How to Navigate Asbestos Concerns in Older Vancouver Properties

Older Vancouver homes can offer a great deal of complications when it comes to either buying or selling them, they might have outdated plumbing or ventilation, outdated wiring or outdated construction and may require costly renovations to bring them up to modern standards. One of the most serious concerns posed by older homes built prior to the 1990s is the presence of asbestos. In today’s blog we will be providing a handy guide on how to navigate Asbestos concerns in older Vancouver properties.

What is Asbestos

Asbestos refers to a group of naturally occurring fibrous minerals that were commonly used as building materials due to their fire resistance and flexibility. The main issue with Asbestos is that the fibers are extremely toxic, and those fibers can enter the air whenever materials containing asbestos are disturbed. Long term exposure to asbestos has been known to cause a variety of long term and irreversible health effects such as asbestosis which is a long term inflammation and scarring of the lungs, restricted breathing caused by thickening lung tissue, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer that affects the linings of the lungs, abdomen or heart. It can take between 15 to 30 years to develop complications from asbestos exposure so it is best to limit any risk as much as possible.

How to determine if Asbestos is present in an older Vancouver home

By the 1990s Asbestos had mostly been phased out as a common building material but was extremely common in Vancouver homes and properties built prior to the 1980s and it was only properly banned as a building material in 2018. It is commonly found in old insulation, drywall, floor tiles, textured ceilings and many other building materials. If you are worried about whether some element of your property contains asbestos it is best to leave it alone and get it tested, especially if you plan to do any major renovations. Asbestos testing carries risk of exposure which is why it is best to hire a professional to perform the testing regardless of your own confidence. When you are seeking a professional for asbestos testing here are some questions you can ask, do they have a valid asbestos abatement license? Do the workers have valid certificates to perform asbestos testing? What lab do you use and is that lab accredited to perform asbestos testing?

Dealing with Asbestos

If your Vancouver property contains asbestos, you will need a permit from your local government for any significant demolition or renovation work. However, because Asbestos is so dangerous you should use professional contractors, do not attempt to remove any asbestos material yourself. All contractors able to perform asbestos removal need to be licensed and their workers must be properly certified. WorksafeBC offers a list of licensed contractors able to remove asbestos on their website at worksafebc.com/asbestos-certification-licensing. Depending on the amount of work needed to remove the asbestos from your property, certain rooms will need to be vacated and sealed for the duration of the work. As long as proper precautions are taken there should be no risk of asbestos exposure in the rest of the property during removal.

We hope that we have been able to provide some useful insight in navigating Asbestos concerns in older Vancouver homes. If you have any questions about Asbestos testing in Vancouver please feel free to contact our knowledgeable staff at The Inspectors.

The Inspectors is a group of very experienced home inspectors who bring reliability and integrity to the practice of home inspection. These inspectors follow closely the established standards of the Canadian National Association of Certified Home Inspectors.

If you have any questions about this article or would like to talk to us about home inspection, we encourage you to call us at (778) 788-5301.