Asbestos and old ceiling tiles...

[Sarc]

I've decided to make us of some upcoming freetime to tackle the renovation of the upstairs landing. In addition to some floor and molding restoration I would love nothing more than to remove the unsightly ceiling tiles that are mounted to the ceiling. You know the kind; 12x12, little perforations, ugly as sin.

Anyway, though I'm lucky they are not glued to the plaster ceiling (mounted on firring strips) making for a less messy removal, I'm concerned that they might contain asbestos. One of our friends who's a preservation architect speculates they are not, but upon further investigation of the sample I removed today has me thinking otherwise. What do you guys think? Lots of fibrous material there...


The tiles:



The sample:



Zoomed in:

[HardDrive]

Almost certainly not. But if you are concerned, send a sample out to a lab for testing. It's cheap. Our place was built in 1947, so I had ours tested before removing them.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Certainly possible. I've seen asbestos pop up in all sorts of unlikely places (as well as the more likely ones). +1 to getting it tested. It's relatively inexpensive and abatement is also pretty cheap nowadays. The disposal costs are a large portion of it (bags or drums, everything has to be tracked and logged, etc.)

[vash]

what does it smell like? I AM KIDDING!!

i would get it tested...although i bet most people wouldnt.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Nope, you can still buy those today. They're some sort of wood fiber material. In my previous life of construction I installed those several times, as recently as 2002.

[johnco]

might be wrong but I believe those were made with bagasse. bagasse is what's left after sugercane is processed.

[Dantilla]

You could just hang sheetrock right over the top. This would encapsulate the tiles. Asbestos is not harmful if it is not disturbed.

That being said, I highly doubt those tiles have any asbestos.

[RWebb]

mine looked similar and did not - get them tested ===> $35 and the life you save from cancer might be YOURS

[look 171]

Every job we have now are ******* with older homes. I just test everything plsater to floor tiles just to be safe. 50-60 is cheap compare to law suites and health issues. Test it.

[Hugh R]

Probably not, but get it tested. Used to oversee and sign off on very large asbestos abatement jobs.

[Sarc]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I'm probably safe but it wouldn't hurt to ship some off to the lab.

[idontknow]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

You could just hang sheetrock right over the top. This would encapsulate the tiles. Asbestos is not harmful if it is not disturbed.

That being said, I highly doubt those tiles have any asbestos.

That's what we did, especially since we have blown cellulose insulation above the tiles. Just use 1 3/4" drywall screws and follow the firring strips.

[David]

Probably not, but I pay $30 to get samples checked. Get it checked.

[trekkor]

I'll add my nod to putting sheetrock right over the top. Yes.

No demolition, no disposal, no worries. What's not to like?


KT

[idontknow]

Though if the tiles are sagging, it'll wreak havoc on your drywall installation. As messy as it sounds, I used a belt sander to grind the humps down. It was still less messy than removing the tiles and ceiling insulation.

[aigel]

Free insulation if you keep the old tiles and put new sheetrock over them.

George

[trekkor]

if the tiles are sagging,

Even ways around that. Overlay the tiles with 1 and 1/2 wide strips, directly over the ceiling joists first.


KT

[look 171]

Originally Posted by idontknow

Though if the tiles are sagging, it'll wreak havoc on your drywall installation. As messy as it sounds, I used a belt sander to grind the humps down. It was still less messy than removing the tiles and ceiling insulation.

That's a mistake. Just install sheetrock over them and it will flatten out if the humps are to bad. If they are right over the joist, just screw the tile back into place to reduce the hump. Really, how bad of a hump is it?

[speedracing944]

Burn test?

Speedy

[onewhippedpuppy]

Those things are VERY easy to tear down. The only reason I would leave them in place would be for acoustic insulation, especially if it were a basement ceiling.