Oh, does that asbestos matter?

[ChrisR]

Lurking in a loft, around 1½" barrel, about 10 metres of it. Not precisely in my way, but near enough.
To do anything up there (like fitting an unvented cylinder), I suppose at a minimum it could be wrapped, in clingfilm as a start then something stronger. But I have no idea whether the loft is full of fibres which have come off it.

Any idea what it costs to have something like this dealt with by asbestos removers?

 

[doitall]

Have it tested Chris it may not be Asbestos

 

[JohnD]

it would scare me. We had a lot of trouble round the dockyards but most of them are dead now.

the council will (should) be able to advise

 

[daytona]

that has to go mate,or at least be tested first.

all the critical illness cover in the world wont help you all the while you have to breath in agony through a face mask.
asbestos or you in the loft,but not both together dont go up there again
its only a job mate

 

[Agile]

I really dont understand why Chris likes difficult jobs!

That is typical asbestos lagging and is one of the most dangerous types.

To clear a loft of a tall block in Bognor was about £21k. To clear an area in a warehouse with two 10" pipes lagged for about 5 m was quoted at £4k but done by another firm with a day gap for only £1400 but that was very lucky.

Must be removed and then the air tested for particles before any work is done there.

Tony

 

[Paul Barker]

That and the cylinder promises to become a job which if you tackle, when you later have the benefit of hindsight you will wish you hadn't been involved in.

put there number in your phone under "do not answer". I have a number in my phone, do not answer has a lot of numbers.

 

[doitall]

I really dont understand why Chris likes difficult jobs!

That is typical asbestos lagging and is one of the most dangerous types.

Must be removed and then the air tested for particles before any work is done there.

Tony

No Tony.

It looks like a typical asbestos lagging, that doesn't mean it is, until its tested, and in any case it is safe unless disturbed.

One of the big problems with asbestos, is taking it home with you on your cloths, putting them in the washing machine and contaminating the occupants.

 

[simond]

Be very careful here. I am not against asbestos and certain types of it present very little risk, such as Crysotile. However, the media have bundled the white asbestos with other types and the government have put their own fuel on the fire.

Some asbestos fibres can stay in the lungs for 150yrs or more. White asbestos in contrast has been shown to stay in the lungs for a half life of 11 days, and mixed with cement it is even less dangerous.

Some of the modern asbestos alternatives are reputed to be more hazardous when disturbed. Time will tell.

The main problem is your liability to the customer. If they can state that by disturbing it you have exposed them to the fibres you could be in for a very expensive time. If you employ staff they can sue you too.

Therefore i would strongly recommend removing yourself from site, and leave the customer to arrange removal of their asbestos using a licensed contractor.

 

[namsag]

Good advice from simond. Be careful you are not being set up by the customer, minute you touch it they suddenly know every rule and reg it does happen.
Around 15 years ago Saw BG payout around 50k for same thing all they did was take pipe out loft and along landing and out of window into a skip.

 

[ChrisR]

It's not just the media. You can find plagues of experts on asbestos, especially Asbestos Cement, asserting that it's anywhere you like on the spectrum of danger.

In this case
a) it may not be asbestos, though the houseowner volunteered that it was - I have decided that it might be!
b) I wouldn't be doing most of the mechanical work on this job, and it isn't fair to ask anyone else to guess whether it's OK or not.

So no progress until he gets it dealt with.

 

[doitall]

Could choice Chris, always assume it is until you know better.

 

[jeffreyw]

is it every type of asbestos which should not be touched as i had a job the other week and the surveyor put for me to remove the old flue to ceiling level
however the job got cancelled any way but i would not have touched it anyhow

 

[doitall]

is it every type of asbestos which should not be touched as i had a job the other week and the surveyor put for me to remove the old flue to ceiling level
however the job got cancelled any way but i would not have touched it anyhow

Yes even asbestos cement which the flue would most like to be.

 

[ChrisR]

Stacks of advice on the web, Jeff, but imho an asbestos cement flue can usually be tackled. Plenty of the right PPE required, and don't do anything daft like saw or break it. If the pipe wiggles out and can be put straight into double bin liners and taped up, and similar simple techniques work, all is well. It's when things go wrong that you have a problem!

 

[doitall]

One comment on that Chris is disposal, it has to go to a special place that take asbestos