[@ccastell70]‍ Did you get any response to your question? I am also worried about this. I wasn't in the room when a small part of the ceiling was scraped so I think the initial exposure, if it did contain asbestos, would be small but I didn't get it professionally cleaned so does this count as prolonged exposure if the fibres are still in the air or is it still part of the initial small exposure? Does anyone know? Thanks.

Hello,

Sorry to jump on this post but after hours of googling I needed some advice/reassurance.

a few years ago my husband and I renovated our first home - a 1940s semi. Our home buyers report stated there was potential for asbestos in textured walls throughout & ceilings - walls were "popcorn" walls & ceilings were the standard swirled design. 
 

naively  , and now looking back very stupidly, despite the home buyers report we never got a professional test done to test for the presence of asbestos. Not being fully aware of the dangers , we removed all of the downstairs ceilings ourselves & my husband kango drilled the bottom 1m of the walls to allow for a damp proof course to be installed. We weren't living in the property at the time but spent a considerable portion of our days there working & the removal of the ceilings / walls took about 4 weeks. We used masks during the demolition - just your standard b&Q job nothing substantial

the remaining walls were skimmed over following the DPC 

judging by the condition  of the property our estimation is that the Artex was done around the 1970s/80s so I'd say a good chance it contained asbestos although obviously we can't tell for certain  

i am now  extremely worried about the potential health reprucussions. I have read that the percentage of asbestos in Artex is quite low but we I imagine we're potentially exposed to quite a lot given the removal of all ceilings and the drilling of the walls to allow for the DPC

any advice or reassurance is much appreciated! 
 

 Thanks in advance 

Do you know if Jak99 ever revealed the names of the expert witness/other experts he spoke to? I have been exposed by neighbours negligently storing asbestos for 6 years against my fence. It fell through my fence eventually. The big reveal! I am trying to find real advice on risk. 

I wonder if you could share the details of your asbestos experts as I have had significant exposure due to a negligent neighbour.

We could of course look at all the paranoia another way.  The vast majority of UK homes have asbestos-bearing Artex, it was in fashion until the early nineties, and so most people have lived in such houses.  All of these houses have had people doing DIY, and bashing holes in ceilings for years.  I don't think you'd be able to find many people (can anyone find anyone?) in the UK who have died from Asbestos related illness who didn't acquire the asbestos from somewhere else.  The people who contracted asbestos related illnesses got it from working in industrial settings where there was clouds of the stuff.  It settled on peoples clothes, who then brought it home. People in the building industry come across it a lot, but usually only binders of some sort.

 people misunderstand risk and assume that if a risk exist it will happen to them.  There is a risk you could be struck by lightening, but don't stay indoors all your life for that reason.  No one on this forum is frightened about getting into a car.  Every year thousands of people are admitted to A&E after falling out of bed !

Hi there Chris. Just wondering if you could help as I’m having real asbestos anxiety. 

When we bought the house, the homebuyers survey said there was asbestos tiles on the ceiling. We then contacted a surveyor who confirmed that it was asbestos but couldn’t see anywhere else visually that could be asbestos. we changed the ceiling before we moved in.

But I only read something about asbestos over the weekend and am stressing myself out now. All this after a new loft has been put in and walls knocked over.

I called an asbestos surveyor who instilled the fear of god in me … a 1935 property could contain asbestos in plaster etc “You should have done a full renovation and demolition survey.”

So here I am completely freaked out that I’ve had the children living in a house as asbestos was flying around!

Here are the details
- house built in 1935
- owned by same owner until 1997. Quite miserly from what we’ve heard and didn’t spend so wouldn’t have put in extra bits in between.
- next owner put in a conservatory but that’s it
- no Artex, can’t see any boards
- ceiling looks like lath and plaster (I can see strands of brown hair)
- walls were cinder blocks
- both walls and ceiling were “layers” of plaster if I’m describing it right. So cinder block/brown plaster/white plaster or wooden slats / light brown plaster : white plaster

Builder says he hasn’t come across asbestos in the build. But can he really tell that?

I just need some rational thought please. Do I need to change carpets in the house? Do I need ti throw out all my clothes? 

Hi there. We have just had a loft conversion. The ceiling where the stairs were added was knocked through. This was covered in artex. We live in a victorian house. Never had artex tested. Now I'm worried about exposure. We were out when the hole was knocked through and dust was contained well by builders. Carpets were protected etc and windows opened. Worried about any dust in the air if was asbsetos in the artex? Also smoke alarm have been drilled into artex in our hallway.Any advice? 

Hi Jak99, 

This post is a life saver to my sanity! We bought a house 2.5 years ago and although the surveyor said we should get the ceilings checked, we never did. My husband said not to worry, so I didn't. Recently I watched a program and it raised alarm bells again, so we've decided to get it all checked. I'll be honest I have been racked with worry, not sleeping and so anxious for our little boy (3 years old), particularly as we also drilled the ceiling (not realising) and had a wardrobe built as well. We have some open holes in the artex as well, where cables are coming through. This post has made me feel so much better! Would you mind sharing any links you have to the info so I could read more? 

Hey Jac 99

I have just come across your post regarding asbestos. Any chance we can have a chat. I have been screwing over something related for the last two weeks. 

Hi Jac

Of course, feel free to add me and private message