paper on ducts

shaner123

hi everyone.. first off. my name is shane, im new to this forum.. my fiance and I are looking for a house to buy in our neighbourhood. we live in a great area of town but most of the homes here are between 150 and 75 years old. we did buy a house built in the 20's with the condition of an inspection.

this past saturday a friend of mine and I went and inspected the house ourself. (im an architectural project manager with many years of experience and he is a contractor with almost 25 years experience) so we both feel quite capable to inspect the house.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

we found this paper wrapping the old ducts that we believe could be asbestos paper but we are not 100%. i was going to take it to an asbestos abaitment place here in town to see what they say but i tought i would get a few opinions.

this paper was on the supply ducts and return. in the basement most of the ducts were bare but when i looked up between the joists there we some scraps of the paper.

thanks for the help.

shane

kenmac

probably asbestos. We used this stuff (I believe up until the 70's) Best just to cover it with mastic & or foil (metal)tape

gregzoll

Yes, Asbestos tape was used for joints on old duct work, compared to nowday's Foil Tape is used to seal joints.. Yes if left undisturbed is no problem. The problem with the fibers going airborne, is when it is disturbed. The picture is not really good. Do you have one showing the joints in question?

shaner123

to me it didnt appear to be tape, more like paper that wrapper the ducts competely.. but im not 100%.

i forgot i did take photos of the paper in the house.

there are 3 more on this link

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink


thanks again for your time

shaner123

oh and im not positve it was tape.. appeared more to be a paper that could have (at one time) wrapper the entire ducts..

kenmac

It's not tape. That's what we called it. It's asbestos paper. We soaked it in a glue solution & wraped the joints /seams

Marty S.

Often the entire supply line would be wrapped in that asbestos.

shaner123

this stuff was everywhere in the house.. almost everywhere i could look around ducts i found fragements of it.. it was all very brittle and very poor in condition. there are so many parts of the basement which were finished a long time ago and im worried about what i can't see.. i am also concern that its within the walls and floors on the upper floors.

Bondo

Ayuh,... If you haven't closed,.... I wouldn't....

shaner123

we're walking.. and the piss off is.. they knew it was there.. this was a family home for 50years.. they even covered it up with vapour barrier.

i'm telling them that they can keep their house and the asbestos too!

kenmac

Unless it's been removed. You are going to find this stuff in most of the older homes It could be covered up with insulation, tape or mastic

shaner123

i understand many homes have asbestos.. it just seems this stuff was right out in the open.. no attempt to remove any of it.. and that says to me there will be much more.

im getting a mix of reactions from people. many tell me to walk away and look for a place with no asbestos.. if i find it one day after the home is mine then no biggie.. have it removed.. but why would i buy a place knowing it exists.. others tell me just to buy it and have it removed

im not sure i want to get involved.. it seems that if i found a place with no evidence of asbestos and we discovered it buried in a wall years later thats one thing.. but to have it so accessable tells me i'd have alot of abaitment to do.. espically since i plan on doing extensive renovation to the 2nd floor and some on the gound and basement before i even move in

on that note.. we also found aluminum wire.. my insurance company says i might have to replace it before they would insure me!! woah.. that would be quite an extensive electrical rework!

gregzoll

About the Electrical, as long as the Aluminum is terminated properly (means correct wire nuts used, correct wall switches, breakers rated for AL/Cu, Receptacles, NOX used on all bare Aluminum ends) is safe. That means that you are in a position to have the Home Owner either pay to have it inspected & signed off by an Electrician stating the condition the wiring & panels are, or have them pay to have the wiring updated, this may include putting in new Circuit Breaker panel if fuse panel is in place, or unable to get ACFI breakers for current breaker panel, the Seller gets to pay for the costs.

Our house had the Asbestos paper on all of the joints on the old Octopus, and since we had our new unit put in, the duct work that had it is no longer there, because it was removed from the house. The key here is, as long as you do not disturb the Asbestos, it is not a problem. If you really like this home, and have truly fallen in love after taking some time to allow "Buyer's Remorse" to pass, then speak to an attorney to work with the Realtor to get the problems solved.

Do not let the Seller's Home Inspector or their recommended Electrician give you the info about the home, pay for your own uninterested third party that is paid by you to do the Home Inspection & Electrical Inspection. If you want, you could go as far as hiring a reputable plumber to look over the plumbing, or a GC that does all aspects. The key here is, do not go by the party that the Seller or Seller's Realtor recommends, because again, who is getting paid, it is not you.

bob22

You may be able to buy it in the condition it is in but not be able to sell it. I'd walk. There are other houses out there. Home is where the heart is (most of the time).