Whats the chance that my113 year old interior walls contain asbestos?
I have started the process to insulate my 113 year old house. The walls are slats and plaster/stucco. My question is , what is this plaster made of? C...
I have started the process to insulate my 113 year old house. The walls are slats and plaster/stucco. My question is , what is this plaster made of? Could it contain asbestos? So far what I have seen it is redish in color and not fibrous at all. Is this Atrex, or just plan old plaster?
Asbestos was a component of many building materials back then. In fact, I would bet that that old plaster is just loaded with it. DO NOT disturb it in any way except to get a small sample for testing. There are testing labs you can mail your sample to and pay a small fee. The fibers are not visible to the eye and if they get loose and are inhaled or ingested they are extremely dangerous.
Any home built before 1980 should be tested before renovating.
why don’t people like you help us by telling us what country you live in!…construction has all ways been different all round the world …so some of or most will be totally irrelevant .however ..im a builder in the uk ..sounds like you have lathe and plaster walls …here they were made of slake lime ..sand ..and in m ost cases they added horsehair ..the hair would curl around the willow or hazel lathe and add grip …asbestos has never been used in plaster ..and artex had not been invented !
Slim to none unless there was renovation or patchwork done. Old plaster work has three layers, rough (thickest) mid (evens out the rough) and skin (a thin coat of fine plaster). Sometimes your find horsehair in there, but likely in the age our looking at, no asbestos.
any building built on or before the year 1978 has asbestos in the plaster or sheetrock and many other things in your home you wont see any fiber its in the from of dust particles and once disturbed can remain aloft in the air for several days if breathed in those particles will lodge in your lungs where they will remain for the rest of your life these can cause four different diseases three of theses are one hundred percent fatal the forth is most likely fatal. ( stop disturbing the plaster ) you should have your house inspected by an environmental engineer to determine the exposure to you and anyone that has breathed that air, and the correct action required to mitigate the problem to prevent anyone else from being exposed. I am a licensed building contractor this is why I know about this. this doesn’t mean that you will get sick only what will happen if you do. fact is chances are you’ve been exposed before and never knew it most people have been, still its nothing to mess with exposing you or your loved ones to a hazard needlessly