Have some exposed asbestos in the basement in a SFH. It looks like it's been painted previously. I've owned the place for 20 years, so it's been at least 20 years since it was painted. Concerned about liability. Would you simply repaint? Paint is in decent shape however there are a couple of sections around two elbows that have broken off exposing the inside of the insulation. Would you paint those sections only assuming the rest is in decent shape?

A friend who is an environmental engineer told me to wrap ours well in duct tape to encapsulate it until we are ready to either remediate it or tear down the house.

Using a good paint would also work, if you can get good coverage.

We were told if we wanted to remove it, to keep it wet-wet-wet.

The one's I've been involved with are encapsulated with a wrap. It hardens kind of like the old school casts we wore as kids. The wrap is usually fiberglass fabric with plaster of paris embedded, you wet it and wrap the pipe. Once it's set it's sometimes painted as a secondary step.

If the wrap is broken and you can see the asbestos inside, not just the fiberglass of the wrap, then it needs to be re-wrapped before painting. You can buy the wraps on-line.

As a 45 year long owner/landlord/investor/property manager, I can tell you many stories about owners that never have the TIME or the MONEY to do things right the first time.

But only after a disaster strikes and they are sued, do they learn their lesson. Don't be foolish and leave a "Liability" on the table. Fix it right and then it will never haunt you again.

I have two friends that had asbestos issues with the new houses they purchased to live in.

#1, He, wife and kids moved into their medium sized house, 6500 square feet. Before having it painted, they conducted a test on the cottage cheese ceiling to determine if there was asbestos. I was called out to do some specialty plumbing work.

I asked to see the asbestos report. Their painting contractor took 5 samples from an added on part of the house and not the original structure. While doing the painting they were running the a/c, sucking in the asbestos and depositing in every room.

I grabbed the wife and her 2 kids and took them outside. I said that if her husband wants to be cheap and cut corners, then let him get infected. Was the wife was screaming at her husband, I took my polarizing microscope and tested a pile of material in a pile left in the driveway. There was over 4% asbestos and even more before the removal.

Now they had to rent another house and have this house remediated. A/C ducts replaced, etc.

The home I live in now had asbestos ceiling tiles in the sunroom and also the basement ceiling. The steam lines and the boiler also had asbestos wrap insulation. The house was closed off for ten days for abatement and my cost for remediation was 10 K in 2018. The final air quality check was done and I had it performed a second time by another testing agency to be assured of an all clear.

The home I live in now had asbestos ceiling tiles in the sunroom and also the basement ceiling. The steam lines and the boiler also had asbestos wrap insulation. The house was closed off for ten days for abatement and my cost for remediation was 10 K in 2018. The final air quality check was done and I had it performed a second time by another testing agency to be assured of an all clear.