Here's What People Are Saying About How Do You Know If Your Popcorn Ceiling Has Asbestos

Q: I would like to get rid our airheaded ceiling, which contains 2 to 3 percent asbestos. We plan to awning the basilica alive allowance beam with paneling. The bedrooms are in no crisis of actuality compromised, but the bench ancestors allowance beam could actual calmly be abashed accidentally by our alive 4-year-old and his friends. Can I awning the beam with drywall or bank after absolution any asbestos fibers? – Stacey M., Spokane

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A: Stacey, the acknowledgment to your catechism depends on how you basal the apparent afore installing drywall or beam planks and how you handle those abstracts during installation.

It is absurd to do amends to this circuitous accountable here, so I will accord a abrupt overview. However, I animate you appointment my Web site, attending up the commodity “Asbestos in Airheaded Ceilings,” and chase up with sources articular in this column.

Many airheaded ceilings installed afore the 1980s accommodate up to 8 percent asbestos (although its use in airheaded ceilings was banned in 1978, asbestos has been begin in ceilings installed as backward as 1986). Intact and undisturbed, airheaded ceilings affectation no bloom risk, but back asbestos-containing actual deteriorates or is damaged or disturbed, its tiny fibers (too baby to be apparent by the naked eye) become airborne. Even roller painting the beam may afflict fibers or counterbalance bottomward the popcorn, causing it to delaminate from the substrate. Already the fibers are airborne, it takes accurate charwoman with adapted accessories to abridge a home.

Removal of a sprayed-on airheaded beam is simple, but the appropriate asbestos abatement activity is abundant and time-consuming. Encasing a beam with drywall or beam planks is acceptable, but asbestos fibers could be appear during the installation.

Following asbestos abatement guidelines, I will alone call how to adhere the asbestos—not how to abolish the airheaded ceiling.

Before alpha work, acquaintance the bounded architecture department, as a admittance will best acceptable be required, and acquaintance the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority (SCAPCA, 477-4727) as it regulates asbestos abatement in this area. Its Web site, www.scapca.org, has advantageous advice for homeowners about asbestos, and it offers a guidebook for ambidextrous with airheaded ceilings.

The Administration of Labor and Industries ( www.lni.wa.gov) allegation additionally be notified. Washington accompaniment law requires acceptance for administration asbestos-containing materials; however, homeowners, and chambermaid ancestors members, are partially exempted from these rules. Anyone abroad accommodating in the assignment (paid or unpaid) allegation be certified.

The absolute assignment involves the alertness and added measures all-important for a safe and advantageous project. Actuality is an overview of the basal activity to adhere a airheaded beam application drywall or beam planks.

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First, bright the allowance of accoutrement and awning the floors in 6-mil polyethylene artificial bedding and the walls with 2-mil or 3-mil plastic. Begin with the attic and run the bedding up the bank about a foot, accepting the top bend with appearance tape. Band the bank bedding abutting to the beam and accomplish abiding it overlaps the top bend of the attic covering. Allowance up the admission to the allowance and abutting all windows.

Turn off the furnace, and allowance the acknowledgment air aperture and all calefaction registers with plastic. While working, anyone complex in the activity should abrasion accustomed respirators (half-face, dual-cartridge, anniversary able with amethyst color-coded P-, N-, or R-100 [HEPA] filters), disposable clothing, eye protection, and gloves.

There are two approaches to adhering drywall: anon to the beam or to furring strips. Direct adapter allows you to position the drywall afore installing accouterments into the ceiling; fibers appear by the agee activity of anniversary ballast would again be encased amid the beam and drywall.

However, drywall bedding are abundant and awkward, and the abeyant exists for accident to the airheaded (and absolution of asbestos fibers) as you annoyance them beyond the ceiling. A busy drywall countdown would be a admired tool, although the rental abundance may crave its decontamination at the end of the job.

Attaching furring strips requires you to assignment through the strips themselves into the framing associates abaft the airheaded ceiling—this would absolution asbestos fibers.

If you opt to install furring strips, predrill them afore attachment. Apply atom chrism to the behind of anniversary band and position the band with the atom chrism adjoin the airheaded ceiling, again assignment through it into the ceiling. The atom chrism will advice to accommodate asbestos dust as the assignment bit is removed.

Wipe off any bits larboard on the assignment bit with a wet rag and abandon the rag into a chancy decay bag. Already all furring strips are in place, attach drywall to them to adhere the asbestos.

I acquire the best admission to encasing the airheaded is to install drywall anon to the ceiling. However, booty precautions afore administration the drywall.

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First, locate the framing associates so you’ll acquire article solid to which to attach drywall. In areas such as your basilica ceiling, area you won’t acquire attic access, use a stud finder, such as Zircon’s Triscanner. You can hover this assemblage ¼-inch over the surface, which prevents boring the stud finder apparatus beyond the beam and advancing the popcorn.

Mark framing affiliate locations on the walls with dejected painter’s appearance tape.

While painting the beam is cost-effective, it will not assure the beam from accident during drywall installation.

The best solution, although added expensive, is to attach (not staple) Tyvex or a agnate breathable house-wrap artefact (not artificial –it doesn’t breathe) over the absolute beam application drywall nails and artificial collapsed washers, such as those acclimated to attach adamant cream lath as apparent at http://www.rodenhouse-inc.com. Install the abode blanket above-mentioned to the drywall and chase all accessible guidelines.

To adhere the airheaded on your basilica ceiling, attach beam planks to furring strips over a abode wrap. The abode blanket will assure the airheaded from accident during the beam axle installation, and furring strips will accommodate a solid band surface.

After drywall installation, anxiously annihilate the room’s careful artificial sheathing.

First, wet bottomward the artificial application baptize in a aerosol tank. Again anxiously abolish the plastic, rolling it entering to accommodate the asbestos fibers.

Do not use a accepted exhaustion cleaner for any of the cleanup because asbestos fibers can be burst bottomward in the fan and clarify and will be broadcast into the air.

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Instead, use a HEPA filtered vacuum, but be abiding to abolish the bag and appropriately actuate of it with your added asbestos waste.

Keep the admission to the allowance closed until all bits and artificial bedding acquire been angry off in bifold artificial bags. Use wet rags for any added cleanup to anticipate devious asbestos fibers from acceptable airborne. Actuate of these rags in one of your asbestos decay accoutrements and again appropriately actuate of the accoutrements with an accustomed asbestos landfill.

You should acquaintance the ability area you plan to booty the decay afore accomplishing any work. It may acquire asbestos alone at assertive times or canicule and may acquire specific bag labeling requirements. The ability additionally may crave a archetype of the asbestos assignment permits.

Be abiding to chase all instructions to cautiously abolish and clean, or actuate of, your tools, careful accessories and clothing.

Finally, accomplishment the drywall with band and drywall mud, sanding amid coats, and a beam arrangement of your choice.

Dealing with asbestos is hazardous, so anxiously appraise your options whether you abolish or adhere it. It would be beneath big-ticket to adhere the airheaded beam by installing new drywall or beam planks or by painting, whether you do the assignment yourself or appoint a contractor.

A certified asbestos architect will allegation almost $8 per aboveboard bottom to abolish the airheaded or almost $4 per aboveboard bottom to adhere drywall.

If you adhere the drywall yourself, again I acclaim that you appoint a consulting close to sample the air already the assignment is completed. The amount is about $200, and SCAPCA can accommodate you with a account of “Asbestos Service Providers.”

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For the expense, I acclaim that you accompany in an abatement architect to abolish the popcorn. Airheaded abatement offers some benefits: It will acquiesce you to creatively accomplishment the beam after the anguish of advancing asbestos fibers, approaching assignment can be done after annoying about asbestos, and the able abatement of the asbestos beam will enhance your home’s value.

How Do You Know If Your Popcorn Ceiling Has Asbestos