removing asbestos safely (ceiling)

[ss]

I need to take 3 12" X 12" sections out of my artexed ceiling to access wiring.

1980s build so possibilty of asbestos. What is the safest way.

[Tricky Dicky]

See if you can get a sample tested, no point in getting geared up to deal with asbestos if there is none present.

Richard

[tabbypurr]

NT

[Chris Hogg]

Not very big pieces. Cut out with a Stanley knife or similar, not a saw and definitely not an angle grinder. Wear a mask. Don't make dust. The asbestos, if there at all, will be well encapsulated in whatever artex is made from, so not really hazardous anyway if treated intelligently.

[Peter Parry]

Before cutting, brushing or spraying the ceiling with water to which a bit of washing up liquid has been added so it is wet when cut will significantly reduce dust.

[ss]

Thanks all for the advice.

[DICEGEORGE]

Buy a new mask suitable for asbestos and read the instructions.

12"x!2" I'd use my Bosch PMF multitool to cut them out

Im so old a bit of asbestos probly wont get me [George]

[Steve B]

Have you considered how to dispose of the asbestos after removal?

[Fredxxx]

Most LAs cater for double wrapped asbestos pieces.

[Tim Watts]

Usually on the bigger tips. Best is to phone the council's waste dept and they'll say what to do. In my case of a few broken bits of sheet I dug up, it was "double bag and take to Heathfield dump - no need to phone ahead". Tunbridge Wells has an asbestos skip permanently parked at their dump. It's all actually quite easy.

[Chris Hogg]

Do such small pieces of ceiling, of unspecified composition, coated with a fairly thin layer of Artex, possibly but by no means certainly containing a small amount of asbestos of unknown type, require specialist disposal?

[Peter Parry]

They do not require specialist removal but ideally should not be disposed of in normal waste. The standard way is bagged in a plastic sack which is then put in another sack. The local authority web site will tell you which local waste site can be used to drop them off. Most such waste of course goes in the normal bin because most people are unaware that Artex used to contain small amounts of Chrysotile.

[newshound]

Do you want the strict answer, or what I would do? For two, 12 inch squares of plasterboard with Artex I would convert them to 8 six inch squares, put into a strong bag, e.g. a plastic "rubble sack" or the sort of paper sack that 15 kg of dogfood comes in, tape up tightly with duct tape and put into domestic rubbish. Similar to the way I handle broken panes of glass, except that I make them into the filling of a corrugated cardboard sandwich first.

[Chris Hogg]

So even if there is asbestos present, it's not the really nasty stuff (crocidolite, blue asbestos), although AIUI government regs don't distinguish the two types. If it were me, I'd do what Newshound suggested, assuming the OP isn't going the remove the squares carefully and simply return them to their original positions, and make good.

[Chris Hogg]

I would do the same.

[cl]

I think that's not a good idea, they make *loads* of dust when they cut. Earlier suggestions of a knife or similar seem better to me.

[Andy Burns]

Plus they're unlikely to be kind to any unexpected cables you find laid on the plasterboard ...

[Steve B]

I expect some authorities are more rigorous than others where the matter of disposal is concerned. According to Gargoyle, blue asbestos was used in the building trade prior to 1967, when its use was banned. I can see that its presence in old ceiling tiles and other situations wouldn't necessarily be apparent, so the use of an effective mask and minimising dust produced would be sensible precautions when working in older properties.

[Alan Braggins]

In the case of Cambridgeshire, required to be double wrapped in the bags they will supply for the purpose, so it's worth asking before you start the work. (At least that was the situation when my father took down the asbestos cement ceiling in a garage before it was demolished.)