Asbestos in plaster
- Thread starter omph
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D
Deleted member 174758
Sometimes, but not often, and a very long time ago. So, how old is the house? And is it an ex-council property? Asbestos products were completely banned in the UK construction industry at the end of 1999, but they started to phase them out from the late 1980s onwards and I can't recall asbestos plaster additives being used in my working lifetime (about 50 years, but that isn't to say they weren't) IMHO asbestos was more commonly used in council properties/publicly owned housing than private builds and you generally won't find asbestos in lime plaster (lath and plaster was common until the late 1920s/early 1930s when it started to be replaced by plasterboard and gypsum plaster). So age of building and provenance are significant indicators.
If in doubt, get the materials tested, but also consider a less dusty approach, such as a grinder + dust hood + class M extractor, a wall chaser × class M extractor or an SDS drill (hammer stop) + Armeg chasing chisel, all with appropriate (P3) masking and it needs be hire in kit or you'll have plaster dust in every room of the house
If in doubt, get the materials tested, but also consider a less dusty approach, such as a grinder + dust hood + class M extractor, a wall chaser × class M extractor or an SDS drill (hammer stop) + Armeg chasing chisel, all with appropriate (P3) masking and it needs be hire in kit or you'll have plaster dust in every room of the house
More chance of anthrax than asbestos.
Hmm, two contradictory opinions.
The build is no-fines, probs built around the 40s+.
Although the section I'll be working on is a single block extension built around the 70s/80s that had some weird artex type finish that was really spikey (each spike protruding 1cm) - not sure if it was a house or a torture chamber when we moved in. Had it skimmed 20 years ago by some polish plasterers who hacked it down and skimmed over.
The build is no-fines, probs built around the 40s+.
Although the section I'll be working on is a single block extension built around the 70s/80s that had some weird artex type finish that was really spikey (each spike protruding 1cm) - not sure if it was a house or a torture chamber when we moved in. Had it skimmed 20 years ago by some polish plasterers who hacked it down and skimmed over.
D
Deleted member 174758
I've worked on two separate library buildings, both 1930s, where the asbestos survey confirmed the presence of asbestos fibres in the ceiling plasterwork. Neither had been Artexed.
Asbestos in plaster is not presumed in any management surveys nor is it suspected to warrant testing - and that's industry standatd and HSE guidance, nor has it been used in plaster as a common industry practice.
So there is never any valid reason to suspect that plaster will contain it.
There would need to be specific information about the specific material to warrant any sampling in the first place.
So there is never any valid reason to suspect that plaster will contain it.
There would need to be specific information about the specific material to warrant any sampling in the first place.
The mention of libraries make me recall something. I remember one library job did have horsehair in the plaster (made a change from the asbestos that was everywhere else!) and that resulted in a worry about anthrax.... (yes I know its spores can survive a long time - but the chance of the infected horsehair being used in the first place must have been pretty small I reckon, though prepared to be corrected)
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