Hi,

Planning to have some remodeling done, and part of that is removing popcorn ceiling in the bedrooms. I have had estimates, and when I asked the contractor about whether to have some tested for asbestos, he felt it wasn't a concern as he would take precautions of wearing a mask, covering the room in plastic and disposing of material in plastic bags.

While I am aware of his precautions, I was concerned about that of my family due to the likelihood of fibers being airborne throughout the house, or certainly any remaining in the bedrooms.

I did have some tested and it did come back as containing asbestos. The lady I spoke with was surprised, and not too thrilled, of hearing a contractor not showing more concern for their client. I know there is more involved with meeting regulations when asbestos is present, so now I have a dilemma.

Not sure I want to go to the expense of removing it with what is involved to have it done properly/legally, but I am having an abatement contractor coming to take a look and give a price. I don't mind the ceilings as such, but they do need to be updated in some way, at least with a coat of paint.

Question... has anyone gone through a similar experience and, if so, recommend an option that looks good, and is safe to do? I don't know if I should encapsulate with paint or cover it first... or go with the abatement and have it taken care of once and for all.

Thanks!

The key here is "friable" asbestos. If you read the EPA regs, you will find that latex paint is approved as an encapsulating agent. Better to paint than remove if the ceilings are in good shape. If you remove, you must follow EPA regulations. Popcorn ceilings contain 2-3% asbestos.
Another example is in older homes with asbestos lagging on pipes. EPA suggests coating the asbestos with mastic is equal to or better than removal since no asbestos will become airborne. Just prepped a house for sale, put metal tape over the adsbestos tape and then mastic. Passed all inspections.

Thanks for the info. They did say that it is friable. I'd consider painting (less hassle/less expense), but two rooms have some water damage from a previous roof leak a few years ago. It was mentioned that some of the drywall would likely need to be replaced... one has an obvious, decent sized, water stain, and the other has very slight warping in one area, which I didn't even notice until it was pointed out. This leads me to thinking it might be best to just have it removed (by a licensed abatement contractor), then a regular contractor can come in to do the repair work, and re-texturing/painting.

Friable should be removed. I should have explained that term.

I agree that a licensed abatement contractor is the way to go, likely the only legal way to go depending on where you live.

Thanks guys... it helps greatly to confirm what I was thinking should be the way to have it taken care of. Will get the ceilings sorted first, then just do the rest of the remodeling in stages to take care of cost along the way.

Appreciate the advice!