Question 1

Is textured paint on my Westboro walls an asbestos risk?

Accepted Answer

Textured paint on walls built before 1990 is worth taking seriously before any renovation work. Health Canada lists paint among older building materials that may contain asbestos, and Ontario's guide to O. Reg. 278/05 lists textured paints and coatings specifically.

Whether your walls are actually a risk depends on two things: whether the material tests positive at 0.5 per cent or more asbestos by dry weight (the threshold set by O. Reg. 278/05, section 3(4)), and whether you plan to disturb it

Question 2

Are old furnace parts in Ottawa homes a source of asbestos?

Accepted Answer

Yes, older furnaces and their connected systems are a real place to look for asbestos-containing materials in Ottawa homes. Health Canada lists industrial furnaces and heating systems, insulation around hot water pipes and tanks, and surface treatments such as caulking and sealants among the older building materials that may contain asbestos, and says that before 1990 asbestos was mainly used for insulating buildings and homes.

Ontario's guide to O. Reg. 278/05 adds that asbestos was widely use

Question 3

Why test more than one spot of drywall in an Ottawa house?

Accepted Answer

Testing one spot tells you what that spot contains. It does not tell you what the rest of the house contains, and in an older Ottawa home that distinction matters a great deal.

A house that was built, added to or repaired at different times can have different materials in different rooms, and a lab result describes only the material it came from.

The same logic applies to textured coatings and other surface treatments. Ontario's guide to O. Reg. 278/05 lists joint compounds and textured paints

Asbestos: Where It Is & Testing

Is textured paint on my Westboro walls an asbestos risk?

Are old furnace parts in Ottawa homes a source of asbestos?

Why test more than one spot of drywall in an Ottawa house?