Are you thinking about remodeling your home? Was your home built before the 1970’s? There could be a chance that some of the materials used in the construction of your home contain asbestos. Get The Lead Out® can professionally assist you with the identification, assessment, and management of asbestos. Our expertise, training, and up-to-date regulatory knowledge allows us to provide comprehensive and complete asbestos testing and consultation.
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a mineral fiber. It can be positively identified only with a special type of microscope. There are several types of asbestos fibers. In the past, asbestos was added to a variety of products to strengthen them and to provide heat insulation and fire resistance.
What could contain asbestos in your home today?
Most products made today do not contain asbestos. those few products made which still contain asbestos that could be inhaled are required to be labeled as such. however, until the 1970s, many types of building products and insulation materials used in homes contained asbestos
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Common products that might have contained asbestos in the past, and conditions which may release fibers, include:
Resilient floor tiles (vinyl asbestos, asphalt, and rubber), the backing on vinyl sheet flooring, and adhesives used for installing floor tile. sanding tiles can release fibers. so may scraping or sanding the backing of sheet flooring during removal.
Patching and joint compounds for walls and ceilings, textured paints and ceiling texture. sanding, scraping, or drilling these surfaces may release asbestos.
Houses built between 1930 and 1950 may have asbestos as insulation.
Steam pipes, boilers, and furnace ducts insulated with an asbestos blanket or asbestos paper tape. these materials may release asbestos fibers if damaged, repaired, or removed improperly.
Cement sheet, millboard, and paper used as insulation around furnaces and wood burning stoves. repairing or removing appliances may release asbestos fibers. so may cutting, tearing, sanding, drilling, or sawing insulation.
Door gaskets in furnaces, wood stoves, and coal stoves. worn seals can release asbestos fibers during use.
Soundproofing or decorative material sprayed on walls and ceilings. loose, crumbly, or water-damaged material may release fibers. so will sanding, drilling, or scraping the material.
Get The Lead Out® will make sure make sure that the asbestos inspection will include a complete visual examination and the careful collection and lab analysis of samples. If asbestos is present in your home, our report will provide a written evaluation describing its location and give recommendations for correction or prevention.
For more information about residential asbestos inspections, please call Get The Lead Out® at 704-376-3594 or email peteh@gettheleadout.biz. We look forward to working with you and keeping your home safe from the dangers of asbestos.
