I am not sure if a popcorn ceiling is flaking. We're finding white stuff and think it might be coming from the popcorn ceiling. Any experience with this? We'd like to get the flakes tested by an asbestos tester. Any recommendations on inspectors in the Los Angeles area?
Thanks in advance.
It is possible that it is from the ceiling. Just take a close look at it and you can tell easy enough.
If you house was built after 1978, asbestos was not allowed. Before that, the amount of asbestos is very minimal and on the ceiling is not a danger as it is encapsulated by paint. It can be easily removed by dampening and scraping. IMO, the smooth ceiling is better looking. We took all of our down No, we did not get it tested because it is not a danger IMO, since it is not flying around in dust.
Thanks for your response. It was built in the '70s, I think before
1978. You mentioned taking a closer look and, thereby, being able to tell if it is from the ceiling. What do I look for? How do the pieces look? Also, aren't the pieces that fall airborne no longer encapsulated, and therefore, a risk? How common is this? Health risks?Edw> >I am not sure if a popcorn ceiling is flaking. We're finding white
I find it extremely funny that someone would say asbestos is not a danger if your scraping it down.
The last company I saw "scraping" off asbestos was forced to, by law, surround the area completly, install ventillation, where breathing aperatus', wet the area, remove appropriately and dispose of in special manner.
J...
snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote:
I find it extremely funny that someone would say that if you wet the popcorn ceiling, making it the consistency of pudding that any asbestos fibers in there would be able to float around on the wind. Obviously you don't know dick about asbestos. It is only dangerous if you inhale it.
Removal of asbestos popcorn ceiling by wetting is a very common thing. Homeowners do this commonly without asbestos inspection or expensive remediation.
Wet it. It makes mud. Scrape it off. Wear a mask anyway. Keep it a sludge. You won't have any problems.
Isn't that a funny statement?
Steve
If you don't mind the look of the stuff, why not just paint over it and be done with it?
If you get it tested and it IS asbestos:
Your other alternative is to paint over it. That's a couple of hundred bucks.
I live in Las Vegas. Instead of spending multi thousands, buy me a couple of plane tickets on Southwest to where you live in California, and we'll come take it down for you. I am 57 and my wife is 60. Or just give us a couple of grand, and we'll drive down.
I've done about a dozen, and there's nothing to it. You're the homeowner. You can do it yourself with no permits, no nothing. You should be able to go get four guys down by Home Depot or Star Nursery, and for about $500 have it done and all cleaned up.
What's all this fuss about? It's not nuclear rocket surgery, and as long as you keep it wet, it has about as much danger factor as wet gunpowder.
Where do you live in California? Shoot, now that I have made the offer, you will probably get deluged from offers from people who live a lot closer than I do, and who will do it for less. I still think the day laborer thing is the way to go.
Oh, well.
Steve
Thanks everyone for your response. Actually, it is my apartment and I'm not the landlord. I'm concerned about how dangerous the specks of white we're seeing are since I have a child. That's why I want to get it tested. Also, won't painting it make it fall down? Wouldn't taking it down increase the exposure? Is it common for it to flake? Is the whole apartment now contaminated?
Thanks in advance for all the advice.
On 17 Sep 2006 14:23:35 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote Re Re: Asbestos Inspection:
It could be very dangerous. Don't risk the life of your child. Move NOW!! Money is no object when it comes to the life of your child!! Spend whatever you must!!! Don't take a chance!!
Be a good mother.
Spend whatever it takes to be safe.
You are not scraping off asbestos, but rather the paint it is mixed with in very tiny amounts. It is also dampened so as not to dust and fly around. Sorry, I can't help you get over your fear of everything you read about. Asbestos abatement is a different situation entirely.
Relax. Nothing is contaminated. You can eat the stuff and it won't harm you. Asbestos is only harmful in friable form, not when mixed in with paint that encapsulated it. It must be breathed in, not skin contact. The specs are no more dangerous than a grain of sand or flake of paint, or a couple of dust bunnies.
To check to see if it is the ceiling, look at a flex. Touch the ceiling and get a couple more to compare with. If you worked in an asbestos mine, build boilers or ships with it for insulation, I'd be concerned. The fact that it is in the same room with you is not a problem. You could bath in it, just don't breath the dust when you do.
On Mon, 18 Sep 2006 03:11:12 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Edwin Pawlowski" quickly quoth:
While you let her know that it wasn't actually dangerous, you forgot to tell her the worst part, Edwin. If she tells a city/state/federal official that she has asbestos coming down (true or not) they can shut down the entire apartment complex and banish everyone from their apartments for -months- while some specialty contractor comes in to remove anything resembling asbestos, all at a cost which could easily bankrupt the apartment owner. The apartment owners might not be able to take ANYTHING out of their "contaminated" apartments during that time, either. (Very NASTY worst-case-scenario, huh?)
This after a quick inspection. What are the odds the guy inspecting will NOT find small amounts of asbestos in the popcorn ceiling? Zero to none? If ever there might be a case for "Don't ask, don't tell." it's one like this, eh?
-- Real freedom lies in wildness, not in civilization. -- Charles Lindbergh
Oh, right. A 75 year old school here in CT has been in operation for all of those years, September through June. After all those years, it was "discovered" that the ceilings in classrooms had asbestos on them. They immediately evacuated the building and closed it down. Evacuated, as in emergency, not a closing after the school day.
Would have it harmed the kids to finish the day in an orderly manner? Finish the week? Why not finish the year and remediate during hte summer? People panic over this stuff for no sound reason.
On Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:20:38 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote Re Re: Asbestos Inspection:
It's that kind of culture that we have become. It's who we, as a people and as a civilization, have become.
On Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:20:38 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Edwin Pawlowski" quickly quoth:
Ayup. Michael Crichton's _State of Fear_ was a great work of fiction which brought out how fearful we are as a society and points out how many of these fears are false (most.) His bibliography (20 pages of extremely good books) is awesome and led me to read some. I no longer consider myself an environmentalist as the groups define themselves now. I believe in leaving a small footprint on the land and conserving and recycling what I can, but I no longer fund the increasingly terrorist groups who call themselves "ecologists". Feh!
Crichton's article in the Parade was great, too. Just the thing folks like Joe and your CT school admins need to read.
-- Real freedom lies in wildness, not in civilization. -- Charles Lindbergh
On Mon, 18 Sep 2006 12:58:09 -0700, Larry Jaques wrote Re Re: Asbestos Inspection:
Was that the one about the global warming scam? If so, that was indeed a very good book.
On Mon, 18 Sep 2006 16:07:47 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, Vic Dura quickly quoth:
Yes, it was. It's a good think-starter for what we take for granted. Stossels books are good for that, too.
-- Real freedom lies in wildness, not in civilization. -- Charles Lindbergh
I have a Sears washer machine that all of a sudden has developed a problem. When the tub is filling, the water just trickles in, taking an hour to fill with enough water to go into the wash mode. If I turn off both hot and cold at the wall and then turn them both back on, the tub fills great. Then when it fills to go into the rinse cycles, it goes into trickling again. I have to keep repeating the off and on at the wall to get through a single load of clothes. Sounds like some kind of valve or something has gotten gummed up or something. I know nothing about fixing something like this and sure would appreciate any insight that would save me a huge repair bill. The machine is not new at all, but I would like to be able to fix it if possible. TIA Jane
There are, or should be, mesh filters on the water hoses leading into the machine. Check both ends of both hoses, they could be on either end. One is probably plugged up and turning the water on/off breaks the vacuum temporarily to let the blockage fall away and the water to fill up the machine.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.