Is there asbestos in my ceiling?

Do popcorn and textured ceilings in NZ contain asbestos?

Some do. WorkSafe's diagram of where asbestos is commonly found in New Zealand homes includes "textured ceiling" and "ceiling tiles" (WorkSafe, Where asbestos can be found). Popcorn, stipple, sparkle and textured-spray finishes all fall into this group. Plenty of them contain no asbestos at all. The point is that the finish alone cannot tell you which kind you have. Soft wood-fibre tiles are a separate case: see Pinex board.

How do I know if my ceiling has asbestos?

A sample, taken by a surveyor and analysed by an IANZ-accredited laboratory. WorkSafe advises homeowners that sampling should be done by a reputable contractor, not by scraping a bit off yourself, because taking the sample is itself a disturbance. A $249 test covers the visit and one sample. If you have more than one ceiling finish, each different finish is its own sample.

The age of the house narrows it down but does not settle it. WorkSafe's line is 1 January 2000: a building from before then probably contains some asbestos materials somewhere, and a ceiling is one of the usual places. See asbestos in NZ homes built before 2000.

Is an asbestos ceiling dangerous?

Not while it is intact and left alone, in general. The risk is fibres released when the material is broken up. That happens when people scrape a ceiling flat, sand it before painting, drill for downlights or a heat pump, or when a leak soaks it and it starts to crumble. WorkSafe publishes a separate safe-work-practice sheet just for drilling through textured coatings, which says something about how routine that disturbance is.

If a ceiling has been damaged, by water, a ceiling collapse or someone starting to scrape it, close the room off, keep people out, do not vacuum it up, and get it assessed before anything else happens.

What are the options if the test is positive?

• Leave it. If it is in good condition and nothing you are planning touches it, managing it in place is common.
• Cover it. Some people line over a textured ceiling. Fixing a new lining means fixings through the old one, which is disturbance, so this is a job for someone who knows it is asbestos and works accordingly.
• Remove it. The only option that makes the problem go away. Who may do it depends on the result: any friable asbestos needs a Class A remover, and more than 10 m² of non-friable needs Class B or A. A single lounge ceiling can be over 10 m².

Do not take a website's word on whether your ceiling is friable. That classification comes from the surveyor and the laboratory, and it decides which licence class the job needs and therefore what it costs.

What does removing an asbestos ceiling involve?

A licensed remover notifies WorkSafe at least 5 days before starting licensed work, sets up the work area, removes the material, and then an independent person inspects and issues a clearance certificate before the room is used again. For Class A work, air monitoring by a licensed assessor is required during the removal. The clearance certificate guide explains the last step, and the removal cost page covers the published price ranges.

If you already know it is asbestos and you want it gone, ask for a fixed removal quote. If you do not know yet, test first: it costs far less than a removal you did not need.