Just bought a house. Back in 78~ish they put in a textured finish in the master bedroom. I read that it may contain asbestos. Has anyone had any experience in dealing with this? The one lab I called wanted over $100 to test it WITH a 7 day turn around. NJ btw if that matters.
Also is there a big difference in popcorn vs stucco? As in the material that makes the texture?
>>1002149
Ask your insurance company. They test all day, everyday. I bet they get a good deal.
Whatever the case is, for god's sake OP do not scrape the shit off
Asbestos is something that is NOT DIY
>>1002159
I didn't scrape any off but I cut off a small piece of the sheetrock for a sample. I wore a mask of course. My thing is I can't tell if it's popcorn or some shitty stucco job. The seller said it's stucco that her dad did back in the late 70's. I looked at the bumps on my sample and tried to see the inside of one but I can't tell if what I'm looking at are the fibers from the sheetrock or whatever material is in the pain.
Can't you get an asbestos test kit for like, fiddy bucks?
It would be quicker to see the likelyhood of spray texture back then contained asbestos. Just get a shopvac and scrap and suck.
>>1002186
Do not do that. You need a HEPA vacuum to do it, and even then you can end up with asbestos everywhere
>>1002186
Yeah and just dump it in the garbage?
Screw the vacuum just face a fan out the window
Absestos is serious shit. And is not DIY just because you may breathe it in. It's not DIY because it poses a risk to other people as well
>>1002162
>no one should cut or scrape asbestos
>goes and cuts some out
>wore a "mask" that I'm sure was rated for asbestos exposure
>it's even bad for your skin and eyes
Kek. Retard.
>>1002186
You are literally retarded and that is the world's best way to fill a room with asbestos fiber.
you sound like evert beer bellied dumb beaner out here in AZ because it's not manly enough if you don't inhale asbestos.
Do you also take an angle grinder to brake pads and breath deeply?
What a weird thread.
Usually there is an "asbestos isnt actually harmful" brigade here on /diy/
>you didnt work in a shipyard, you wont see the POTENTIAL effects until 50 years from now!
>>1002149
shoulda had it tested before you signed
What is the plan?
Leaving it alone: who gives a shit.
Ripping it out: Listen to the people in this thread and if it is asbestos getting a hazmat team and a 2nd mortage.
I'm of the opinion that the danger is way overblown (yay first denier) if you take it out carefully (cut it out while spritzing with water to minimize dust). The remediation costs are just too absurd.
>>1002149
Break a piece off. If the inside is grey. Its asbestos. If white. Its fine.
>>1002525
This. If its white and spongy then it is Styrofoam. It is almost certainly Styrofoam. Asbestos went out in the early 70's and Styrofoam replaced it. If its from '78 that would be from the Styrofoam era. Anyway, outside of being ugly it wont hurt anything either way as its encapsulated in paint. I'd be more worried about asbestos in your laminate flooring...
Best thing to do? Plaster over it. Hugely minimises the risk of fibres being disturbed.
Determined you want rid of it? Ignore the idiots in this thread, it's safe to handle as long as you take sensible precautions. That means a proper respirator that is rated for asbestos exposure, cat 3 coveralls, overboots, nitrile gloves and goggles. Ensure everything is damped down and use a vacuum with a HEPA filter.
>>1002149
>can afford $300,000 mortgage
>wont pay $100 for asbestos test
The mesothelemoa will cost you more than 100 american dollaroos unless bernie gets elected, just get the test.
Asbestos just creates character you fucking pussy
>>1002149
Just board over it and replaster. I did this the other day I wasn't t sure if it was abestos but I'm not paying some cunt to come check then have to pay him to take it away.
>>1002674
lol
>>1002775
Asbestos danger is vastly overblown. That said, better safe than sorry. I doubt yours is asbestos but I'm not a pro. I did however remove a textured ceiling in my home. Some will recommend boarding over it,I say no that just decreases ceiling height. I tore out all the drywall on the ceiling, rented a drywall lift and rehung the drywall myself then paid someone to do the taping. Do it right the first time. Wear a mask and just rip that shit out.
>>1002779
This wasn't my house just to clarify it was where I was working. it wasn't the plaster it was a steel that had been boarded around with asbestos board. I said to the woman that that looks like asbestos and she was on a budget so I boarded over it and re plastered the 6m long reveal. In the UK if you find asbestos you are meant to tell the authority's then pay to get it removed it can end up costing shit loads because they strip everything and make a massive fucking mess.
>>1002779
Im not op nor an expert but I feel like it would be better to spend a weekend scraping the shit off (with protective gear of course) than spend the next 10 years breathing it in.
I don't care how good a drywaller you ate there is no way that shit is airtight.
>>1002833
what do you guys mean by drywaller? someone who just hangs the plasterboard or plastering it as well?
>>1002149
>house
>back in 1978
No it's NOT ASBESTOS!
The TIME is wrong, before 1970... maybe... unlikely.
Asbestos made the textures compound shitty to work with, so contractors pretty much never used it
Places you might find it? 1960's commercial buildings where Architects spec'd for asbestos.
>>1002877
it could be both or one or the other.
its like saying "plumber" they could do everything but some just do brand new construction and some just do service calls.
most often the hanging crew is different from the guys finishing the seams and texturing but will often work for the same company
>>1002833
Scrapping will crate more airborne fibers than pulling the drywall sheets down. As long as it isn't broken up you don't breathe in anything
>>1002149
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=remove+popcorn+ceiling
asbestos was in fucking everything back in the day, tons of people worked in the shit and smoked 2 packs a day.
oddly I have yet to hear of someone dying of mesothelioma IRL. I'm pretty sure one exposure isn't going to give you lung cancer and make you head blow off like nuclear waste.
shit is way over blown
>>1003280
yup, always get a laugh when people are scared shitless to handle one small project that may or may not have some asbestos. like one small exposure will give you full blown stage 4 cancer the very next day. I've seen fix it shows on HGTV and DIY channel (where they are usually over cautious about asbestos) and they just rip the shit out. the one they are really scared of is the pipe wrap. that stuff is prolly the worst you'd find in an old house. everything else is minimal to no danger for a one time project with reasonable precautions taken.
maybe worry more about lead and other stuff being in the water then a popcorn ceiling.
>>1002386
you're too afraid to visit diy, go make some vases or something.
>>1005011
Kill yourself
>>1005015
they are, with asbestos.
>>1004781
This. In the early nineties I worked a volunteer building project in Moscow and St Petersburg. We were using corrugated asbestos panels for roofing, pretty much the same size panels as corrugated tin/iron panels.
We put a small square of rubber in the valley of the corrugation, then pounded a glorified fence tack through it, top, bottom and middle to fix them to the roofs skeleton.
Russia and UAE were by then the only places where it's use was still permitted. No safety equipment, no respirator, no roofline, no duck boards. Just a dozen of us climbing up the studs to the roof beams and passing up panels by hand.
Since I quit smoking a couple years ago my lungs have never been better. The exposure was limited, it was a one time job over a few weeks and my liver suffered a thousand times more than my lungs.
If I had my time over again, I'd buy a respirator to take with me, as they were not something available to just anyone in the early days of glasnost.
>>1005050
>We were using corrugated asbestos panels for roofing, pretty much the same size panels as corrugated tin/iron panels.
Those aren't really that bad unless they are so old that they are falling apart on their own, the dust that is created is a nightmare to handle and gets into everything, sticks to everything made of fabric like crazy.
>>1002159
Well yes actually it is completely legal to DIY in many states.
Having been in the hazardous waste business I can say, judging by the fact that OP could phrase the question in the fashion he did, with proper grammar and ppunctuation, he's probably smarter than 70% of the people doing it for a living.
It isn't rocket science.
>>1002149
The concern with asbestos is that it will fray apart into small particles. So, when you remove asbestos, you just need to get it wet and soak it. Then remove it. This eliminates the dusty fraying factor.
Asbestos did nothing wrong
Keeping this thread in mind. Bought a house from the 60s and am hoping it has styro. Gonna get a test for it and, if lucky, am gonna scrape the fuck out of it.
>>1002388
great analogy, maybe think a little harder next time
>>1002966
That's because the framing crew are monkeys with impact drivers, the hanging crew are monkeys with screw drivers and the plasterers are just monkeys that throw shit at the board and you have some who like it smooth and others who texture it.
They all think they are tough construction dudes but the plasterers are the ones with the highest levels of false self importance
>>1005114
Lmfao, so true.
Must be why most of the plasterers I know try and learn as much general labouring as possible.
Check with your home insurance about it.
>>1005114
Doing up your house is my bread and butter me girls page three and my cars are nutter
