Dust Control Methods for working with Asbestos Drywall

Small Drywall Damage Repair Options
Nail-hole or Drywall Seal-Up

Do You Need to Test Asbestos-Suspect Drywall?

1. No Asbestos Test Needed:
   
   If building materials in your home aren’t damaged and won’t be disturbed, you do not need to have your home tested for asbestos. - EPA
2. Asbestos Test Recommended:
   
   IF in an older building (built before 1980 in North America) you are not sure if drywall or gypsum board or drywall joint compound used in your building contains asbestos
   
   AND if the drywall must be disturbed so as to create a dust hazard, such as demolition or power-sawing,
   
   THEN you should have a certified asbestos test lab examine representative samples of both the drywall (usually does not contain asbestos) and samples of the joint compound (found in greatest quantity at drywall sheet joints and often containing asbestos).

See ASBESTOS TESTING LAB LIST

Watch out: Keep in mind that even if it contains no asbestos, drywall and joint compound dust creates ultra-fine particles that can be a serious respiratory hazard.

Don't Attempt an Amateur Drywall Removal If it Contains Asbestos

Read more about removal or encapsulation of drywall

at ASBESTOS-DRYWALL REMEDIATION / REMOVAL

A small drywall task such as nailing a picture hanging nail or small screw into a wall does not merit asbestos tests nor other heroic dust containment measures.

Dust Control When Cutting or Removing a Small Area of Drywall

The safest way to cut into existing old drywall that *might* along with its joint compound, contain some asbestos, is to use the following steps:

1. Control dust and confine it to the work area:

1.a. Put down a drop cloth

or better, thin disposable plastic drop cloth that you can simply fold in on itself and toss in the trash after all cutting is complete.

1.b. Work area dust containment:

If you have to do more extensive drywall demolition, consider creating negative air in the work room (a fan blowing out of a window is the amateur but successful way to do this for small jobs like installing a bath cabinet.)

1.c. Work area isolation:

A further step if we are actually making more than trivial levels of dust is to contain dust in the work space - eg plastic hung over the entry door and minimize entering and leaving the space until the cutting and dust creation are complete and cleaned-up.

Our OPINION is that the simple cutting through drywall for a medicine cabinet opening is such a small job that 1.b and 1.c should not be needed.

2. Minimize dust creation in the first place by how we work

Use a rock knife (synonyms: utility knife, box cutter, drywall knife) and straight edge to make cuts, not a drywall saw.

You could get a even a little more dust reduction by putting wide painter's tape over the outline, mark the cuts and cut through the tape. (Don't wet the drywall or you may damage it).

Watch out: using a coarse-toothed drywall hand-saw, or much worse, a power saw or hole cutter to cut drywall makes plenty of drywall dust, as we illustrate below

Above: We know how this messy drywall hole was cut: my flashlight is shining on the drywall handsaw used to cut the hole int the wall in the photo above.

That drywall cut was made in searching for hidden mold in the wall cavity in a building undergoing renovations: it was not occupied. This wall cut is discussed

at HIDDEN MOLD in CEILING / WALL CAVITY

3. Clean up dust after work and before the next job steps:

Use damp wiping and HEPA vacuuming of any dust on surfaces in the work room after you've carried out debris and carried out the folded-up dropcloth.

(I bring a contractor's trash bag into the work area, avoid getting it dusty itself, then when the work is finished I unfold the trash bag and put my drywall cutout debris and dropcloth into it for disposal as construction debris.)

Minimize the Asbestos Hazard at Small Drywall Holes or Cut-outs

Nailing Into Drywall to Hang a Picture

Simply driving a picture-hanging nail into drywall to hang a picture hook or picture on the wall should not release a meaningful amount of drywall dust.

We do not recommend asbestos testing before simply hanging a picture.

It's our opinion that collecting and sending a drywall sample for asbestos testing will cause more damage and release more suspect-dust than simply driving a small picture-hanging nail or screw as shown under the head of my Japanese Carpenter's hammer just above. - DF

To reduce even that extremely-small concern, nail through a bit of painter's tape.

Details are at PICTURE HANGING NAILS

Above: another example of penetrating drywall that creates no hazardous level of dust or debris is using a pin type moisture meter inserted into the wall cavity to check for moisture on the inner surface of the exterior wall sheathing. We describe using this moisture meter

at MOISTURE METER CHOICES 

Expedient or Temporary Seal for Small Areas of Drywall Damage: Cracks or Holes

Readers often ask us how to be absolutely safe from asbestos-suspect plaster or drywall dust when a wall or ceiling has a small area of damage such as a two-inch hole or a crack in otherwise undamaged and secure material.

Above, and "repaired" below, thanks to reader Katherine, is an example of a small hole or area of damaged gypsum board or drywall.

We use blue painter's tape in a suitable width to cover the wall for a safe repair that can remain in place until the hole is ready to be patched with a suitable hole filler or drywall patch compound.

Below, courtesy of reader mahmood is an example of incomplete drywall work leaving raw and slightly-damaged exposed gypsum board edges, in this case in a storage room.

Painter's masking tape in a wide range of widths between 3/4" and 6" is available at hardware stores, building suppliers, and online vendors such as Uline.com.

While the manufacturer says "holds up to 14 days with clean removal" that does not mean that the tape won't continue to adhere in place where you put it as long as the wall surface was reasonably dry and clean.

For the wall gap and exposed drywall above a quick and very inexpensive "repair" is to simply tape over that gap with 3" or 6" painter's masking tape like that shown below.

Nailing Paneling Over Drywall

Our OPINION and experience are that the volume of dust created and released into building air by nailing through paneling into drywall that is not already damaged would be below the limits of detection, so it's perfectly "OK" to hold paneling in place against the wall and nail through it into the wall studs.

Just be sure you've used a stud finder to locate the studs. Nailing just to drywall won't hold paneling in place very well.

When I install paneling over drywall I first locate each stud top and bottom and make a pencil dot on the ceiling and floor - just far enough out from the wall that I can see the dots when I'm holding the paneling up in place against the wall.

That way I see exactly where to nail the paneling to the wall. If your nails tend to stray off the imaginary line between the ceiling and floor dots, you can have an assistant hold up a straight edge. (I don't want to make marks on the paneling itself.)

Also see PANELING, WOOD & WAINSCOTING