What to do with asbestos siding
Q. Our house has some kind of slate siding, and we've been told that it contains asbestos fibers. Would it be possible to wrap this siding with wire netting and cover the house with stucco, or does the asbestos siding have to be removed?
A. The siding you are describing is not slate. It is a material known as transite, a concrete product that is reinforced with asbestos fibers. Applying stucco to your home without removing the transite siding would be problematic for practical reasons, as well as environmental ones.
In order to stucco your home's exterior, the wire lathe (what you call "netting") would have to be thoroughly nailed to the wall framing. To do this with the transite siding still on the building would compromise the security of attachment. It would also involve so much breakage of the transite material that the release of asbestos fibers into the air would be unavoidable. For these reasons, it is highly unlikely this procedure would be permitted by your local building department.
The best approach, therefore, is to have the transite siding removed by a licensed asbestos abatement contractor. Unfortunately, asbestos removal and disposal are very expensive. However, as the owner of the building, you are allowed to remove the transite yourself, rather than hiring an asbestos abatement contractor, but you must perform this removal according to EPA standards, and an asbestos abatement contractor must be hired for the disposal of asbestos material. You should consult your local building department to see how they view this situation.
Q. Our home was built in 1925, so we've done some upgrading of the electrical system. We changed the main panel from fuses to breakers and have added many additional circuits. However, we still have original wiring in the bedrooms and garage, and each bedroom has only one outlet. Should we replace the rest of the old wiring, or just add some circuits? We expect to own our home for another 25 years and would like to do what is best in the long run.
A. If you are planning to live in this home for many years, completing the electrical upgrades would be the best plan for the following reasons. The old wiring may not include grounding for outlets, and the cloth insulation on the old wires could be in deteriorated condition. It is also important to have a sufficient number of circuits to meet the demands of contemporary electrical use, as this will reduce the likelihood of overloads.
Additionally, it is advisable to have ground fault and arc fault protection, according to current standards for fire safety, and to reduce the possibility of electric shock.
Aside from the benefits to you as an owner, the day will come when you finally sell the property. When that time arrives, you will be able to disclose that the entire electrical system has been modernized. Also, be sure all of the work is done by a licensed electrician, under the authority of a building permit.
• To write to Barry Stone, visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com, or write AMG, 1776 Jami Lee Court, Suite 218, San Luis Obispo, CA 94301.
© 2015, Action Coast Publishing