Asbestos Can Be Found throughout Your Home

Most products used in current construction projects are free of asbestos. The few products that still contain friable asbestos are required to be labeled as an asbestos-containing material. However, in decades past asbestos was commonly found unlabelled in several products, which include:

• Steam pipes, boilers and furnace ducts insulated with an asbestos blanket or asbestos paper tape. These materials may release asbestos fibres if damaged, repaired or removed improperly.
• Resilient floor tiles (vinyl asbestos, asphalt and rubber), the backing on vinyl sheet flooring and adhesives used for installing floor tile. Sanding tiles can release fibres. So may scraping or sanding the backing of sheet flooring during removal.
• Cement sheet, millboard and paper used as insulation around furnaces and wood-burning stoves. Repairing or removing appliances may release asbestos fibres. So may cutting, tearing, sanding, drilling or sawing insulation.
• Door gaskets in furnaces, wood stoves and coal stoves. Worn seals can release asbestos fibres during use.
• Soundproofing or decorate material sprayed on walls and ceilings. Loose, crumbly or water-damaged material may release fibres. So will sanding, scraping or drilling these surfaces.
• Patching and joint compounds for walls and ceilings and textured paints may contain asbestos. Sanding, drilling or scraping may release these fibres.
• Asbestos cement roofing, shingles and siding.
• Artificial ashes and embers sold for use in gas-fired fireplaces. Other older household products such as fireproof gloves, stove-top pads, ironing board covers and certain hairdryers may also contain asbestos.
• Automobile brake pads and linings, clutch facings and gaskets may also contain asbestos.

Some roofing and siding shingles are made of asbestos cement and houses built between 1930 and 1980 may have asbestos as insulation or vermiculite insulation in attics and walls. Contact our team for an on-site evaluation to determine if asbestos is present in mudding for drywall, textured paint or in patching compounds used on wall and ceiling joints.