Am considering investing in previous home property and it has no inspection details at this point. I believe it may have asbestos. Is there anyway I can check for presence of asbestos?
There are 3 ways, one is the tips we posters can give you from “cyber-space” (age of the house, etc, etc), second one will be to get a handy man/tradie and ask for a quote (on painting it, etc), they will tell you if it is or not (by the way this is the FREE way, this one will cost $0), and the third one will be to pay $180 to $200 for a builder to do a proper inspection.
If you are keen to buy the property, option 3 will save you thousands and headaches…
Happy investing
Age is a good indicator – but no certainty (if you can inspect the back of the sheets, 'asbestos free' should be stamped on them). Generally anything predating 1987 or thereabouts when its use was banned in bonded asbestos products – the use of loose asbestos was banned earlier (I think).
Without testing for chrysotile, ammosite or crocidolite (brown, white or blue) asbestos via a testing laboratory, there is no 'free' conclusive testing method.
Why would ac be of such a big concern unless it is in poor condition and requires replacement?
Asbestos is commonly found in the following building products pre-1987 – asbestos cement sheeting (used in fascias, eaves, wall panelling/lining/cladding, packers), vinyl floor tiles, bakelite switchboards, lagging to pipework on boilers, corrugated roof sheeting (supa 6) – also used for fences, stormwater pipes, ducts & duct covers.
If you are that concerned have a registered testing company take samples.
PS what are you going to do if you do discove AC? Replace, encapsulate or protect for mechanical damage? Are you going to maintain an asbestos register & make it a notifiable hazard? What is your plan of management?
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