhaps pre-felt days?