I Have Asbestos In My Attic

While remodeling the attic of his 1960s home john found piles of brown pebble like insulation.

I have asbestos in my attic.

If your attic or wall insulation is in batt or blanket form whether it s fiberglass cellulose or another material you generally don t have to be concerned about asbestos. If your home was built before 1990 and you have vermiculite insulation or if your house was built prior to 1970 it s likely that you have some form of asbestos in your attic or elsewhere. Also the bathrooms were taken down to the studs. Is this something we should be worried about and back out of the deal.

We recommend that you. We are currently buying a home. Odds are reduced but not completely eliminated if your home was built or renovated after 1990. This is a flip house.

There are a number of factors to consider when it comes to attempting to ascertain if you have asbestos attic insulation in your home. Any disturbance could potentially release asbestos fibers into the air. If you have an older home with rigid metal ducts as shown above it might have the white fabric tape you see in the photo. Our home inspector found vermiculite asbestos in the attic about 2 inches thick.

The types of insulation that were most commonly made with asbestos are loose fill also called blown in insulation. Attic insulation in older homes may contain asbestos that could fall through ceiling cracks. Used for fireproofing and insulation asbestos was a cheap and effective material that became an industry standard for buildings across the country. He decided to replace the existing insulation with new fiberglass insulation to save money in the winter months.

You may have this type of insulation in your attic if your home was built or remodeled prior to 1990. Asbestos is actually a natural fiber so if your attic insulation looks like wool there is a slight chance that it will contain asbestos. If you absolutely have to go in your attic and it contains vermiculite insulation you should limit the number of trips you make and shorten the length of those trips in order to help limit your potential exposure. One of the places you might find asbestos in a home is the duct system.

You can have it tested for asbestos but here s the rub. The epa defines an asbestos containing material acm as having greater than 1 percent asbestos. The owners put in canned lighting and exhaused fans. The white tape you see above is of the type that often contains asbestos although you don t really know without sending a sample to be tested in a lab.

We love the house. If you have a particular brand of insulation in your home you may have asbestos in your attic. There are many different kinds of wool like insulation that are man made and do not have asbestos but if your attic insulation looks like wool than it is best to be safe and have it tested by a professional.