Looking to improve (borrow) some boiler

[Chad Fabry]

I haven't yet composed boiler for asbestos floor tile or two prong receptacles.

Feel like sharing?

[Neal Lewis]

There are 9x9 floor tiles in the basement. This type of tile is likely to contain asbestos. Flooring that contains asbestos, when in good condition and intact, is generally considered nonfriable and not hazardous. If the tile is to be removed, an asbestos remediation contractor should be consulted.

Some of this is right from the EPA website.

[Jerry Simon]

Here are three comments I use, depending on the condition of the tiles...

Safety Concern Some of the floor tiles in the house are the old 9x9 type. These likely contain asbestos. The tiles are intact and do not pose a problem at this time. The tiles should not be disturbed, broken-up or removed by anyone but an asbestos abatement contractor.

Safety Concern Some of the floor tiles in the house are the old 9x9 type. These likely contain asbestos. A lot of the tiles are broken up/not intact, and there is a possibility of asbestos contamination in the house. Since asbestos can cause lung cancer, I recommend you have the house tested for asbestos contamination and have asbestos-mitigation performed as/if warranted by the testing results.

Safety Concern Some of the floor tiles in the house are the old 9x9 type. These likely contain asbestos. Some of the tiles are not intact, and there is a slight possibility of asbestos contamination in the house. Since asbestos can cause lung cancer, I recommend you have the house tested for asbestos contamination and have asbestos-mitigation performed as/if warranted by the testing results.

[caryseidner]

The 9" floor tile in the basement may be made with asbestos. Lab testing of the suspected asbestos material would be required to determine the presence or absence of asbestos, but data shows that a great majority of 9" floor tiles contain asbestos. We recommend this be further evaluated by a competent and licensed asbestos inspector.

Some/Many/Most of the receptacles in the home are two slot design and are not suitable for many of today's three prong type appliances and electronics. Upgrades are recommended. (I think this was from Cramerware)

[Terence McCann]

I haven't yet composed boiler for asbestos floor tile or two prong receptacles.

Feel like sharing?

Just for two-prong or K&T along with two-prong?

[Terence McCann]

Some/Many/Most of the receptacles in the home are two slot design and are not suitable for many of today's three prong type appliances and electronics. Upgrades are recommended. (I think this was from Cramerware)

Wow, I don't usually comment on boilerplate but that's a stinker.

Some/many/most?

Upgrades are recommended?? To what?? A grounded style outlet on a knob and tube system?

Not personal Cary.... but I'm sure, with a good cup of coffee and five minutes, you can whip that into shape.

[Darren]

I stole all or part of this from someone, I just don;t know who:

[0001]Ungrounded 2 slot receptacles are present in several areas of this house. These receptacles are typical of a house this age. When used with 2 prong cords such as lamps, these receptacles are acceptable. However, they should never be used in areas where I recommend GFCI's (see above). In those areas, they are particularly dangerous and should be replaced with grounded GFCI's. In all cases, you should never improperly 'adapt' a grounded appliance (one with three prongs) to one of these ungrounded receptacles. Safety would be improved by upgrading the receptacles to modern standards. One way to do this is to install GFCI’s in place of the two-slot receptacles. There are other ways to upgrade the receptacles, and any good electrician should know how to do the job.

[gtblum]

These floor tiles (Pic here) look like a type of tile that is known to contain asbestos. I do not test for asbestos. Yadayada health concerns. Yadayada have it tested. Do not lick or crush and snort.

[Chad Fabry]

Thanks for the input so far. Does anyone know for sure that some 9 x 9 tiles do not have asbestos? I can't pin a source on it but I'm pretty sure I read that all 9x9's are ACM.

Terry, I'm looking for two slot boiler pertaining to mid century homes. I like Darren's so far; a few of us should copy and paste that paragraph.

[Terence McCann]

should be replaced with grounded GFCI's.

The only part I question is the part I snipped.

The beauty of GFCI outlets, in an old 2-wire system, is their ability to work properly without a ground.

Not to hi-jack the thread but......... I always recommend a grounded outlet for garage door openers, refrigerators (appliances with motors). We touched upon this briefly in the past but a GFIC outlet, on a garage door opener (not grounded) would still achieve the level of safety ones looking for would it not? If the motor is leaking current and I touch a metal part of the system, while standing on soil, the GFCI would trip as current is "leaking" somewhere.

I believe that J.K. had a few comments about this too.

We will now return to your regularly scheduled program.

[Tim H]

Thanks for the input so far. Does anyone know for sure that some 9 x 9 tiles do not have asbestos? I can't pin a source on it but I'm pretty sure I read that all 9x9's are ACM.

Terry, I'm looking for two slot boiler pertaining to mid century homes. I like Darren's so far; a few of us should copy and paste that paragraph.

Yes, Darrens is pretty good. Better than the one I used to use. Thanks Darren.

Tim

[Richard Moore]

"The receptacle at xxxx is missing a hole."

Darren's may be better!

[Bill Kibbel]

I hardly use any boiler plate.

I'm quite lucky to have rather intelligent clients. As a result, I don't need to use a canned comment containing 6 sentences to explain ungrounded outlets. It's just another item in the list of electrical safety issues that needs fixin'.

[Chad Fabry]

I hardly use any boiler plate.

I'm quite lucky to have rather intelligent clients.

That's an interesting perspective but I disagree with the premise that because your clients are intelligent you don't need to explain an issue. This week I asked a well driller why it's important to keep the slurry thin. If he was writing a report for me about well drilling and told me that a thick slurry isn't as good as a thin slurry, I'd want to know why. Anyone can make a list. It's harder to provide an education.

I'm not apologizing for using some boiler. My reports are ~ 90% unique to each client, but there's no reason to re-invent the wheel for pervasive issues in every or nearly every report.

It's obvious that you don't settle for answers without explanations and you're smart.

[Phillip]

Safety Concern Old ungrounded receptacles have been replaced with modern 3 prong grounded type receptacles giving the illusion that they are grounded. The original wiring of the house did not provide for grounded receptacles. These new receptacles should be connected to ground, replaced with 2 pong outlets or GFCI receptacles where appropriate. While it is considered acceptable to leave older equipment in place that does not meet modern standards, any item you replace must meet them. Any appliance that has a three-prong plug must be provided with a grounded receptacle for safety reasons.

Safety Concern Some of the old ungrounded receptacles have been replaced with modern 3 prongs grounded type receptacles giving the illusion that they are grounded. The original wiring of the house did not provide for grounded receptacles. These new receptacles should be connected to ground, replaced with 2 prong outlets or GFCI receptacles where appropriate. While it is considered acceptable to leave older equipment in place that does not meet modern standards, any item you replace must meet them. Any appliance that has a three-prong plug must be provided with a grounded receptacle for safety reasons.

9 X 9 flooring tiles that are suspected to contain asbestos are installed on the house. This material was not disturbed. Identification of asbestos requires laboratory analysis that is outside the scope of a Home Inspection. Special regulations exist for the removal and disposal of asbestos. Some local municipalities prohibit the removal of asbestos . The Inspector recommends that the client check with local officials and obtain the booklet "Asbestos in the Home" published by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (800-638-2772) which discusses the situation and makes recommendations. This document is available on the web at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/asbestos.html. Asbestos products in good condition should typically be left in place.

[kurt]

I'm not apologizing for using some boiler. My reports are ~ 90% unique to each client, but there's no reason to re-invent the wheel for pervasive issues in every or nearly every report.

Don't apologize. I use it all the time for this sort of thing. How anyone could stand there and describe some of this stuff 5000 times is beyond me. I change mine quite a bit, and have gotten pretty short and simple on some stuff.

There are 2 slot ungrounded outlets located @ XYZ; this can be a safety hazard or it can damage equipment requiring grounding.

You should replace all the ungrounded outlets w/new 3 slot grounded outlets.

Or.....

The tile in the bsmt. most likely contains asbestos. Additional information regarding asbestos floor tile is available from the EPA or the State of Illinois Health Dept. website.

http://www.epa.gov/asbestos

With a picture and an arrow pointing at the tile. Pictures are important.

I'm sure there's some aspect of those simple sentences that's "wrong" for somebody, but all my "intelligent" customers don't care; they just want a quick hit explanation.

[Erby]

I change it about a bit each time, add a picture, etc but the basic asbestos is:

====================

The ____ appears to be an asbestos containing material.

The only way to definitively identify it as asbestos containing material is through laboratory testing. Read the below information and "get educated" before you make a decision about dealing with asbestos.

I recommend that you contact the State of Kentucky's Asbestos Information Office thru the website ( http://www.air.ky.gov/programs/asbestos/ ) or a qualified asbestos abatement contractor to determine the best method to positively determine whether or not the material contains asbestos, determine the best repair method (if any), estimate costs, and perform any repairs/abatement you decide to have done.

Remember that asbestos abatement contractors make their living removing asbestos and may have a personal interest in convincing you to remove it.

Contractors may be found by looking in the yellow pages under "Asbestos Abatement"

ASBESTOS CARE & REMOVAL

First don't panic and walk away from the purchase of a good home, just because it MAY have some asbestos containing material in it. Educate yourself about the asbestos issues and then make your decision..

There are many sources of information available:

The library, the internet, government agencies, and asbestos abatement contractors are a few.

There are two primary methods of dealing with asbestos containing material:

Encapsulation (seal it up in place)

Abatement (removing it)

According to the State of Kentucky's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet, Division for Air Quality web site, there are no regulations on asbestos removal in "residential use homes and apartment buildings having no more than four dwelling units".

Web Site Address: http://www.air.ky.gov/programs/asbestos/ . Look for Asbestos information.

Remember that this issue may come back again when you decide to sell the house.

Educate yourself about asbestos before dealing with this issue.

================

TWO PRONG STUFF (some of which, if not all, I belive came from Walter)

========================

TWO SLOTS

Most of the receptacles in the house are two-slot, receptacles, which are typical of a house this age. These receptacles are not grounded; this increases the likelihood that somebody might be shocked. Safety would be improved by upgrading the receptacles to modern standards. One way to do this is to install GFCIs in place of the two-slot receptacles. Other ways exist. Have a licensed electrician fix it as he and you agree would be best.

=========================

TWO SLOTS Converted to THREE without adding ground

=========================

There are several outlets that have been converted to 3 slot receptacles without adding a ground wire or ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection. This is not safe. Repairs are needed. There are two basic repair methods, though others may also exist. One is to convert the receptacle outlet back to a two slot receptacle. Another is to provide GFCI protection for the circuit. Have a licensed electrician fix it as he and you agree would be best.

======================================

Most/Some/Many is common in in a lot of boiler plate. The idea is that it's easier to quickly delete the one that doesn't apply than to type in the one that does. One key (delete) versus many. I'd bet that is what Cary does.

Of course some people don't understand that and leave all three of them in the report. It takes all kinds.

-