Would my home built in 1995 have asbestos in artex ceiling?

Joined
18 Mar 2023
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Country
United Kingdom
Hi, I just wondered if anyone could help?

I've gotten myself in a complete panic and suffering the worst anxiety.

We live a house that was built in 1995. About 6/7 years ago we had a flood in our loft from the boiler. One of the plumbers that came to fix it ended up putting his foot through the ceiling that is in my little ones built in wardrobe. All the ceilinging upstairs have artex on them. Therefore he had a big hole in his ceiling and a lot of the artex came down going all over his clothes and all in the wardrobe.

We still haven't sorted this out, just put a board over it in the loft. I've only just found out that there is a possibility that the ceilings could contain asbestos. He still has the hole and the artex his hanging off.

We have sent off for a kit to test it but I'm beyond panicking that my child has been sleeping in a room for all of these years and also had clothing that could have had fibers on it. I can't remember if I washed them at the time.

I've moved him out of the room until the test is done but I'm so worried it's too little too late.

Does anyone know the likely hood that the artex will contain asbestos. It's a David Wilson Homes house built in 1995.

Any help or advice with be greatly, greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Sponsored Links
I'm so worried it's too little too late
I wouldn't be. It's asbestos, not anthrax.
The average person has hundreds of thousands of asbestos fibres in their lungs by the time they pass away, due to natural unavoidable environmental occurrence. Mesothelioma sufferers may have tens or hundreds of millions of fibres in their lungs

One isolated incident of breaking plaster, even if it did contain asbestos, would be of no consequence - any fibres would mostly still be bound to the plaster they're mixed with, and have been hoovered up and disposed of long ago. The guys who clean up asbestos wear good PPE because they deal with it all day every day. That's a vastly different risk profile to what you're worrying about

Fearmongering inaccuracy from the media has a lot to answer for
 
I know, Google is such a dangerous place. My husband doesn't think it will contain asbestos but we will do a test to be sure.

I'm worried because it isn't an isolated incident. The artex has been hanging off around the big hole for years.
 
Sponsored Links
As above, but even then, the newer the Artex, the lesser the risk.
Asbestos free Artex was manufactured from 1976.
Artex stopped using asbestos completely in Artex in 1984.
The supply and use of asbestos containing materials was banned in 1999 (in the UK).

There is a very small chance that old stock was used, but it is unlikely.

Apart from that, the asbestos content of Artex was only around 3%!
 
I'm worried because it isn't an isolated incident. The artex has been hanging off around the big hole for years.
Yes, but you haven't been punching it regularly, collecting the output, grinding it in a pestle and mortar and snorting the results..
 
Thank you both, you've put my mind at ease slightly. It's just awful when it's about your children. I'm not bothered about me, I just want them to be safe.
 
Out of interest and still worry I suppose. What is the likely hood the artex (or what ever was used to create the effect) would contain asbestos in 1995? Like I said it's a David Wilson Homes house.

I've just had another look at the hole and the artex looks really thin. There is pink plaster board and then a thin layer of texture.

Any one have any experience?
 
Yes. I'd know. Year 1995.
I was in the trade then.

No asbestos in any of the known brands sold at the time.
Only way that has asbestos in is if a 10 year old bag was used. Not likely.
Last asbestos I seen was in suretex in 1985 ish. Artex brand stopped adding asbestos before that but I don't know date. Poster above said artex stopped adding asbestos in 84 so that fits.
I'll guess you have artex contract which was cheaper than normal bags of material and was made for new houses and came in plan brown paper bags. Was under £4 a bag at the time.
All the big building merchants at the time sold branded materials from around 10 manufacturers around the UK and none had asbestos in.
Travis Perkins sold artex
Leyland paints sold suretex and own brand Leyland gold which was supplied by artex.

Were some smaller manufacturers about like sincotex and betatex.
Also newtex and wondertex. I could go on and none had asbestos in 1995.

Your safe imo
Oh. Pink board if fire rated
 
Thank you both, you've put my mind at ease slightly. It's just awful when it's about your children. I'm not bothered about me, I just want them to be safe.
I managed a large conversion project a couple of years back, which was wall-to-wall Artex on all the walls and ceilings. It was old stuff so I had it analysed and they all came back asbestos. The project was to involve pulling down all the lath and plaster ceilings and all wall plaster back to the bones, which is too much quantity for a standard contractor. So I had an asbestos specialist come in to remove everything. Tons and tons of it. They tented off the building, installed fans etc. and decontaminated as and when they went in and out.

Most days, the manager called around near the end of the day, to check on progress. I was surprised that he walked straight into the buildings, where his people had been filling skips and sweeping up 5 or 10 minutes before. When I asked him about it he showed me the monitoring equipment. Basically they have a monitor which sucks air through a special filter and counts the fibres in the air. When it dips below a certain level, it is safe to enter. The foreman was there as well, he said that virtually the moment they stop the fibre count falls below the safe level. He also said that they often leave the monitor running while they are working so they can work out how much asbestos they are dealing with. Even then they often don't pick up one single asbestos fibre.

The reason is very simple; the amount of asbestos in Artex is tiny - something like 2 or 3% - but it is also bound in the Artex plaster, which is heavy. Being heavy it falls to the floor and doesn't float around in the air. Because fibres are extremely light they do not detach easily from the plaster matrix. This is why the monitor can go all day and not pick one up. Plus of course, if one did detach, the chance of you breathing that one fibre in is vanishingly small.

It is also worth mentioning that asbestos comes in different flavours. The stuff in Artex is Chrysotile asbestos (white asbestos) which is relatively harmless compared to the really nasty stuff. The reason is a barb on the end of the fibre - a bit like the barb on the end of a bee sting. The nasty ones have a barb, so once breathed in, it is very difficult to cough it out. They lodge in your lungs and fester and if you've got enough of them they'll probably be the thing that kills you. Chrysotile asbestos doesn't have a barb, so, if you do breath a fibre in, you'll likely just cough it out again.

PS. I'm not saying sprinkle it on your cornflakes but, really, don't worry about it.
 
Yes. I'd know. Year 1995.
I was in the trade then.

No asbestos in any of the known brands sold at the time.
Only way that has asbestos in is if a 10 year old bag was used. Not likely.
Last asbestos I seen was in suretex in 1985 ish. Artex brand stopped adding asbestos before that but I don't know date. Poster above said artex stopped adding asbestos in 84 so that fits.
I'll guess you have artex contract which was cheaper than normal bags of material and was made for new houses and came in plan brown paper bags. Was under £4 a bag at the time.
All the big building merchants at the time sold branded materials from around 10 manufacturers around the UK and none had asbestos in.
Travis Perkins sold artex
Leyland paints sold suretex and own brand Leyland gold which was supplied by artex.

Were some smaller manufacturers about like sincotex and betatex.
Also newtex and wondertex. I could go on and none had asbestos in 1995.

Your safe imo
Oh. Pink board if fire rated
Sorry just wanted to check I had read that right. So the artex contract that came in the brown bags that you think they used didn't contain asbestos too like the other brands? Sorry just wanted to check. Thanks.
 
I managed a large conversion project a couple of years back, which was wall-to-wall Artex on all the walls and ceilings. It was old stuff so I had it analysed and they all came back asbestos. The project was to involve pulling down all the lath and plaster ceilings and all wall plaster back to the bones, which is too much quantity for a standard contractor. So I had an asbestos specialist come in to remove everything. Tons and tons of it. They tented off the building, installed fans etc. and decontaminated as and when they went in and out.

Most days, the manager called around near the end of the day, to check on progress. I was surprised that he walked straight into the buildings, where his people had been filling skips and sweeping up 5 or 10 minutes before. When I asked him about it he showed me the monitoring equipment. Basically they have a monitor which sucks air through a special filter and counts the fibres in the air. When it dips below a certain level, it is safe to enter. The foreman was there as well, he said that virtually the moment they stop the fibre count falls below the safe level. He also said that they often leave the monitor running while they are working so they can work out how much asbestos they are dealing with. Even then they often don't pick up one single asbestos fibre.

The reason is very simple; the amount of asbestos in Artex is tiny - something like 2 or 3% - but it is also bound in the Artex plaster, which is heavy. Being heavy it falls to the floor and doesn't float around in the air. Because fibres are extremely light they do not detach easily from the plaster matrix. This is why the monitor can go all day and not pick one up. Plus of course, if one did detach, the chance of you breathing that one fibre in is vanishingly small.

It is also worth mentioning that asbestos comes in different flavours. The stuff in Artex is Chrysotile asbestos (white asbestos) which is relatively harmless compared to the really nasty stuff. The reason is a barb on the end of the fibre - a bit like the barb on the end of a bee sting. The nasty ones have a barb, so once breathed in, it is very difficult to cough it out. They lodge in your lungs and fester and if you've got enough of them they'll probably be the thing that kills you. Chrysotile asbestos doesn't have a barb, so, if you do breath a fibre in, you'll likely just cough it out again.

PS. I'm not saying sprinkle it on your cornflakes but, really, don't worry about it.
Thank you so much, that's really helpful.
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top