What does asbestos look like?

[KBF]

So I got a leak in the roof after all this snow, so I give a peek up into the attic to check out the damage. I see alot of grey fluffy material that I am hoping is just insulation. What does asbestos look like? Does the goverment still have that program going on where they have people come in and get that stuff out of your house?

[noneck180]

vermiculite insulation maybe?? google it

[catnthehat]

more than likely blown in cellulose insulation
http://rvalue.net/page5.html
Cat

[DarkAisling]

How old is the structure? If it is a newer house (less than 25 years old) it shouldn't be asbestos.

[Grizzly Adams]

Like Cat says, it's probably blown in cellulose insulation. The asbestos they worry about, is a contaminant in the old vermiculite insulation. Looks like small silver, bronze flakes. You wouldn't see the asbestos in looking at it, but disturbing it, you might ingest it, which is the problem. Your house would have to be older to have that.

Grizz

[Albertadiver]

If you can send me a pic or post it here, I could probably be able to tell you what it is. As you've described, it's likely cellulose fibre insulation or a vermiculite as was previously commented on.

http://www.celbar.com/details.html

[noneck180]

Yeah,, probably Cellulose,,

[ganderblaster]

I thought abestos looked like horse hair kinda?

[Grizzly Adams]

Asbestos can look like a lot of things. Really a very versatile material and used widely, before it was discovered to be carcinogenic. Quebec still makes a fortune, exporting it to less concerned countries. Couple of places you're likely to find it, is in "paper" wrapping around old heating ducts and asbestos cement siding. Usually, it's not very obvious, unless you know it's history.
Grizz

[DarkAisling]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

Asbestos can look like a lot of things. Really a very versatile material and used widely . . .

It was used in a lot of flooring too. I know of one educational institution in Calgary had asbestos in the flooring (it was deemed to be non-issue by the administration at the time, in 2001). It can also show up in old lino floors (the sticky tiles and the roll product). If you've got a white-ish powdery dust on your old floors, you've probably got an asbestos problem.

[Selkirk]

Originally Posted by KBF

So I got a leak in the roof after all this snow, so I give a peek up into the attic to check out the damage. I see alot of grey fluffy material that I am hoping is just insulation. What does asbestos look like? Does the goverment still have that program going on where they have people come in and get that stuff out of your house?

Most of the folks who have posted here so far are correct. By your description ("grey fluffy material"), you have a modern type of blown-in attic insulation, called 'Cellulose'. As a home inspector, I'm familiar with the stuff ... I see it almost every day. It looks like this . . .



There is no asbestos in that ^ type of insulation. Cellulose is completely harmless. I wouldn't recommend it, but you could probably eat it and be just fine.


However, some types of 'Vermiculite' insulation do have trace elements of asbestos in it. It's use in attics was very common in the `30's, `40's, and in some cases, early `50's. Vermiculite insulation looks like this . . .



And this . . .




Hope that helps,

TF

[Steven Noel]

Not to highjack this thread, but do any of the members know where to bring asbestos to be disposed of in Edmonton. Recently found a couple small bags (maybe 5lb in total) and would like to get rid of. Thank you kindly.

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by Steven Noel

Not to highjack this thread, but do any of the members know where to bring asbestos to be disposed of in Edmonton. Recently found a couple small bags (maybe 5lb in total) and would like to get rid of. Thank you kindly.

I know that there's a hazardous waste drop off in Edmonton where you drop off paint, etc. You could probably google it. That would be my best guess.

[noneck180]

Throw it in the Sask River,, everything else goes in there...

[Enigma]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

Asbestos can look like a lot of things. Really a very versatile material and used widely, before it was discovered to be carcinogenic.

Back when I was a kid, a family friend gave me a plastic container with about a dozen different "grades" of pure asbestos. From large "stalks" to finely ground "fluffy" asbestos (similar to the cellulose). We'd pick it up, handle it, smell it...."it's harmless!"

the vinyl tile you see in the floors of large stores (walmart, zellers, etc) used to be made with asbestos...referred to as "VA" tile (vinyl/asbestos). It looks the same now, but called "VCT tile" (vinyl composition tile)

[Map Maker]

My attic is filled with wood chips. hard to believe it was the standard for insulation before (i think).
Looks like a rats nest up there.

Hey triggerfinger, what percentage of the old houses (<1968) that you inspect have wood chips for insulation?

[DarkAisling]

Originally Posted by Map Maker

My attic is filled with wood chips. hard to believe it was the standard for insulation before (i think).
Looks like a rats nest up there.

Hey triggerfinger, what percentage of the old houses (<1968) that you inspect have wood chips for insulation?

Our's has wood chip insulation in the attic AND in the walls. The chips in the walls have become so compressed over the years that only the bottom 1/2 of the walls are insulated now.

[Bushrat]

Originally Posted by TriggerFinger

However, some types of 'Vermiculite' insulation do have trace elements of asbestos in it. It's use in attics was very common in the `30's, `40's, and in some cases, early `50's. Vermiculite insulation looks like this . . .



And this . . .




Hope that helps,

TF

Don't know about out here but when I worked in a building supply place back east in the mid 70's we sold tons of that stuff, it would come in on trucks loose like sawdust, they called it vermiculite, had asbestos listed as one of the main ingredients, it would go on a conveyor into a huge pile like sawdust and we would wade around through it and bag it for customers. Never ever thought about wearing a dust mask. We also had 4'x8' sheets of asbestos board which people would use to line the walls and floors of their houses around wood stoves and fireplaces. We used to cut it to size on table saws with a special blade, no dust masks or protective gear whatsoever, I remember blowing a lot of that stuff out of my nose for a couple years that I worked there. We never even thought about it.

I remember tearing down a couple century old farmhouses back there, they were insulated with buckwheat.

[Selkirk]

Originally Posted by Map Maker

My attic is filled with wood chips. hard to believe it was the standard for insulation before (i think).
Looks like a rats nest up there.

Hey triggerfinger, what percentage of the old houses (<1968) that you inspect have wood chips for insulation?

Yes ... it's hard to believe, but true! Wood chips were used as a common type of attic insulation, anywhere from the early `30's, right through to the mid to late `70's. My house was built in 1974, with ~4" of wood chips (= R10) in the attic. That's considered a bit of a joke by today's standards, given that most building codes today require at least R40 in the attic.

Originally Posted by Bushrat

Don't know about out here but when I worked in a building supply place back east in the mid 70's we sold tons of that stuff, it would come in on trucks loose like sawdust, they called it vermiculite, had asbestos listed as one of the main ingredients, it would go on a conveyor into a huge pile like sawdust and we would wade around through it and bag it for customers. Never ever thought about wearing a dust mask. We also had 4'x8' sheets of asbestos board which people would use to line the walls and floors of their houses around wood stoves and fireplaces. We used to cut it to size on table saws with a special blade, no dust masks or protective gear whatsoever, I remember blowing a lot of that stuff out of my nose for a couple years that I worked there. We never even thought about it . . .

!!!

The risk is a disease called 'Aspestosis'. Over the years, thousands of people who worked in aspestos related industries have died from it. It can take up to 20 to 30 years from the time of exposure to when symptoms begin to occur. I'd suggest giving this a read; http://www.lung.ca/diseases-maladies...se/index_e.php, and talking to your doctor about it.

TF