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My family just bought a late 19th century New England house that we're in the process of renovating. We plan on replacing the kitchen cabinets and repairing some of the walls. We took down some of the cabinets yesterday and noticed that the walls (lath and plaster) have some kind of hairy/furry substance.
We are now freaking out at the prospect of having to pay for asbestos abatement, which we really can't afford at this point in time. I've asked a few contractors about it, but they all told me not to worry because asbestos was most commonly used to insulate pipes, ceilings, or tiles, not plaster walls.
Does asbestos behind walls need to be removed if I'm going to cover the area up with drywall and kitchen cabinets? I don't know for sure if the walls contain asbestos, but I do know that asbestos was used in the shingles outside and some of the pipes in the basement.
With the exception of the ones that are pink fiberglass insulation and that 2nd to last one which looks confusing, those look like horsehair plaster to me. (I grew up in 19th century New England homes and helped my parents remodel as a teenager). Horsehair plaster looks like that - crumbly with fibers in them (literally horsehair, you can actually see the different hair colors). You could probably get it tested if you're really worried, but the sources of asbestos I've heard of date later - popcorn ceilings and asbestos siding shingles
Only way to be sure is by having a lab look at it under a microscope. You can't tell by the naked eye (except for the horse hair and pink fiberglass insulation).
Looks like asbestos in the cotton type white insulation. The pink stuff looks like just old fiberglass and the first pic does not look like asbestos. You can test it if you want. I would wear good filter masks simply due to the old dust and irritating fibers. You can always simply drywall over the existing plaster to encase the old possibly asbestos material.
None of the photos look to be asbestos to me. The second to the last photo is mineral wool (aka rock wool). It's seems to be the only one which might possibly contain asbestos--simply can't tell from the photo.
I deal with old homes fairly often being an electrical contractor and let me tell you...DONT disturb anymore plaster in that home until you know for certain no asbestos is present. You also have to worry about lead paint.
Once you disturb asbestos tiny particles will be floating around your whole house. Opening a window will do nothing and make it worse. And DONT use a shop vac. You need a certified vacuum with a HEPA filter and they are fairly expensive.
Call the pros out to have things tested and safely removed. If you get asbestos in your lungs that's it. You won't notice any effects to your health right away, but years down the line you can get cancer and worse risk of death.
The plaster to me looks like asbestos because it's more of a white/clear look to it but I could be wrong. Horse hair plaster is darker and multi color because it comes from the horses manes and tails.
Be careful consult the professionals before you touch anything else.
Run a search for asbestos. There are some very good sites that can give you good info on identifying possible asbestos. No need to be afraid or more than concerned. You can encapsulate asbestos many different ways.
No matter what you do, make sure to get some zipwalls to isolate the areas you are working on from other areas and close off any HVAC vents or ducts leading to or away from the area.
One more thing, while not to diminish the hazards of asbestos, it is like smoking, some people can smoke their entire lives and never get cancer, some smoke for a few years a bingo. My meaning is that while it is a hazard, you can do some very simple things to deal with it if it turns out to be that.
Trying to identify asbestos from a photo is very difficult in most cases, especially wall / ceiling material. Its sometimes very easy to determine if something is NOT asbestos, such as the pink insulation.
My suggestion is to have the material tested by a lab, and then you will know for sure.
Many times I will go into a home to sample material and surprised at the results that come back from the lab. Asbestos was widely used in plastering materials. Just have it tested, then you will know for sure.
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