Sawdust is Bad, Asbestos is Worse

If you are a homeowner in Windsor Park, chances are good your attic is full of sawdust.

Don't believe me? Before you go ahead and rip down those old wood soffits to find out, read on for my word of caution.

I have found home renovations to be an excellent way to learn about the inner workings of a home. As we embarked on our home renovations, we discovered quite a few things about our 1950's bungalow. Mainly, that the floors weren't level, the walls weren't straight, wallpaper was hidden under several coats of paint throughout the entire house (even inside closets), and our attic was insulated with sawdust.

Now, having an attic full of sawdust is not such a terrible thing. It could be much, much worse. Let me explain.

Like most young couples on a budget, we had decided to save money by doing home renovations ourselves and for the most part, everything went well. With practice and patience we mastered the art and science of stripping wallpaper, mudding and sanding, painting walls and ceilings, leveling a floor, and cutting and painting trim and baseboards. By spring, the interior of our home was looking pretty good but our eavestroughs needed to be replaced and with quotes from exterior renovation companies ranging from $2,000.00 - $6,000.00, we moved outside to tackle our next project.

A quick consultation with YouTube and The Home Depot staff told us all we needed know — or so we thought — about replacing eavestroughs, soffits, and fascia, and we set to work pulling down the old, rusty leaf-filled eavestroughs. Next we tore down the first of several plywood soffits to be removed, and that's when we knew we were in trouble. There was none of the pink insulation we had expected to see in the attic. Instead, it was packed with sawdust.

There was so much sawdust (18+ extra-large garbage bags full in the end) that it began spilling out of the attic, covering the ground and us. Shocked that our attic was "insulated" with nothing but sawdust and at a loss about what to do about it, we called Nisby Home Renovations. Wayne, a contractor from Nisby, came to our home to discuss our options.

"Just be thankful that it was sawdust in there and not asbestos" Wayne said. "A lot of houses in this area have sawdust, but many have asbestos for insulation."

Asbestos? A known carcinogen? I had heard of asbestos before but I had not thought for a minute that the stuff might be in the insulation in our home. I wanted to learn more.

A quick Google search pulls up various articles detailing the use of asbestos roof insulation in residential and commercial buildings throughout Canada and confirms what Wayne told us. While the use of asbestos building materials including insulation has decreased significantly in the recent decades, homes built in Canada before the 1980's that have not undergone extensive renovations are likely to still have insulation containing asbestos. Asbestos poses a low health risk when left alone but if disturbed, asbestos material releases hazardous fibres into the air that when inhaled can lead to lung cancer and other diseases.

So while seeing sawdust in our attic and all over our yard was a shock and a mess to clean up, in the end we are very thankful that asbestos was nowhere in sight.

If you suspect there might be asbestos present in your home, try to avoid disturbing the asbestos material and visit It's Your Health - Vermiculite Insulation Containing Asbestos for more information on asbestos and minimizing your risk of asbestos exposure.