I’ve seen several properties now that have asbestos in the roof structure.
It appears to NOT be such a “red flag” from an Estate Agents opinion in France, unlike the UK where everyone runs a mile.
To buy or not to buy, that is the question?
Have a breathing condition call Brataxia.
Is it all hype or to be taken seriously and I should have any property with this in the structure replaced, which could reflect in a price reduction?
Jilly
Hi Jilly - Several properties, but not all ??
If it were me, I would give asbestos a wide berth, if at all possible.
You already have Braxatia and will presumably know how/if this would be affected by proximity to asbestos (however minimal).
If you really would like to buy any of the properties, you could obtain an estimate for its safe removal and make the cost of removal by the vendor a suspensive clause in the contract.
After all, no one else wants to pay to have it removed and that should give you a good idea of the willingness to sell by the vendor.
Chances are there will be asbestos in some form in property pre 1997.
The Property Report prepared for the Buyer/Seller should tell you the Level.
http://diagnostiqueurs.din.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/index.action
Level 1: A technician will inspect your property every 3 years to check the condition of any material containing asbestos.
Level 2: The dust levels of the material containing asbestos on your property must be checked by an organisation accredited by COFRAC (Comité Français d’Accréditation).
Level 3: The asbestos found in your home must be removed and disposed of safely by a COFRAC-certified contractor (your local mairie can give you a list of qualified companies in your area). You will usually be given 3 years to carry out the removal of any asbestos-contaminated materials.
Asbestos is only a problem if it’s breaking up, many houses and barns have asbestos sheeting as a roof.
Dear Stella
Thank you for confirming my initial thoughts. I think I was trying to evaluate whether its become a “buzz word/fear” in UK having lived overseas most of my life.
Jilly
Very true. I think my concern would be dust particles being left behind.
Appreciate another angle at looking at this.
Jilly
Are you being shown the latest Asbestos Diagnostique - or are the Sellers simply mentioning it in passing…
Dear Stella,
I am just being given the heads up by estate agents. I haven’t been shown anything? It makes me wonder if other properties have similar issues and yet don’t get mentioned !
Thank you for pointing all this out, it’s a great help and one that could initially be costly and a health hazard to me.
Best
Jilly
Having unwittingly bought a house with asbestos 23 years ago, the stress of having it removed and suing our surveyor. No, I wouldn’t touch a house with asbestos.
If you ever need to change anything then the asbestos has to be considered. Also if you’re thinking twice about buying a house with asbestos when you come to sell the next buyer will have the same concerns.
There are plenty of lovely houses without asbestos, I suggest you look for one of those.
Remember it’s not just on rooves, it can be on heating pipes hidden under the floor or in the loft or it can be used to insulate walls.
It can be blue, very dangerous, white, less dangerous or a mix.
It’s nasty, insidious stuff and you won’t know if your breathing it in until it’s too late.
Each person makes their own decision. Some people will change a barn into living quarters/gite etc. If you know there is asbestos present, you must warn the Workers/whoever to take precautions… etc.
Whatever, if one is buying, one needs to know the full picture before signing anything.
If in doubt Jilly ask the agent to send you a copy of the Diagnostic’s for any house you’re interested in, this has to be done on all houses for sale now. If there’s asbestos anywhere on the property it should be flagged up so you can make an informed decision then.
Thank you. That’s decision made without question.
Jilly
Thank you both Stella and Debby. It’s a red flag definitely and not on my house hunting shopping list.
I appreciate your time, knowledge and advice very much.
Jilly
We have a large 10x8 m building in our garden with a corrugated asbestos roof, in good condition. It was inspected just under 4 years ago when we bid for the house, and is possibly due for inspection now/soon?
It seems sound to me and no part of it is friable or cracked. It is supported by wooden beams and joists on agglo blocks, is of fairly recent construction and well ventilated. It gives me no concerns.
I grew up in an age when asbestos was very widely used. My father built an asbestos workshop in the garden and an asbestos hen-house both of which we played in as children long after they became dilapidated.
At school and in the hospital’s where I worked for 15 years after qualifying the hot-steam heating system in the wards, operating theatres and autoclave suites was insulated with asbestos bandage, often in a deteriorated condition, and open to the air.
I recognise that asbestos does represent a hazard to health for people whose level of exposure is very high, but I also think there is a level almost of hysteria surrounding its historic use, and the few instances of its discovery in older buildings.
If it not in a state of disrepair I would just keep an eye on it, and not subject myself or anyone else to prolonged and unprotected exposure.
The cost of “safe” disposal is huge, even extortionate IMO, and corresponds to the ratched-up anxieties generated by persons who have a vested interest in doing so.
The cost of safe disposal is because two trained personnel have to wear the correct clothing, they have to erect a safe changing area on site, after using specialist equipment to cut and remove asbestos they have to remove their safety clothing in a the correct manner. The air at the removal site has to be filtered and measured for days until it’s deemed to be safe.
A specialist has to analyse the exact type of asbestos and it has to be bagged and disposed of safely.
Removing asbestos safely isn’t cheap.
It’s a lot cheaper than treating someone with mesothelioma though.
You wouldn’t mess about with radiotherapy or criticise the cost of delivering safe treatments why should a life threatening, horrible disease be treated any differently.
I hope you’re right, Teresa.
I’ve heard from others who have no reason to lie, that much of the asbestos from demolished buildings is collected by unauthorised disposal agencies and just goes to landfill.
It shouldn’t. The solicitor who took our case had represented all the poor families in Leeds where the children had played amongst heaps of what looked like snow, throwing it at each other.
Many women suffered from mesothelioma purely from washing their husbands clothing because before putting the ‘dusty’ clothes in the machine they shook them and breathed all the fibres in!
If there’s one subject that will raise my blood pressure it’s asbestos.
It’s always potentially dangerous.
I wasn’t aware that your life had been so dreadfully touched by asbestos, Teresa, and I am very sorry if I have heightened your distress. I have seen and looked after people affected by mesothelioma and know that they virtually drown in their own secretions, a horrible end to a life.