Author Topic: Asbestos furance?  (Read 1736 times)

Ponderosa

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Asbestos furance?
« on: August 02, 2018, 08:16:55 AM »
My wife and I are looking to move into an older duplex in a new city. The price and location are ideal, however there is one catch. The furnace is very old (40+ years it sounds like) and is apparently one of the older Asbestos filled furnaces. The landlord said it has been tested for Asbestos particulates and the furnace is wrapped in sealed. When we asked for such documentation, he back pedaled and basically said to not to worry about it. Other than that he has been super easy to communicate with but this has me a bit worried.

I need to find a new place soon but we are not desperate. We have family to stay with for awhile in the event that we have to wait longer to find a different place. Any thoughts or experiences with this?

affordablehousing

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Re: Asbestos furance?
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2018, 01:07:04 PM »
Asbestos is all over the place and as long as you don't disturb it and have it become dust moving through the air, it won't make an issue. If it's used in furnace insulation and no one is beating on the furnace every day with a hammer you'll be fine. Research it more as I'm not an authority but I say this after hearing about it from contractor friends.

obstinate

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Re: Asbestos furance?
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2018, 09:52:46 PM »
When we bought our house in CA, our realtor said, "There's no point asking if there is asbestos in the house. It was built in the 40s. There is asbestos in the house." The question is whether it's been disturbed.

My understanding is that asbestos' toxicity has been a little oversold. It's definitely bad for you and you definitely want to ameliorate if it's exposed. But you're not going to get cancer immediately if you step within ten feet of it.

Syonyk

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Re: Asbestos furance?
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2018, 10:05:24 PM »
It's almost certainly fine.  It's probably in the flame area, not the air path.  If it's in the flame area, and the heat exchanger is sealed, there are no problems.  If the heat exchanger is leaking, carbon monoxide is a far, far greater threat to your health than is asbestos.

Asbestos fibers, roaming through the air and into your lungs, are a reasonably bad thing.

Asbestos, in place, undisturbed, contained, not at all crumbling into the air, is a properly good insulator.

You're overreacting.

chasesfish

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Re: Asbestos furance?
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2018, 06:07:18 AM »
Been there, done that.  If you want to avoid asbestos, you need to move into a property built after the mid 70s.  Before that, its there. 

Dave1442397

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Re: Asbestos furance?
« Reply #5 on: August 03, 2018, 07:43:11 AM »
I'd want to replace the furnace anyway. We replaced a 40-year-old gas furnace in 2001, and our gas bill for the winter months was reduced by at least 40%. We went from over $500/mo (for gas and electricity) to under $300/mo.

trollwithamustache

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Re: Asbestos furance?
« Reply #6 on: August 03, 2018, 08:32:54 AM »
get a quote for replacement and abatement.

As others have said, leaving undisturbed asbestos alone is totally ok. (you should visually verify this)

but but but, its likely a disclosure, and if you do not abate, you will have all the hassles the current owner is having with selling.  knock the abatement estimate plus say 10%  off the price and see what the seller says.

you don't have to spend the abatement dollars in year 1 either... 

Ponderosa

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Re: Asbestos furance?
« Reply #7 on: August 03, 2018, 01:59:18 PM »
Thanks everyone. I'm not buying the place, so I don't need to worry about replacing it (only paying for the fuel to keep me warm :) ).

I'll go ahead and take it. Everything checks out well.

 

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