Anyone who owns an older house knows the worry about asbestos, especially when a renovation is coming up. All use of asbestos has been banned throughout the EU since 2005, and many countries banned it considerably earlier. This means that almost any house built or renovated before the ban in your country may contain asbestos materials. In this article we go through what you should know and check as the owner of an older house.
Typical places for asbestos in different decades
The use of asbestos changed over the decades. In houses from the 1950s and earlier, asbestos is found mainly in pipe insulation, asbestos cement sheets and around fireplaces. In houses from the 1960s, tile adhesive, floor adhesive, vinyl floor coverings, vinyl floor tiles and filler are typical asbestos materials.
In buildings from the 1970s, asbestos is often found in the same places as in houses from the 1960s, but also in acoustic boards and in the insulation of ventilation ducts. The ban ended its use, but materials from the years before can still contain asbestos, for example tile adhesive, filler and pipe insulation.
What should you check before a renovation?
Before the renovation starts, you should establish which materials will be affected by the demolition. Check the following in particular: tile adhesive and grout in the bathroom, filler on the walls, vinyl floor coverings and the adhesive underneath, pipe insulation, roofing materials such as asbestos cement sheets and roofing felt, and wall boards. All of these materials can contain asbestos.
A good starting point is to find out when the house was built and whether it was renovated before the asbestos ban. If the house has been renovated several times, materials from different periods may lie on top of one another.
A practical approach
Testing an older house for asbestos does not mean that all materials have to be tested at once. The most practical approach is to test the materials affected by the renovation. If you want to renovate the bathroom, for example, take samples of the materials in the bathroom. If the floor is to be replaced, test the floor covering and the adhesive underneath.
This targeted approach is cost-effective and sufficient in most cases. A more comprehensive survey of the whole house is only needed if the entire house is to be gutted or demolished.
Intact materials and materials that will be removed
It is important to understand that intact asbestos-containing materials inside a structure pose no immediate danger. Asbestos only becomes harmful when the material is damaged and fibres get into the air you breathe. That is why testing for asbestos is especially important before demolition work.
If you are not renovating but are thinking of buying an older house, you can ask the seller whether any asbestos testing has already been done. A standard pre-purchase survey often does not cover asbestos, so it is worth checking this separately.
Things to note for detached and terraced houses
In detached houses, asbestos can be found in many places, because the house has often been renovated several times over the decades. Asbestos materials may have been used in each renovation, so the structures may have several asbestos-containing layers on top of one another.
The situation is often similar for terraced houses, but you also have to consider the parts of the building that the owners' association is responsible for, such as facades, shared pipes and roof structures. The owners' association should settle the asbestos question before joint renovation projects.
What to do next
If you own an older house and want to renovate, first find out whether the materials to be removed contain asbestos. Take a sample of the material, pack it and send it to the laboratory. The result tells you whether you can demolish normally or need the help of a contractor specialising in asbestos removal.
An older house is not a problem – it is an opportunity. If you know which materials are in the structures, you can plan the renovation safely and efficiently. An asbestos analysis is a small investment that brings safety and peace of mind.