FAQs about how to recognize asbestos in buildings.

This article series provides basic guidance, a photo guide, and a complete list of asbetsos-containing materials as well as dates or history of their use: this information can be used to identify most asbestos-containing materials (or probable-asbestos) in buildings by simple visual inspection.

Q&A on Recognizing Asbestos Hazards in Buildings

These questions and answers about how to recognize asbestos containing materials, asbestos suspect materials, or items that should be treated as PACM - Presumed Asbestos Containing Materials, were posted originally at ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN BUILDINGS - home - be sure to check the guidance given on that page.

While a lab test is required to identify certain asbestos materials or to identify the type of asbestos, many asbestos-containing materials can be recognized by a combination of simple visual inspection and sometimes also knowing the material's age.

And asbestos can smilarly be ruled-out in other materials.

On 2020-10-29 by danjoefriedman (mod) - asbestos in 12x12 floor tiles in California

Age of building, remodeling history, can sometimes help you make a reasonable asbestos-flooring guess.

On 2020-10-29 by Randy

This is in San Francisco. Unfortunately no info on dates or brands. Tiles appear to be 12x12 and have since been removed.

On 2020-10-15 - by (mod) -

Amber

There is a bit more information you might be able to provide by checking

DOES THIS FLOOR CONTAIN ASBESTOS? - 5 easy questions to tell if your FLOOR probably contains asbestos

https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/DIY-Asbestos-Floor-Test.php

that would support a reasonable guess at whether or not your floor tile contains asbestos.

On 2020-10-15 by Amber

My house was built in 1973 and has these tiles. Is the adhesive or tiles likely to contain asbestos?

On 2020-10-14 1973-Flooring-Ambers.jpgby danjoefriedman (mod)

To make a reasonable guess about asbestos please step through

DOES THIS FLOOR CONTAIN ASBESTOS? - 5 easy questions to tell if your FLOOR probably contains asbestos

https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/DIY-Asbestos-Floor-Test.php

On 2020-10-14 by Amanda

Any idea about this tile? We pulled up our carpet last night and found this.

On 2020-10-12 - by (mod) -

Matt:

I don't recognize the flooring in your photo. If you have to remove it see ASBESTOS FLOORING REMOVAL GUIDE https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/Asbestos-Floor-Removal.php

On 2020-10-12 - by (mod) -

Hah

That 1960s pebble-pattern floor covering is likely to contain asbestos; best is to leave it in place and co er it over just as you suggest.

On 2020-10-12 by HAH

My parent's home was built in 1966. We have old tile that we aren't certain has asbestos, and know the construction timeline is on the bubble of when the flooring may or may not have had asbestos. My mom believes the materials were purchased from Forest City in Cleveland at the time.

We want to install new flooring-some hard flooring and some carpeting, and are trying to determine whether we should just cover the existing, or remove.

We hope to avoid asbestos remediation due to cost. Any insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

On 2020-10-11 by Matt

I want to rip up this tile to update this small bathroom. The house was built in 1977. This is most likely cut amid tile, correct? So i should be okay to rip it up?

On 2019-03-03 by (mod) - asbestos not likely in mineral fiber insulation

Take care to minimize dust creation and wear protective gear like N95 or better dust mask or respirator, eye protection, etc. Even fiberglass can be very irritating.

On 2019-03-03 by Camille - photo of my ceiling insulation, above

,
Thank you. I am needing to hang lights and tulle in the ceiling. Just didn't want asbestosis when I got up in there.

On 2019-03-02 by (mod) -

Camille

The photo [shown above] is blurry but it looks like fiberglass or mineral fiber insulation; I'd be worried about hidden damage and mold dfrom water and leaks.

On 2019-03-02 by Camille

I will do that in the next few days. Thank you.

On 2019-02-25 by (mod) -

Camille

Sorry if I just seen your text I can't tell what kind of insulation we are discussing.

Perhaps you can attach some sharp photos

On 2019-02-25 by Camille

We are decorating an old barn it has some what we think is insulation in the ceiling area. It is on the metal roof.

The item is silver very thin and has thread like fibers than run through it. From what I can read insulation with asbestos is loose. This us silver sheets. Do we have anything to worry about? We want to cover this material with plastic or pressure wash it off.

On 2019-01-29 by (mod) -

Michael

Look in the ARTICLE INDEX above, see the article, or search this site for it, on ADHESIVE TAPE TEST METHOD to collect a dust sample for as analysis

<$50. is a typical lab fer, the test materuals >$5.

Send to a certified asbestos test lab

On 2019-01-29 by Michael

I'm sorry for the lack of clarity. This is a photo of the elevator floor. (The elevator floor is tiled.)

After I took this picture, someone in our building wiped up most of it. He told me the material had an appearance similar to tiny cotton balls.

If I can get a better photo or more information, I'll post another comment.

Thanks again for your help! Much appreciated!

On 2019-01-28 by (mod) -

I'm sorry Michael but I can't add more to what I said before - I just don't see additional information on which I can comment.

What are we looking at: floor, wall, ceiling, upper side of a ceiling tile?

On 2019-01-28 by Michael

I just noticed that I could have uploaded a picture earlier. It's not very high quality, but the attached photo is the fibrous material I asked about.

On 2019-01-28 by Michael

... thanks so much for your quick and helpful response! From what I can, I think this loose fibrous material was tracked into the elevator by another resident (rather than due a maintenance project within our building). I'll do some research to see if there's a cost-effective way to do a sample analysis.

Also, to clarify my original post (which was a bit confusing!0, our building was originally built in the 1960s as an office bldg. About 10-11 years ago, they gutted the building and converted it into apartments. Although the subsurface floors (parking area, etc) are mostly original, the rest of the bldg was pretty thoroughly renovated.

Thanks again! I really appreciate it!

On 2019-01-28 by (mod) -

Michal,

it's not likely that you can see individual asbestos fibers without a microscope. For a reliable assessment of asbestos suspect material, unless it is known to come from an easily recognized asbestos source such as the corrugated asbestos paper pipe wrap series, you'd probably need a sample analysis by a certified asbestos test lab.

But a pile of fibrous material that is gray or white might be fibrglass insulation, another type of insulation, gypsum or drywall debris, or asbestos. One would not expect asbestos to be present in a 2008 building, but I'm a little confused by your description of "newer" as you also say the original structure is from the 1960s.

On 2019-01-28 by Michael

What do loose asbestos fibers look like? I recently found a small pile of gray/silvery-colored fibers in the elevator of my apartment building. They were somewhat shiny, had a needle-like shape, and clung to each other in a feather-like pattern. I’m wondering if those could have been asbestos fibers.

Our building is newer (it was a 2008 renovation of a 1960s-era office building), and there wasn’t any building maintenance work happening at the time. So if it was asbestos, I assume it would have been tracked into the building by another resident.

On 2018-10-26 by (mod) -

Extensive demolition could raise a question of an asbestos Hazard indoors if you are removing the drywall. That would be even more true if the drywall were being demolished by cutting chopping and sawing as opposed to being removed intact.

Keep in mind that the asbestos hazard is in the joint compound, and in your case at a very low level to start with,

The compound is not spread uniformly over the walls rather it is located at joints. Typically on 4 foot centers.

Typical minor drywall activities such as hanging a picture or small repairs are not likely to produce a measurable asbestos hazard in the building

On 2018-10-26 by Charles

I work in an apt complex and we recently had a fire. The restoration team found asbestos in the drywall joint compound at a level of 2%. Should I be concerned about future repairs to the drywall? Will I need to test every area of drywall before I or my team attempt to repair a hole in the drywall?

On 2018-10-26 by (mod) - hazards of improper demolition of PACM

Extensive demolition could raise a question of an asbestos Hazard indoors if you are removing the drywall. That would be even more true if the drywall were being demolished by cutting chopping and sawing as opposed to being removed intact.

Keep in mind that the asbestos hazard is in the joint compound, and in your case at a very low level to start with,

The compound is not spread uniformly over the walls rather it is located at joints. Typically on 4 foot centers.

Typical minor drywall activities such as hanging a picture or small repairs are not likely to produce a measurable asbestos hazard in the building

On 2018-10-26 by Charles

I work in an apt complex and we recently had a fire.

The restoration team found asbestos in the drywall joint compound at a level of 2%. Should I be concerned about future repairs to the drywall? Will I need to test every area of drywall before I or my team attempt to repair a hole in the drywall?

On 2018-10-04 by (mod) - Your fiberglass-reinforced drywall probably does not contain asbestos.

AW

Your drywall could but probably does not contain asbestos.

Its imprint refers to the use of fiberglass. It would be rather unlikely that a manufacturer would have used both fiberglass and asbestos in a drywall or gypsum board product.

Your question is repeated and answered in more detail, including our research citations, at

ASBESTOS in DRYWALL

On 2018-10-04 by Asbestos Wallboard?

I would like to know if anyone can help me determine if this Sheetrock contains asbestos. I'm hoping the fact that it is fiberglass reinforced may mean it does not contain asbestos.

Any help is appreciated.

On 2018-07-25 by (mod) - yellow foam insulation on hot water cylinder won't be asbestos

Barney It's unlikely that spray foam water cylinder insulation would contain asbestos.

See COMPLETE LIST OF ASBESTOS USES IN PRODUCTS

The only combination of asbestos and spray foam that I have found is a specialty product that laminated asbestos layers to spray foam for special fireproofing - see
ASBESTOS INSULATION

Water cylinder "lagging" that contains asbestos would appear as a white gypsum or plaster-like paste used on pipe elbows or on the entire exterior of a cylinder or on some heating boilers. Asbestos lagging, made of gypsum and asbestos, is not a yellow foam product.

More about water heater insulation and more about your water cylinder or calorifier is at INSULATE HOT WATER TANK?

On 2018-07-25 by Barney

Hi
Can you tell me please if this spray foam insulation around our hot water cylinder could contain asbestos. It was here in 1994 when we moved in. I recently read an article on asbestos and it mentioned cylinder lagging as a possible issue.
Thanks for any advice.

Can anyone tell me if this spray foam insulation around our hot water cylinder could contain asbestos. It has been here since we moved into the property in 1994. I recently read an article about asbestos in the home and cylinder lagging was mentioned.

On 2018-07-24 by (mod) - early multi-layer plasterboard probably Sackett Board

I would like to see some more when I lived in sharp photos of the edge of the material but from what I can see it looks like fiber board or insulating board sheathing which is a cellulose or paper based product used in this case as a plaster backing.

Note: later discussion with other readers and more photos enabled us to make a near-certain identification of the material shown here as an early patented form of "rock lath" a multi-layer plaster and paper board that or gypsum and paper board that was used as a base for plaster systems.

This is probably SACKETT BOARD

that we describe in PLASTER TYPES & METHODS in BUILDINGS

On 2018-07-24 by Rob

just started renovating my house which is from circa 1910. wanted to replace old trim and found out my walls are covered in this. much work done to the house over the years from prior owners and i cannot find one picture as to what this material is.

Its 1/8" thick layers of what looks like gypsum layered with a material similar to brown cardboard. can you please help?

On 2018-07-15 by (mod) -

Looks like plaster on wood lath.

Some plaster contained asbestos in the plaster mix. In my experience, most didnt'. To know for certain you'd need to test a sample.

On 2018-07-14 by jennR

Would anybody be able to tell me if this basement ceiling is asbestos or some other product?

On 2018-06-30 by (mod) - black foam carpet backing isn't asbestgos

The photo is blurry but this looks like black foam underlayment or underside of carpeting.

On 2018-06-29 by Anonymous

We have pulled up laminate floor to replace after water damage. We found this area that had been covered over by a previous owner.

Looking at old pictures, there appears to have been a brick structure in this spot some years ago. The house was built in 1969 in Florida, but the extension this is in was added more recently.

This material is foamy and has some spring to it, like a foam underlayment. I was worried it may be black mastic, but it doesn't sound like the descriptions I've read. Any idea if this might contain asbestos?

...

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• ASBESTOS PHOTO GUIDE to MATERIALS
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• ASBESTOS TESTING LAB LIST

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