Hello!
When we were about to add a second floor to our house, I had to remove a number of square asbestos pipes in the attic. I asked around and searched online for how to proceed, and was advised that you can do it yourself if you’re careful—it’s something you might have to do once or more in your life. The problem was that when my two friends and I started to demolish these, it turned out they were cast into a concrete block in the ceiling, so we ended up breaking parts of the pipes to get them out.
Some small pieces fell into the sawdust that insulated the attic, and I assume some dust also settled when we broke the pipes.
Two days after this, the roof was removed, and a new roof with a raised wall was installed, hoping it "ventilated" away some of the dust.
I’m not too worried about the small pieces in the sawdust but rather about the dust that settled there and which I am now afraid will be stirred up when I’m up there working and when the new ventilation pipes are installed in the old ceiling. I'm concerned about bringing asbestos dust down into the living areas.
I've also started to worry if there might be asbestos in other details I've been dealing with in the house, like the mortar in the chimney.
By the way, the house is from 1946.
Am I being overly paranoid, or is my concern justified? After reading more, it seems like most houses built before the 1970s have asbestos products all over the place, and people are destroying it without even thinking about what it might contain.
When we were about to add a second floor to our house, I had to remove a number of square asbestos pipes in the attic. I asked around and searched online for how to proceed, and was advised that you can do it yourself if you’re careful—it’s something you might have to do once or more in your life. The problem was that when my two friends and I started to demolish these, it turned out they were cast into a concrete block in the ceiling, so we ended up breaking parts of the pipes to get them out.
Some small pieces fell into the sawdust that insulated the attic, and I assume some dust also settled when we broke the pipes.
Two days after this, the roof was removed, and a new roof with a raised wall was installed, hoping it "ventilated" away some of the dust.
I’m not too worried about the small pieces in the sawdust but rather about the dust that settled there and which I am now afraid will be stirred up when I’m up there working and when the new ventilation pipes are installed in the old ceiling. I'm concerned about bringing asbestos dust down into the living areas.
I've also started to worry if there might be asbestos in other details I've been dealing with in the house, like the mortar in the chimney.
By the way, the house is from 1946.
Am I being overly paranoid, or is my concern justified? After reading more, it seems like most houses built before the 1970s have asbestos products all over the place, and people are destroying it without even thinking about what it might contain.
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Yes, if there is asbestos in the mortar of the chimney, it won't come out unless you are there and tear it down anyway.
(Was there mortar with asbestos in the past?)
(Was there mortar with asbestos in the past?)
There is no worry, you are not exposed to any significant exposure from a renovation. The fact that those working with asbestos removal look like astronauts is because they deal with it year in and year out. But as Matihas says, get a decent mask, gloves, and an overall that you dispose of when you're done, and you can sleep more than peacefully.
What I worry most about, as I mentioned, is that now afterward, when I've been up on the new floor working with tasks like insulating the outer walls, I may have brought parts of the asbestos dust that fell down among the wood chips down to the ground floor. All access to the upper floor is currently through an attic hatch in the kitchen. Above all, I am worried about my two little girls, aged 2 and 4.
Regarding asbestos in mortar, I saw a reference to it online, but I don't know how common it was to mix asbestos into the mortar. However, I have demolished the chimney down to the joists to then extend the pipe that leads to the fireplace; when I did that, I had forgotten to cover the ventilation ducts in the basement's recreational room, so when I got down there, there was a substantial layer of dust.
Regarding asbestos in mortar, I saw a reference to it online, but I don't know how common it was to mix asbestos into the mortar. However, I have demolished the chimney down to the joists to then extend the pipe that leads to the fireplace; when I did that, I had forgotten to cover the ventilation ducts in the basement's recreational room, so when I got down there, there was a substantial layer of dust.
I don't think there will be so much dust that it can be classified as hazardous to health just because one breaks apart asbestos. The big danger is, as was done before, cutting it with an angle grinder and preferably with a cigarette in the corner of the mouth. Then you can talk about it being dusty and hazardous to health.
You don't need to worry. The regulations in place are designed to protect those who frequently work with renovations, at disposal sites, or similar, and may be exposed to asbestos. Some regulations are created based on the inability to clearly define when there is a risk of ill health when handling harmful substances, and it usually results in a statement that handling should always be done "according to ...."
Maybe I'm just being super paranoid, it's easy to become that way with kids in the house, and the more you surf around and search for information, the more confused you become. Probably there are many things that are at least as risky that we do daily, but these are more accepted in daily life.
What I'm trying to convince myself is that if it were as dangerous as some people/sites (mainly American) try to make it seem, then clearly more than the approximately 300 people per year who die from asbestos-related diseases (in Sweden) would be affected. It seems relatively uncommon for people who haven't been directly exposed in their work to be affected.
What I'm trying to convince myself is that if it were as dangerous as some people/sites (mainly American) try to make it seem, then clearly more than the approximately 300 people per year who die from asbestos-related diseases (in Sweden) would be affected. It seems relatively uncommon for people who haven't been directly exposed in their work to be affected.