Understanding Asbestos Safety | Ask This Old House

Рет қаралды 45,337

8 ай бұрын

In this video, This Old House host Kevin O‘Connor meets with environmental contractor Ron Peik to talk about asbestos, when it’s dangerous, and the steps required to identify and remove it.
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Host Kevin O’Connor meets Alpine Enviromental’s Ron Peik at the shop to learn everything he needs to know about asbestos.
Asbestos was known as the “Miracle Mineral,” and as such, it was used to produce an astonishing amount of materials used in homes and consumer goods. But Its dangers have come to light over the past few decades, and now many homeowners are wondering what the real scoop is.
Where to find it?
Environmental contractor, Ron Peik demystifies asbestos and shares options for
mitigation. He explains that asbestos exposure only happens when the material is
disturbed. He warns that complications can arise due to overexposure over prolonged
periods of time. To identify all potential hazards in a building, Ron recommends having
an Asbestos National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) [www.epa.gov/compliance/nation...] survey conducted by an environmental contractor.
On average asbestos mitigation will run from $2-5k. Costs vary depending on the size of
the project.
For this segment, our expert was Ron Peik, environmental contractor [www.alpine-environmental.com/...] and president of Alpine Environmental [www.alpineenv.com/].
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Understanding Asbestos Safety | Ask This Old House
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Пікірлер: 80

@seamusbegley 8 ай бұрын

Great intro video to asbestos! Another note I wish they would have mentioned: asbestos is very common in pre-1980 applied drywall texturing, and joint compound too. It's generally a lower percentage, but still harmful. It's actually pretty uncommon to find gypsum board itself containing asbestos. The texturing and joint compound were often batch mixed on-site with asbestos, so if you take samples yourself, make sure to grab multiple samples of texturing, and drywall and joint compound to ensure you have a representative sample. Generally if there's less than 1000 square feet, take 3 samples of drywall+jc, and 3 samples of texturing. Grab more samples, like 5 - 7 of each, if the amount of material to be disturbed is greater than 1,000 square feet. Take small quantities, wet the material prior to cutting, and vacuum any dust with a HEPA vac. Another note, if your samples come back between 1% - 10% asbestos, you can request the lab to re-analyzed them by "400 point count" methodology. This method can potentially return a result less than 1%, which the standard analysis cannot do. It's more expensive so check first with the lab before requesting it. But please remember that even if the asbestos containing building material is less than 1%, it can still expose you to asbestos fibers. Some states regulate workers disturbing

@coreyernst553 2 күн бұрын

They also mixed it into plaster to help bind it together and give it strength, so before you demo old plaster get that checked as well!

@alberthendricks342 8 ай бұрын

This video is spot on. Technically perfect.

@rickwallace2091 8 ай бұрын

I saw Bob Villa interview a guy years ago, and he said they dump the asbestos back in the abandoned or closed mine.

@liammcgough9969 8 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video. I found out the shingles on my 1950's Levitt ranch has asbestos shingles but, they are painted and good condition. Thanks for the piece of mind.

@michaellinner7772 8 ай бұрын

Holy crap! Does asbestos turn people into giants?

@stratonarrow 8 ай бұрын

Lmao

@robertbamford8266 8 ай бұрын

Interesting. In our old Boston apartment, exposed hot water heating pipes running up the walls were a burn hazard - so we put on asbestos sleeves. Who knew.

@kc0lif 8 ай бұрын

fascinating subject.

@nighthawkj30A4 8 ай бұрын

I use to live in house built in 1964 it has Lead Paint and asbestos. Best to not disturb it. I live in a alittle newer house now late 1990’s. So i don’t worry as much

@PtrOBrn 8 ай бұрын

I remember my grandfather once mentioned he worked in an asbestos pit at a steel mill.

@phonedave 7 ай бұрын

My grandfather was a marine machinist - worked on ships. He used to talk about how he used to leave when the workers would bust the asbestos cement off the steam lines. Even back then he said said he did not feel right breathing it.

@steveschwartz6138 8 ай бұрын

Good informative video. I bet Kevin's neck is sore from looking up so much.

@SolipsisticElixir 8 ай бұрын

Dude is tall

@johnroberts2444 8 ай бұрын

I love watching TOH ,Its so informative & helpfu with good tips & tricks on building things & homes !!! 👍😊🛠

@TT-mk8tw 8 ай бұрын

This one of the videos I should’ve watch 5 years ago.. my 1923 house has insulation that’s known to have asbestos but the home owners added new insulation on top so I found out when we were changing ceiling lights… now I have to pay 10-12k to get rid off it.. Thankfully I did good since the house is in a nice neighborhood and has doble in price in just 5 years! 5:13

@RoosterG33rs 8 ай бұрын

its not a bubble. its not a bubble. its not a bubble. its not a bubble.

@vapeurdepisse 7 ай бұрын

@@RoosterG33rs it's still going up brah, with 8% rates. It will only go higher when the economy tanks and rates are 3 again

@newield76 8 ай бұрын

In the many places I've lived and remodeled State to state have some different from the EPA. In New York 1988 remodel I had to pay 25K to remove it all, 4 years later the company that did mine was bankrupt and in court for not doing it to EPA or state law. So lost a lot trying to sell house.

@garyswisher 8 ай бұрын

You can still find products with it, although you might have to do some digging around. Canada was still mining asbestos (in Asbestos, Canada) into the early 2000s. Doing any renovation or demolition work requires an inspection for asbestos.

@kurtkuipers9473 8 ай бұрын

Well done well, what is the price

@JimDean002 7 ай бұрын

I remember in the '70s my dad installed an under counter light that he was afraid would get hot so we went and bought a sheet of that cementation asbestos and cut it with a hand saw right out front. No masks or anything. When we moved it was still underneath that light hanging over the kitchen counter. The house we moved into was built in 1926 and I use the furnace room as my work room. I was a teenager by then. All of the pipes had asbestos wrapping and of course we didn't know it was bad so I would use them to hang things. There was always asbestos dust floating around down there. Probably why my lungs are so screwed up today.

@eaglevision993 6 ай бұрын

Ususally this is considered as small exposure which generally has no harmful effect. To cut a piece of asbestos cement sheed once and be in a boiler room is not going to harm you. Now if you always disturbed the integrity of the insulation, that is another matter. But just to sit next to bonded asbestos will do nothing. Same goes for asbestos shingles and vinyl flooring containing asbestos. As long as they are undamaged everything is ok. Just don´t rip them out dry.

@cdavidlake2 26 күн бұрын

Sounds like a big business.

@ro-landocalrissian4633 17 күн бұрын

I’m curious, a part of my room wall is crumbling & there is a white powder..could this be asbestos?

@dgrblue4162 7 ай бұрын

Asbestos is perfectly fine so long as the wrapper isnt damaged. A lot of pipe insulation used in the past was cloth or paper based and those can degrade over time.

@georgew8586 8 ай бұрын

When I watch these home improvement shows, especially of older homes, I often wonder how much potential asbestos is being let loose, yet you don’t see folks wear a mask in all of that dust and debris. Same with potential lead paint, never a mention of how to abate this. Yes it’s expensive, but cheaper than the potential medical cost.

@RandomVids519 8 ай бұрын

Move to canada wooo

@KJF-ny 8 ай бұрын

They've shown many segments of abatement over the years. This is one of the shows that doesn't hide much from the audience, other than the TV magic of making things get done quicker.

@georgew8586 8 ай бұрын

@@KJF-ny Hi agree with TOH has been great in discussing this over the years. I was speaking about all of those other shows, where they rip apart an older home and modernize it and never discuss the potential for any abatement that should be considered.

@GlennC789 8 ай бұрын

What I really want to know, and was hoping this segment would tell me a bit about, is what is the actual risk to dealing with a small amount of asbestos on an individual basis. I know I take a thousand different risks every day, if I rip out some floor tiles in our 1947 house and just wear a dust mask, how much risk am I accepting? Compared to my drive to the supermarket, for example, or a short hike in bear country? I know there are way too many variables and actual unknowns to answer that quantitatively, but I'd like a better idea than "avoid the slightest exposure at all costs," which just isn't realistic.

@jgood005 8 ай бұрын

@@GlennC789 They obviously can't tell you that. If they downplay the risk at all, some idiot will get asbestos poisoning and sue the show since they suggested he'd be OK with minimal exposure.

@jeremyallarie6832 8 ай бұрын

Don’t forget about duck/pipe wrap has asbestos too

@george-101 8 ай бұрын

"He's about 6 feet 11 and 7/8 of an inch", Tommy Silva

@thomassears4920 7 ай бұрын

Sounds a lot like Rockwool

@Cypher791 8 ай бұрын

How did they find this guy? Magic beans? 🌱😮

@whicky1978 8 ай бұрын

Kevin O’Conner is 6’1’’

@FKS1994 8 ай бұрын

holy crap that guy is tall!

@laurie6123 8 ай бұрын

How common is it in the drywall or plaster, 1956 house, mid Michigan

@MISOGANY 8 ай бұрын

Decently common. Don’t be surprised if it’s on old floor tile or used as wrapping for old school furnace vents.

@ProAlchemist 8 ай бұрын

I had drywall tape from the 70s or so that contained asbestos

@newield76 8 ай бұрын

For the most part After 1946 or 47' drywall was labeled with some mention of fire proof or the likes. Those likely have asbestos. My Goldbond 1944 drywall tested negative. The hot water pipes had a wrapping containing asbestos and removed by wetting, wrapped, and bagged. All in my Michigan house remodel.

@seamusbegley 8 ай бұрын

Drywall texturing, and drywall joint compound was often mixed with asbestos. From houses I've surveyed in California, I'd say it's a 60% / 70% chance your joint compound or texture is asbestos containing, assuming the house hasn't been remodeled since.

@ronevans852 8 ай бұрын

I bet that’s a high price or deal.

@georgeryan9139 8 ай бұрын

Well you can tell, if the house is old (before 1960), the previous owners have done much work and it’s dry with rapping that has exposure, you can say this is asbestos.

@rob_boss 7 ай бұрын

Good lord how tall is he?

@snomass1 8 ай бұрын

I’d say he’s 6-10

@0blivioniox864 8 ай бұрын

Is lobstah guy still around?

@cyn5962 20 күн бұрын

Yikes!

@dgrblue4162 7 ай бұрын

That fella is quite tall.

@ekujj13 7 ай бұрын

For context, the guy on the left is 5’10”.

@JasonLLC 8 ай бұрын

That dude is tall.

@takr797979 8 ай бұрын

6’ kevin looks tiny .. lucky Tom wasn’t hosting this segment

@HAMRADIOJOE4178 8 ай бұрын

ID SAY 6' 9''

@theswed82 8 ай бұрын

1883 House and I breath it daily when the HVAC kicks on.

@RandomVids519 8 ай бұрын

Dummy

@bluegrasskid 4 күн бұрын

How’s it going? I’m wondering if the 1930’s brick in my living room and bedrooms are becoming dangerous. I saw some brick dust on the hardwood floor when I came home today. Kind of concerning.

@saulgoodman2018 8 ай бұрын

I didn't realize how short Kevin was, until now.

@Painmaster212 8 ай бұрын

Kevin is like 6'1 though , so not a short guy. The other guy I believe, is around 6'8 to 6'9.

@jej3451 8 ай бұрын

Sounds like a great material. Where can I buy asbestos-based products for my projects?

@garyswisher 8 ай бұрын

Surprisingly you can still get it in some products. It is hard to find but is still out there. I'm an asbestos inspector and have seen newer buildings with materials that have tested positive. I've also seen old buildings with no asbestos.

@zunedog31 8 ай бұрын

Definitely don't want to use asbestos.

@mistereric416 8 ай бұрын

Is that a giant

@jimmallow1195 8 ай бұрын

His bio says 6'4", someone else commented 6'1". Regardless that's a big tall man and knows his business.

@zeitGGeist 8 ай бұрын

Frodo and gandelf

@vapeurdepisse 7 ай бұрын

It's DIY-able. Just keep it super wet and maintain negative pressure with a Festool extractor. Wear a Tyvek suit and P100 respirator (shave your beard). Not rocket science.

@eprofessio 8 ай бұрын

What makes it dangerous is that 100% of the time it get manipulated or disturbed and the moment that happens you are exposed. So it’s very dangerous.

@GeorgeGraves 8 ай бұрын

A little exposed. Or a lot exposed. There are different amounts. Keep it wet if you want to remove it.

@JarlBarbossa 8 ай бұрын

You can paint it with an encapsulate

@priceandpride 7 ай бұрын

lol do you think homeowners care about safety?

@kevinclark6289 8 ай бұрын

If I was a betting man the Giants wife is probably about 5 ft 4

@bobwhelk2115 8 ай бұрын

Ok - who’s the giant or who’s the midget?

@greencello599 8 ай бұрын

The giant is Ron Peik, an environmental contractor who helps clean old homes of toxic materials like asbestos and lead before major demolition takes place for renovation. He's been on This Old House a number of times when a house needs to be tested and abated for asbestos, lead, or even smoke damage.

@Mike_Greentea 8 ай бұрын

They're both the same height just an illusion created by the lighting 🤔