Asbestos Ceiling Tile Risk

My house was constructed in 1986 and I have a finished family room/play room in the basement. I do not know when this room was constructed-whether it was original or not but assume that it was constructed close to this year. We just had the suspended ceiling tiles changed out by a Contractor. I asked him to not break up the tiles he was disposing of to limit the dust exposure. However, I came back home to find that he had broken the tiles up. My father is now suggesting that the tiles may have had asbestos and of course I am now concerned about the contamination of asbestos in the home.

Was asbestos common in building materials, such as ceiling tiles of this era?

Our Answer

Great question, and not all that uncommon. Asbestos was common in all sorts of building materials including ceiling tiles, floor tiles, heating pipe insulation, roofing and even spackle. Fortunately for you, most of this stopped in the 70’s and homes built after 1981 have very little risk of containing any asbestos.

If you are still concerned, a sample of the ceiling tile could be sent to a lab for analysis.