Asbestos Reports
Asbestos has been a commonly used product within the building industry and can be found in most houses across the U.K, up until 1999 when the Government imposed a total ban on its use. The most common house hold items likely to contain asbestos are artex / textured paints, floor tiles, ceiling tiles, cement wallboards, roofing tiles, soffits and fascias, flue pipes & internal walls.
All types of asbestos can be lethal as it only takes one fibre to cause severe health problems and death. The presence of asbestos can also seriously lower the value of a property and affect its future saleability. It is, therefore, extremely worthwhile obtaining an asbestos report if you are purchasing a property which you suspect may contain asbestos.
There are normally 3 levels of survey type designed to give conclusive results to enable you to make a more informed decision when entering into house purchase negotiations.
Basic Survey (Type 1)
This survey is to locate and evaluate the extent of any asbestos containing materials and their condition. All suspected asbestos is recorded in the survey and report but will not be sampled.
Standard Sampling Survey (Type 2)
This is the most common type of survey for house purchase purposes as it is thorough and conclusive. The surveyor will locate all suspect asbestos materials and samples will be taken and analysed in order to confirm the presence of asbestos. Specific recommendations will then be made taking into account the asbestos content, location and condition of the material as to the most appropriate remedial action required.
Full Access Survey (Type 3)
This is a fully intrusive survey and will involve the destruction of specific elements in order to gain access to all suspected asbestos contained materials. This survey is generally used for before a major refurbishment or prior to demolition of a building.