asbestos in coving?

[lidster]

hi there,
does anybody know if asbestos was used in coving in the 30's? I realise this is an open question as I have no pictures to show, and the coving could come from anywhere, but i recently ripped down all mine in the front room and now I'm panicking as i didnt check. 1935 semi detached house, leeds area. Im fairly certain it is the original coving as my friends live down the street and still have theirs up and its exactly the same as mine was. It was really solidly attached to the brick wall behind and took loads of shifting.
I recently had builders in (removing a wall in an adjacent room) and the steels they put in went through some of the coving (they had to chisel away some to fit the steels). Im gutted I didnt even think it could contain asbestos at the time of removing and just chipped it out seeing as the builders did the same. In certain parts it had strands that looked like hair/ and im sure the builders said they used moulds back in the day. I feel stupid for not checking and have read up completely on asbestos now. Im just looking for a bit of piece of mind as its too late to do anything about it now. Ive read that they used horse hair and or fibreglass back then?

 

[roughcaster]

II think you'll find that no asbestos would have heen used in a plaster coving. You're right about the horse hair being used in the mix, and much of the cornice in those days would have been run in situ. What you're looking at is lime plaster with horse hair through it. The
other guys will give their opinions too i'm sure.

 

[lidster]

much of the cornice in those days would have been run in situ. What you're looking at is lime plaster with horse hair through it

thanks for quick reply mate. The builders were in more than 3 months ago now and im sure thats what they said at the time - some kind of moulding was used. I did use a mask at the time, sealed off the room with tape round the door and then general clean up with plenty of water to keep the dust down - but it was no where near as thorough as the recommended methods to use if dealing with asbestos of course.

Ive got plenty more plasterboard/artex to rip down in this old house and will make sure I send a few samples off first for asbestos testing.

 

[joe-90]

It won't have asbestos, but why the fook have you taken down an original feature. You've just lost a lot of money.

 

[roughcaster]

Joe's right,,, these are real features of an older property. Many people would give their eye teeth to have them. You can still get them "run in" today, but they'll cost a fortune. Testing the old Artex is a wise move, because some of the pre 90's stuff (1986 and earilier) "DID" contain asbestos,,, only a small amount maybe, but it was there.

 

[lidster]

cheers fellas - I feel a bit better now that in all likelihood there was no asbestos - although I know I will never be certain -a lesson well learnt for when im tearing other stuff down.

ref the coving - I suppose it could have been patched up after the builders broke a section off. TBH - it wasnt one of those fancy/swirly type moulds. it was quite modern looking really - very wide with straight edging down the lengths. Had to take it off as the ceiling was coming down anyway.
on a side note-
Im replacing the original wooden bay windows as well. leaded with coloured glass in. rotten all over. loads of condensation every morning. mould around the lead. noisy - draughty. old. opting for plastic but am going to match the glass up if I can. another original feature to go
In fact I might post up a new thread to see what the cost/benefits of geting them restored/re-pannelled would be. thanks for the idea!