popcorn asbestos ceiling

[bubblegummom]

My son is living alone in his grandparents' old house. Recently he's told me that his roof is leaking and some of the sparkly ceiling in the dining room is falling down. He had it tested and it came back 5 percent asbestos. Yikes! We just don't have much money. I want him to leave the house and come here or go anywhere but he won't. He says he's going to take care of the problem himself. How dangerous is this stuff?

Does anyone here have experience with removing asbestos ceiling material? How did you do it?

Worried Mom

[e michael brandt]

Congratulate your son on his wisdom in having the material tested. Now he needs to use that information wisely.

This is absolutely a job for a professional - an asbestos abatement firm. And your son should definitely move out until the house is cleaned up.

emichael brandt, M.D.

bubblegummom wrote:

[tbasc]

Friable asbestos - free floating asbestos fiber - is what is dangerous. Water is often used to reduce the risk of free floating fiber. TB

[Oren]

I'm not an expert here. I have worked in old buildings that went through asbestos abatement. What I know is not to disturb the material and seek to contain it (qualified people). It can be expensive to abate and if my memory serves me it has to be disposed of properly.

-- Oren

"Well, it doesn't happen all the time, but when it happens, it happens constantly."

[Mike Dobony]

Put it in a bag marked "asbestos" and take it to the dump. That is all the asbestos abatement companies do. As far as having an expert do it, it is easily withing the relm of the average person to do, skill-wise. However, the law often ignors this and demands that you hire an expensive abestos abatement company to remove it. My friend has asbestos siding and is forbidden from removing it himself. Info above on disposal is from an abatement company.

[Eric in North TX]

5%, I probably breathed more than that as a kid every morning waiting for the bus. Legally it may be a problem, but the danger is blown way out of proportion. Until some lawyers saw a way to get rich, cars used to spew it every time they stopped & if standard shift, again when they took off and people still lived till a ripe old age. People working in asbestos processing plants may have been dropping like flies, but that is another matter entirely.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

No, it is easily a DIY job. Sorry Doc, but you are over reacting. In the present state, it is safe to handle. It can be easily removed with dampening and scraping/wiping. Why move out of the house? Unless the fibers are floating in the air, it is perfectly safe. Skin contact does no harm. It is encapsulated in paint and not a hazard at all.

My wife and I removed all of ours. We dislike the look of it, but the asbestos is not a concern it done with some care. There is NO reason to spend thousands of dollars to have a "professional" remove it.

[Goedjn]

I think he should fix the roof leak, paint the ceiling, and resolve not to drill or cut holes in it.