Asbestos in old homes

I am not a  professional, but I own a few older homes. Yes, I have done a few asbestos testing(due to various reasons), it's always positive, but that doesn't really mean anything if the area isn't being disturbed (such as attic insulation) If you test for mold in a lot of houses, it will also come back positive (with base levels of course), but that doesn't necessarily mean too much. It really depends on what type of mold it is and what's the concentration

For an older home, if the popcorn ceiling has been removed some years ago, you are most likely completely fine. If not, you should remove them. If for any reason, you really want to be extra careful, I would recommend change AC/Heating ventilation, re-pipe the house to eliminate some of hot water pipes that might contain an unsafe amount of asbestos, and change attic/house insulation. Doing these things would make your house better in other ways as well....

For an older home, I think my personal concerns are not usually asbestos, but old electrical wiring. Copper wiring is very outdated and can be unsafe under some circumstances, I would re-wire the house to aluminum and upgrade the electrical box. While you have some of the drywalls open, might as well re-pipe the house to eliminate plumbing issues in the future...
 
Isn't it the opposite?  many 50s-70s houses have aluminum wiring, which is subject to oxidation, and might need to be replaced with copper?

I've never heard about anyone replacing copper, unless it was super old with bad insulation or knob-and-tube.

Thanks for any clarification!

melodypowell said:
For an older home, I think my personal concerns are not usually asbestos, but old electrical wiring. Copper wiring is very outdated and can be unsafe under some circumstances, I would re-wire the house to aluminum and upgrade the electrical box. While you have some of the drywalls open, might as well re-pipe the house to eliminate plumbing issues in the future...
Click to expand...
 
freedomcm said:
Isn't it the opposite?  many 50s-70s houses have aluminum wiring, which is subject to oxidation, and might need to be replaced with copper?

I've never heard about anyone replacing copper, unless it was super old with bad insulation or knob-and-tube.

Thanks for any clarification!

melodypowell said:
For an older home, I think my personal concerns are not usually asbestos, but old electrical wiring. Copper wiring is very outdated and can be unsafe under some circumstances, I would re-wire the house to aluminum and upgrade the electrical box. While you have some of the drywalls open, might as well re-pipe the house to eliminate plumbing issues in the future...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Yes, I don't think aluminum wiring is up to code anymore.  It's more likely to cause house fires than copper, especially with all the power needs of modern appliances, computers, cell phones, etc., overloading the circuit.
 
:) I am probably wrong then, but you get the point. I would re wire if it?s the old stuff

freedomcm said:
Isn't it the opposite?  many 50s-70s houses have aluminum wiring, which is subject to oxidation, and might need to be replaced with copper?

I've never heard about anyone replacing copper, unless it was super old with bad insulation or knob-and-tube.

Thanks for any clarification!

melodypowell said:
For an older home, I think my personal concerns are not usually asbestos, but old electrical wiring. Copper wiring is very outdated and can be unsafe under some circumstances, I would re-wire the house to aluminum and upgrade the electrical box. While you have some of the drywalls open, might as well re-pipe the house to eliminate plumbing issues in the future...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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