[boondocks95]

I’m about to close on a home built in 1971. The popcorn ceiling came back negative for asbestos, but I do plan to scrape all that off and tear out one bathroom, a small portion of wall in the kitchen/living room area, and I need to remove wall paper and do some sanding on some of the walls that look terrible. I’m aware that asbestos is often in joint compound, but obviously I can’t afford to pay an abatement contractor to seal everything up and do all this work.

I will not be living at the property when this work takes place and will be installing all new flooring and zero carpet. My plan was to just open windows and put a box fan in, use a true hepa vac, and clean really good. And of course turn off the HVAC and seal off vents.

That said, I do have a 2 and 6 year old and the two year olds bedroom is the one with awful sheetrock.

Should I be more concerned and take more precautions with my children or is this sufficient?

 

[Calson]

I would only worry about mold with your young children. Asbestos is not going to be found in a home built in 1971 but mold from water leaks could be present.

Overall, if a surface is sealed it will keep the asbestos and lead paint contained. It is when removing sheetrock that precautions should be taken. Use a N-95 dust mask for yourself when doing the work and if you need to seal of a work area use plastic drop cloths taped to the sealing (cheaper than a zip wall) to keep everything contained.

 

[Old Thomas]

Microscopic airborne asbestos is what is bad. If in doubtampen it to reduce dust, wear a mask, and clean up well. Then change your clothes when you are done.

 

[joed]

Lead paint would be more of a concern since you already tested negative for asbestos.

 

[Nealtw]

I taped a big drywall knife to a dust pan and wet the ceiling with a spay bottle of water and scraped it and never had to deal with dust.

 

[mark sr]

I doubt there would be any asbestos in drywall compound from that era. While it's possible that lead based paint was used the interior trim the odds are low. The main danger from either one is inhaling the dust - eliminate or contain the dust and the risk is drastically reduced.

 

[boondocks95]

The house has new windows and all the inside trim is stained - no paint so I wasn’t too concerned about lead paint, but perhaps I should be.

 

[mark sr]

While it's possible flat oil was used on most of the walls it's not likely. The kitchen and bath would have had an oil base enamel and the walls/ceiling. Probably a 50/50 chance it was lead based. Only way to know for sure is have it tested. I'm sure if there is lead paint it's been buried under multiple coats of non lead paint. Encapsulating is a recognized way to deal with lead paint and as long as it doesn't peel it does a great job. The only real dangers from lead paint is ingesting the chips or inhaling the dust [from sanding]

 

[boondocks95]

Well I’m installing recessed lights throughout and scraping the ceilings which tested negative for asbestos. I do have to sand one wall in my daughters bedroom. I’ll be removing the sheetrock in the bathroom but it’s covered in wallpaper and the kitchen is paneling. Ugh. My kids won’t be living here during this time tho.

 

[JBoot]

I’m about to close on a home built in 1971. The popcorn ceiling came back negative for asbestos, but I do plan to scrape all that off and tear out one bathroom, a small portion of wall in the kitchen/living room area, and I need to remove wall paper and do some sanding on some of the walls that look terrible. I’m aware that asbestos is often in joint compound, but obviously I can’t afford to pay an abatement contractor to seal everything up and do all this work.

I will not be living at the property when this work takes place and will be installing all new flooring and zero carpet. My plan was to just open windows and put a box fan in, use a true hepa vac, and clean really good. And of course turn off the HVAC and seal off vents.

That said, I do have a 2 and 6 year old and the two year olds bedroom is the one with awful sheetrock.

Should I be more concerned and take more precautions with my children or is this sufficient?

You stated your house was built in 1971. Not until 1977, did the Consumer Product Safety Commission ban the use of asbestos in joint compound. This asbestos ban did not affect products already on the market, so it is possible that joint compound containing asbestos was used even after the 1977 ban.

I worked on a house rehab project in 1982, and some of the buckets of joint compound were marked “contains asbestos.” At the time I thought, WTF?

Get a “Home Depot type” test kit [test kit and analysis for around $50], and give yourself some peace of mind: Collect a few samples from the suspected area and send them in for testing. Whether + or-, you can make a better decision at that point.

 

[boondocks95]

How exactly am I supposed to scrape popcorn ceiling off an entire home if it has lead based paint? I’m starting to regret this purchase now !

 

[mark sr]

The odds are the ceiling was not painted with lead based enamel. Even though it was still legal to use lead based paints on the interior in 1971 most did not. In fact the majority of popcorn ceilings don't get painted until they are old enough to get dirty. The only way to know for sure if there is a lead based coating is to test it.


Personally I wouldn't lose sleep over it. I've applied and sanded lead based coatings with no ill effects. Those who do generally breathed the lead dust on a daily basis.

 

[boondocks95]

So I’m guessing the outbuilding thats designed similarly to a barn probably does have lead. It’s red. Any ideas on how to best approach that? Should I encapsulate it with vinyl siding or tear it down?

 

[mark sr]

When was the barn built? what condition is it in?

 

[boondocks95]

I don’t know. I haven’t inspected it really well. I think it was probably built when the house was. It’s in good shape, but obviously not a new structure. It has been added on to, but it has an old screw-in fuse electric box so I assume there is a good chance it has lead paint on it.

 

[mark sr]

Again the only way to know for sure is to test it. Not all oil base paints in the 60s and 70s were lead based.

 

[boondocks95]

Let’s just assume the joint compound has asbestos - is it enough if I keep everything really wet when tearing it out, put a box fan in the window going to be enough ? Wear respirator and tyvek? I worry about it lingering in the house indefinitely when my kids move in.