How do I fix cracks/flaking asbestos ceiling and has this caused a lot of exposure?

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Hi, every room in our house contains Artex ceiling which is developing cracks in most rooms and flaking in some places. We removed a ceiling years ago by scraping/sanding and hoovering the dust, only to recently find out Artex can contain asbestos, so we sent off a sample and it came back positive for Chrysotile. Would it be safe for me to fill the cracks in the other rooms with Polyfilla to seal because I'm really concerned about the amount of exposure I've had previously, let alone the constant exposure caused by the cracks. One part, not included in pictures started flaking and I tried contacting our nearest removal company but can't get a reply so I've put tape over it to stop the flakes dropping onto the carpet, is this ok to be left like this? Here are some pictures of cracks in different rooms, the last one runs down the side of my room. I'm just concerned about the kind of exposure we're getting, especially as the first two pictures are the kids rooms. Ideally I'd like to plaster or overboard the ceilings but can't afford this at the moment, so would filling the cracks, PVA or taping over be best for now and is this safe to do myself? Also, would it be worth getting an air test even though the main ceiling we removed and didn't get professionally cleaned was years ago? Would appreciate any advice.

https://imgur.com/a/PGncLzY

https://imgur.com/a/0zX41ar

https://imgur.com/a/p5bhsQ1
 
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i’d tape the cracks with duct tape, until you can get it professionally removed ,or if it was my house , like you said , i’d neat pva the lot and over board and skim.
but that’s just my version .
 
There are loads and loads of such questions on this board [use the "search" function on the top right of any page

Thank you, this is reassuring.

i’d tape the cracks with duct tape, until you can get it professionally removed ,or if it was my house , like you said , i’d neat pva the lot and over board and skim.
but that’s just my version .

Do you think it would be ok to just tape over or Polyfilla the cracks and leave for a few years, patching up if needed, or would this still create exposure? It would cost a fortune to overboard every room in the house and I can't really afford it at the moment.
 
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every room in your house has artex on the ceiling?
 
How about??

If you can afford it fit coving between wall and ceiling. +

Repaint all ceilings with two coats [or more] of emulsion paint??

A fairly "cheap way" of getting some peace of mind??

Do not forget, the actual volume of any Asbestos within the Artex is low, generally less than 4% ?

In general terms the Artex / Removal of Asbestos Containing Material [so called ACM] was brought in not to protect you the owner but to protect the operatives that deal with this [relatively] low level material day on day when cutting holes into the material or during removal, especially if the Asbestos is dry and friable

Ken.
 
Thank you, this is reassuring.



Do you think it would be ok to just tape over or Polyfilla the cracks and leave for a few years, patching up if needed, or would this still create exposure? It would cost a fortune to overboard every room in the house and I can't really afford it at the moment.
If it's undisturbed then exposure shouldn't be a problem. Just try and seal it the best you can until you can afford to get it sorted.

Edit: coving & painting isn't a bad idea imo.
 
In general terms, the last time i looked at the web site for the H&SE it was OK [big style] to "Encapsulate" Asbestos material

Do not cut / abrade/ remove
 
How about??

If you can afford it fit coving between wall and ceiling. +

Repaint all ceilings with two coats [or more] of emulsion paint??

A fairly "cheap way" of getting some peace of mind??

Do not forget, the actual volume of any Asbestos within the Artex is low, generally less than 4% ?

In general terms the Artex / Removal of Asbestos Containing Material [so called ACM] was brought in not to protect you the owner but to protect the operatives that deal with this [relatively] low level material day on day when cutting holes into the material or during removal, especially if the Asbestos is dry and friable

Ken.
Thank you, this may be a good alternative for me. Would you fill in the cracks with filler before fitting coving? The ceilings have been painted a few times in the past, however some hairline cracks have appeared in the middle of the rooms so I'm guessing painting would cover them?

Just out of interest if I was able to overboard in the future wouldn't holes have to be drilled into the ceiling to do this, therefore making it friable? It would be cheaper to just plaster straight over without overboarding but I'm guessing this wouldn't be a good idea if the ceilings already have cracks in them?
 
AdviceAnon20, good evening again.

OK if it makes you more comfortable then apply filler prior to the cove.

As for the ceiling, just emulsion paint it the emulsion should "fill" minor cracks, a pre-coat of emulsion directly applied immediately prior to the main coat could assist.

As for holes drilled during over boarding? if you consider things, the plaster board screw is a screw that is driven into a flat surface of the plaster board, no pre-drilled hole, the screw in the over boarding will cut / drive its own way into and through the over boarding plaster board with absolutely no chance of any material on the surface of the original boards getting back through the drilled hole in the over board?

Hope the above makes sense?

Ken.
 
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