# Forum Home Renovation Asbestos  Asbestos vacuum cleaners and PPE

## martins

Howdy.
New here. 
About to embark on a few projects around the house.
Our house is a circa 1960s, hardwood frame, brick lower and weather board upper.
There is asbestos basically everywhere. I had a piece downstairs sampled - white (chrysotile). 
Planning on getting the asbestos roof removed soon to fit some solar panels in. 
Considering we have so much asbestos here, I was thinking about doing an asbestos course and buying a vacuum cleaner. 
If I'm going to be doing anything with asbestos I'd like to do it properly.
Also I've noticed evidence of trades (before we bought) doing stupid things with sheets so it'd give me peace of mind to know I can vacuum any possible AC dust i come across.
Getting people in to gut the house in 1 or 2 goes just isn't practical when we've got to live here aswell so I was thinking I could do a room at a time when I had the chance. That way we can shuffle the furniture around without major hassles. 
Has anyone had any experience with buying an asbestos vacuum cleaner?
Any brands or places you can recommend.
Also where do people buy their PPE? 
Cheers
M
Brisbane

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## Bloss

Suggest you read the stickies and the Library docs just to be clear about what are your obligations. See here too: Removing asbestos | Asbestos | Queensland Government and here: http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/workplace...s-cop-2011.pdf  
So you need to do the course and _after_ you do that you will know what kind of gear you need to get and what steps you need to take to safely do what you are planning to do. The asbestos roof removal by professionals IMO.

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## martins

thanks Bloss - will check out the stickies and library docs  :Smilie:

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## shauck

> thanks Bloss - will check out the stickies and library docs

  I'm curious. What about insurance in your case? I was talking to an asbestos remover the other day and he was telling me about his incredibly expensive insurance.  AFAIK your normal house insurance will not cover you for liability.

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## martins

Hi Shauck, 
Just wondering what you mean by liability.
Queenslanders are allowed to remove 10m2 or less if they follow the  recommendations on the gov websites. Doing a course would allow me to  remove a bit more. I don't really see how liability would be different  for these 2 cases. 
If it's done with care and diligence and following all the gov recommendations I believe it is safe to do so.
Asbestos is dangerous but is removed every day by professionals. I don't think people would be  happy to pay to get asbestos removed it they thought the removalist  would certainly die in 30 years. I don't think asbestos removalists  would do it if they knew they were going to die. 
I'm hoping the course will allow me to remove sheets safely (to me and everyone else) and avoid any possible liable scenario to arise. 
The plan with the roof is to get professionals in. 
The vacuum and asbestos course is more for removal of walls and ceilings around the house at various times.
Also there appears to have been some dodgy tradesman work downstairs where they've cut into sheets with powertools and broken AC sheets to fit pipes etc. This was before we bought.
It would give me peace of mind to know I can go around these rooms and vacuum any corner where AC dust may be sitting in accordance with government standards - ie with a hepa class H vacuum. 
I could imagine insurance for an asbestos removalist would be high.
With DIY there is always issues with liability and insurance. Owner builders aren't covered by workcover etc and are accepting they are running a risk. 
Maybe I'm alone in wanting to do some removal of AC sheets myself and wanting to buy all the proper equipment so I have it on hand when needed. Part of it is money saving and part of it is knowing that if I've done it, then I know how much care has been taken. I'm sure most asbestos removalists are quality but some might be a bit careless, as with any field. 
Anyway, I'm still to read the stickies and libraries to find where to buy hepa class H vacuums and PPE at the best value to see if this path is even worth while/economical. 
Cheers,
M  :Smilie:

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## martins

Hi again 
The library seems to be a bit out of date for Qld I think.  Asbestos in the home - homepage 
Also info here:  Asbestos - Workplace Health and Safety Queensland 
Found an online course I can do (through keys hr) and plan to start it tomorrow. 
Also found a bunch of sites that sell vacuums and or PPE. Lemme know if anyone knows of anyone else.
200um asbestos bags and sheeting etc.  Allens Industrial - Asbestos management products, Uniform Issue Specialists, Industrial/Commercial Cleaning Machinery
(Brisbane)  Personal Protective Equipment PPE | Safety Equipment | Work Wear | Safety Gear | Site Safety - SafetyQuip
(Brisbane)  Vacuum Cleaners, Parts and Spares | <http://www.vacuumparts.com.au>  Cleaning Supplies | Chemicals | Machines | Cleaning Products  Cleaning Products, Cleaning Supplies, Cleaning Machines, Pressure Washer  Cleaning Products Australia | Cleaning Supplies | Cleaning Equipment | Janitorial Supply | Industrial Vacuum Cleaners | Carpet Cleaning Equipment | Hand Sanitizer - Tensens Cleaning Supplies  Industrial Cleaning Supplies Perth, Western Australia, Steam Cleaning Equipment Welshpool, Commercial Cleaning Products Perth, Mopping Systems, Janatorial Trolleys, Housekeeping Trolleys, Industrial Vacuum Cleaners - Intervac  Asbestos Removal Safety Kit | Asbestos Central 
cheers
m

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## shauck

> Hi Shauck, 
> Just wondering what you mean by liability.

  Public Liability Insurance. This guy said his insurance cost was based on how large his jobs were, which were sometimes pretty big and so his premium was 100,000 dollars a year. He also said, to get his license renewed each year, he had to have the insurance. Obviously DIY is a different matter but to become licensed and become an asbestos removalist, requires insurance. I'm just wondering if what you are considering doing, requires insurance and if it does, it's a cost factor to consider. That's all.

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## martins

100k. Wow. 
As far as I know I shouldn't need anything extra but if you hear otherwise I'd love to know and if I come across something in my research, I'll post it here.  
Thanks for the heads up. 
m

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## shauck

No worries. That company did some really big jobs - hospitals, schools, etc as well as smaller ones and the insurance was based on that so I wouldn't expect (if it was compulsory for you) it to be as much. I did try to search a bit to find out but couldn't find anything. Perhaps talk to the governing body. They'd know for sure if you had to have insurance.

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## shauck

Ok, I had a bit of a look about and found below links. Basically, in QLD, a licence is not issued for individual home owners to remove their own asbestos.   Asbestos - Workplace Health and Safety Queensland  http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/...20-%20PCBU.pdf

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## martins

Cheers Shauck

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## vincentvega

I have done the training and bought a vac from allens industrial. it wasnt cheap ($1600) but makes a @@@@@@ job so much easier and safer. 
I spent almost a whole day vacuuming in and around our bathroom after we ripped it out. It took me that long to clean every surface. How the pros get in and out in a couple of hours makes me wonder how thorough they are..

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## martins

Cheers Vince 
What model did you go for?
I've pretty much decided on the HZQ-200 Numatic but haven't bought yet 
Yeah I like the idea of being able to do really thorough job (with all the safety gear) with only that initial outlay - plus the bags and sheeting and disposal. Ha, the ongoing outlay is probably not small but still - happy with the path   :Smilie:

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## vincentvega

I would have bought that model but they were out of stock and I needed it in a hurry. I ended up with the 23L model which i think is the next one up. 
I searched high and low for vacuums and these seemed the best option in Brisbane. 
I was lucky to be able to split the cost with 2 other mates so it worked out pretty well for us.

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## grantbudd

I think the pros get in and so quick because there are so many of them! we had 6 in our place...They still missed little bits but mostly it was very clean.

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## wixy

I too am renovating a house that a strong possibility of asbestos present, and wanted to be prepared should I encounter it. 
I did some googling and ordered a Numatic HZQ-370 vacuum from a UK shop, Green and White: Numatic HZQ370 
The 370 is the same as the 200 version which is $1430 inc GST at Allens Industrial, but a bigger size. 
Cost was about $800 inc UPS delivery and extra bags, after VAT was deducted. I paid with PayPal and had it in 5 days including the weekend (after it went from the UK to Germany, to the US, to Melbourne, to Sydney then back to Melbourne!) 
Green & Whites email correspondence was very quick.  Most UK shops didn't want to ship internationally.  Can highly recommend them.

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## homerlovesbeer

Guys where can I hire an H class asbestos Vacuum for the day in Brisbane? I'm near the CBD. 
Thanks  :Redface: )

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## homerlovesbeer

Can anybody help? Also where is the best place to buy the plastic, signage, etc for asbestos disposal in Brisbane? 
Thanks  :Smilie:

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## davidp

> Can anybody help? Also where is the best place to buy the plastic, signage, etc for asbestos disposal in Brisbane?

  I like City Hire at Kelvin Grove. There is a place in Pickering St Alderley that are smaller but can be cheaper. There's also Kennards in lots of places. Not sure I would want to scare the neighbours with signage.

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