Could it be Asbestos in the boiler cupboard?? :-O

[zenonithus]

Hello fellow DIY'ers.

I have a flat in a 1930's building, in the process of doing up as it's been rented out before and bodged quite badly

So the bathroom looks like it has been done in the last 10 years. All looks ok but the boiler cupboard is a mess. Plaster falling off crumbles dust at bottom, exposed brick and cement, pretty horrible.

My main concern is the plaster looks old, like when the place was built old. It looks like it curves around as it edges the older (lead?) pipes. It's all broken at the back so took a picture of a piece. Was it common for them to mix asbestos with plaster? Especially in the boiler cupboard?

Please let me know your thoughts. Cheers

 

[vinn]

You appear to have sand & lime plaster - but if you want to remove it use a good mask.
What do you want to do in the airing cupboard?
One of the vertical pipes seems to be copper and the other might just be heavily painted copper also.
Lead pipes are only a concern if they supply drinking water.

 

[zenonithus]

Hi Vinn,

Thanks for the reply. How do you identify if it is sand and lime? The painted pipes are a grey metal. They could be iron, though not sure. The inside of the boiler cupboard looks horrible with the plaster chipped off the walls exposing brick and cement.

I wanted to render it over and have it a bit more presentable, though the boiler is in the way to do the back wall. What would be the best approach to tidying the exposed areas? Cement then plaster?

 

[vinn]

Leave it alone. you would have the possibility of so many difficulties that its not worth messing with.