Asbestos Question

[FranyPul]

How do I know if my 1967 Sovereign Landyacht has any asbestos? The floor seems to be particleboard. I'm mostly concerned about the interior shell and parts in the bathroom, like the tub and walls.
Kim

[billwhelan]

Particleboard isn't a suspect for asbestos. The building materials with a potential for asbestos in an Airstream would be: sheet vinyl, floor tile and mastics, actually any mastics used in construction (ie, the particleboard may be attached to the aluminum framework with an asbestos-containing mastic), electrical wire insulation (only with the older woven wire insulations), caulking (older caulks, not the clear silicones and latex caulks), panel adhesives, pipe insulations, etc. I haven't had much experience with older Airstreams, but the materials above should be considered suspect.

Bill Whelan

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by FranyPul

How do I know if my 1967 Sovereign Landyacht has any asbestos? The floor seems to be particleboard. I'm mostly concerned about the interior shell and parts in the bathroom, like the tub and walls.
Kim

Kim,
That vintage of trailer should have a plywood floor, unless a previous owner changed it. Is it possible that there is a thin sheet of underlayment over the orginal floor? If it turns out that plywood has been replaced with true particle board, it is going to need to be replaced for structural reasons.

Aaron

[nickcrowhurst]

Kim, the advice I have always received is that asbestos is only a problem if it is shedding fibers. If a fibre gets into the lining of a lung, the lung produces scar tissue to protect itself. The scar tissue eventually grows so large that the lung cannot function. If asbestos is solid and concealed, then danger only arises if you disturb it, as when trying to remove it. We recently paid a specialist company with breathing apparatus to remove asbestos insulation from our basement, but in that case the fibres were dangerously breaking out of the wrappers. In my trailer, I wouldn't be concerned about asbestos, unless I could see loose fibres. Even then, I would consider sealing such areas with epoxy resin. The danger comes when you rip the stuff out. My sources include the EPA at http://www.asbestos-institute.ca/buildings/epa.html
Nick.

[FranyPul]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Kim,
That vintage of trailer should have a plywood floor, unless a previous owner changed it. Is it possible that there is a thin sheet of underlayment over the orginal floor? If it turns out that plywood has been replaced with true particle board, it is going to need to be replaced for structural reasons.

Aaron

Aaron,
You're right, someone placed particle board over part of the bathroom floor that is rotting. Below that is plywood.

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by billwhelan

Particleboard isn't a suspect for asbestos. The building materials with a potential for asbestos in an Airstream would be: sheet vinyl, floor tile and mastics, actually any mastics used in construction (ie, the particleboard may be attached to the aluminum framework with an asbestos-containing mastic), electrical wire insulation (only with the older woven wire insulations), caulking (older caulks, not the clear silicones and latex caulks), panel adhesives, pipe insulations, etc. I haven't had much experience with older Airstreams, but the materials above should be considered suspect.

Bill Whelan

Great list. Include the old Bowen water heaters. The bottom of mine rusted out and it looks suspiciously like asbestos inside.

[blnfuse]

I was just wondering to myself if anyone has contacted A/S and asked if asbestoes was ever used in construction.

We all seem to rip into these coaches at one time or another and it prob would be agood thing to be aware of.

[59toaster]

The 9x9 tile has it for sure. I am scrapping the original heater because I suspect. Under the princess stove was a peice of material for insulation that had it for sure and it was also removed. It will be replaces with a peice of hi thech aluminum wafer board that I ran accross.

The rest of my coach has been gutted and clean including a new floor.