Remove Tar Paper from Basement Walls - Asbestos?

[Buck Turgidson]

I want to tear off my basement wood panelling, insulate with polystyrene,
and then drywall (even though my code office says that paneling is ok over
foam). However, the paneling is furred onto cinderblocks, and covering the
block is tar paper.

Does tar paper, from a 1961 house, usually contain asbestos? Is an
abatement contractor required? How friable is the stuff? I guess I need to
remove it because I need to "Liquid Nail" the foam panels onto the block.

I've cut a 1" piece to have sent to a lab for testing.

Thanks for any advice.

[dadiOH]

Post by Buck Turgidson
I want to tear off my basement wood panelling, insulate with
polystyrene, and then drywall (even though my code office says that
paneling is ok over foam). However, the paneling is furred onto
cinderblocks, and covering the block is tar paper.
Does tar paper, from a 1961 house, usually contain asbestos? Is an
abatement contractor required? How friable is the stuff? I guess
I need to remove it because I need to "Liquid Nail" the foam panels
onto the block.
I've cut a 1" piece to have sent to a lab for testing.
Thanks for any advice.

Tar paper = tar + paper. Don't think the cinder blocks contain
asbestos either. Probably not even lead.

[HeyBub]

Post by Buck Turgidson
I want to tear off my basement wood panelling, insulate with
polystyrene, and then drywall (even though my code office says that
paneling is ok over foam). However, the paneling is furred onto
cinderblocks, and covering the block is tar paper.
Does tar paper, from a 1961 house, usually contain asbestos? Is an
abatement contractor required? How friable is the stuff? I guess I
need to remove it because I need to "Liquid Nail" the foam panels
onto the block.
I've cut a 1" piece to have sent to a lab for testing.
Thanks for any advice.

You should have asked before you sent off the stuff.

Suppose the test comes back positive. You are now liable for remediation AND
for informing subsequent buyers that the house was once contaminated but is
now probably okay. That is, if your local government doesn't condem your
property, raze it to the ground, and remove the top ten inches of soil.

In the aftermath of 9/11, tens of thousands of pounds of asbestos rained
down on New Yorkers. Not a single person got sick (except for a few
thousand, but that has statistical clustering written all over it).

[Uncle Monster]

Post by HeyBub

Post by Buck Turgidson
I want to tear off my basement wood panelling, insulate with
polystyrene, and then drywall (even though my code office says that
paneling is ok over foam). However, the paneling is furred onto
cinderblocks, and covering the block is tar paper.
Does tar paper, from a 1961 house, usually contain asbestos? Is an
abatement contractor required? How friable is the stuff? I guess I
need to remove it because I need to "Liquid Nail" the foam panels
onto the block.
I've cut a 1" piece to have sent to a lab for testing.
Thanks for any advice.

You should have asked before you sent off the stuff.
Suppose the test comes back positive. You are now liable for remediation AND
for informing subsequent buyers that the house was once contaminated but is
now probably okay. That is, if your local government doesn't condem your
property, raze it to the ground, and remove the top ten inches of soil.
In the aftermath of 9/11, tens of thousands of pounds of asbestos rained
down on New Yorkers. Not a single person got sick (except for a few
thousand, but that has statistical clustering written all over it).

A few years ago I read about a young woman who
was a scientist working for the EPA and her
research showed that only one type of asbestos
was a health hazard. She was told to shut up
because if people found out that they had been
forced to spend billions of dollars in unnecessary
clean up, the lives of the EPA bureaucrats would
be in danger.

[8~{} Uncle Monster

[Buck Turgidson]

Yeah, if it was just me, I'd put on a cheap paper mask and tear it off.
But I got a couple of little kids crawling around in the basement. I gotta
think about them.

[HeyBub]

Post by Buck Turgidson
Yeah, if it was just me, I'd put on a cheap paper mask and tear it
off. But I got a couple of little kids crawling around in the
basement. I gotta think about them.

Don't you want your children to have all the opportunities you did?

[Bob F]

In the aftermath of 9/11, tens of thousands of pounds of asbestos rained down
on New Yorkers. Not a single person got sick (except for a few thousand, but
that has statistical clustering written all over it).

Not a single person got sick except for a few thousand. Now that's the way to
think.

Bob

[Joe]

Post by Buck Turgidson
I want to tear off my basement wood panelling, insulate with polystyrene,
and then drywall (even though my code office says that paneling is ok over
foam). However, the paneling is furred onto cinderblocks, and covering the
block is tar paper.
Does tar paper, from a 1961 house, usually contain asbestos? Is an
abatement contractor required? How friable is the stuff? I guess I need to
remove it because I need to "Liquid Nail" the foam panels onto the block.
I've cut a 1" piece to have sent to a lab for testing.
Thanks for any advice.

Asbestos never was a cheap filler material. When used in bulding
products years ago it was mainly to take advantage of the heat
resistance or fiber strength. In the case of tar paper, adding
asbestos wouldn't contribute any useful property to the product beyond
what was provided by the cellulose fiber. People I know in the
abatement business don't consider tar paper as a problem unless it has
been contaminated by known asbestos containing material. If your
sample comes back positive from the testing lab I would have some
serious doubts about their competence.
IMO. tear off the stuff and dispose in a huane manner and cease
worrying about it. HTH

Joe

[The Reverend Natural Light]

Post by Buck Turgidson
I want to tear off my basement wood panelling, insulate with polystyrene,
and then drywall (even though my code office says that paneling is ok over
foam). However, the paneling is furred onto cinderblocks, and covering the
block is tar paper.

Why not build real framed walls?