Asbestos Ceilings

Many people own homes that have popcorn type ceilings, they are also called acoustic ceilings. Not everyone is aware that those could possibly be asbestos ceilings. There were a few reasons why those ceilings were initially installed and several ways to get them removed for health reasons.

In homes built from the late 1950’s to the early 1980’s many homes were built with asbestos ceilings. It is believed that contractors chose this style due to it being good at hiding ceiling imperfections, dampened noise well, and was easy to apply. At the time many different building supplies contained asbestos.

Asbestos ceilings can result in many different negative health actions. These are not quick to develop as it may take 15 to 40 years for the effects to take hold. Some of the most common diseases caused by inhalation of asbestos include Asbestosis, lung cancer, and Mesothelioma. Although it does normally take many years for these illnesses to set in it is possible for exposure over a short term can also cause them.

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If the popcorn ceiling in a person’s home was painted before the 1980’s there is a good chance that the ceiling is an asbestos ceiling. If someone were to scrape the popcorn off of that type of ceiling they would inhale a highly concentrated level of asbestos. That could lead to the fibers getting stuck in their lungs and possibly cause health issues later in life.

A person can get their ceiling tested for asbestos to verify if there are issues. If those tests come back positive for asbestos the individual will have two options to combat it. The first would be to paint over the asbestos but it is risky and illegal in some states so that will need to be verified as an option. The other option is to get a professional to remove popcorn from the asbestos ceiling then repaint it. Although this will be more costly it is, without doubt, the safer option.

If someone has a popcorn ceiling in their home they may have one of the asbestos ceilings. Properly dealing with an asbestos ceiling can help lessen the risk of future health issues.

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