After a walkthrough (the initial ‘survey’) I found that there is another thing that might be a problem. Asbestos.
Asbestos can be found in all kinds of materials used in construction. To be honest, I didn’t notice that the property I’m buying might has an asbestos problem, until I saw someone from social media posted his experience of revealing asbestos in his home. That ceiling looks almost the same as mine, and before that I only thought it was a kind of pattern for decorative purposes.
The HSE’s website and other sources suggested that such type of asbestos textured coating usually contains 3-4% of white asbestos (chrysotile). Usually it is not considered as harmful as the loose ones in the floor cavity or around the pipes, but as a homeowner it is possible that I will try to drill on the ceiling one day. If it does contain asbestos, I prefer to get rid of it than to cover it, though the former will cost more.
Now I have to answer the questions: (1) where is the asbestos, and (2) what is the area affected. Since this flat has already been separated into different rooms, I assume that if one sample from a room turned out to be positive, then that room has asbestos throughout its ceiling.
My first reaction was to type checkatrade.com (of course!) and look for Asbestos Testing. On the following Thursday I got it tested and the results returned a week later.
Only the ceiling of the bathroom has asbestos.
That is so wired because I cannot tell the difference between the ceilings of different rooms. I checked with the seller immediately, who confirmed that he has never touched any ceiling in the past 15+ years. Then I decided to take Plan B – I ordered an Asbestos Sampling Kit from Amazon.co.uk the at once.
(AD) Asbestos Testing Kit on Amazon.co.uk
The kit was delivered the second day which is exactly what you would expect with (AD) Amazon Prime delivery, although the packaging is a bit of surprise – it was just bagged in a cheap dark plastic envelop and it has nothing to do with the yellow box shown in the product profile of Amazon. (I hope they can update it asap!)
I registered the kit on the lab’s website and returned the samples using the 1st Class prepaid envelop provided on Monday. It guaranteed 24-hour result since receipt but I would expect it to take longer as the Royal Mail is on another strike.
At the end of Tuesday I received the result, saying that only the bathroom has asbestos. Now I can negotiate the price with the seller.
(AD) Asbestos Testing Kit on Amazon.co.uk
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