Monday, March 1, 2010

Asbestos free ceiling!

So a couple days ago I wrote about testing my ceiling with a sample I sent over to Western Analytical Labratory for analysis. I got good news! It turns out the ceiling does not contain asbestos! Celle was happy to hear that because she's been dying to get rid of it.

Here's the e-mail that they sent me:
The acoustic ceiling spray sample you submitted for analysis contains no asbestos. 

We'll mail a written report to you in a couple of days.

Please note: The EPA strongly recommends testing at least three samples of acoustic spray (from different parts of the residence) because asbestos was hand-mixed in this material on job site and its distribution can be uneven across the ceiling.
So we'll probably test out each room as we go.

Popcorn acoustic ceilings helped deaden the noise between floors. It might also help deaden the echo in older homes like the Money Pit. The echo is prominent in plaster and lath and is desirable to a segment of savvy home buyers. By adding the popcorn ceiling, the noise waves wouldn't reflect perfectly off at least one wall and reduce the echo. Add a curtain and you'd certainly reduce the echo some more. Add furniture and you'd reduce echo even more.

The main reason you find it still is because it became popular in the 60s and 70s. However it was too hard to clean, and its downfall came with the banning of asbestos in the 80s. Asbestos was found to be an ingredient in some forms of acoustic ceiling popcorn. Suddenly they no longer were popular in any form and other ceiling products and tiling became en vogue.

To take the stuff out, I'm told the best way is to wet it and scrape off the goopy muck.

I'm praying that my insulation comes in asbestos free as well.

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