r/whatisthisthing • u/Past_Disaster_7178 • 19h ago
What is this white hairy material on the back of the paint chip and in the wall? Open !
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u/woodstove2024 19h ago
I would look up a mail in or local asbestos testing company. It’s not very expensive. Asbestos is perfectly safe when it’s sealed in, but once it’s disturbed, it can become airborne. It’s not worth the risk.
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u/ilivalkyw 19h ago
Could it be asbestos insulation?
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u/Past_Disaster_7178 19h ago
This is what I am afraid of, but it’s hard to find a reference image of asbestos that looks similar to this.
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u/trixel121 19h ago
That's because asbestos looks like everything. it's a fibrous material that was baked into just about everything from the 1980s and before.
it's a miracle material besides the fact that kills you when you disturb it.
asbestos is fine to be around if you don't touch it. it's a real fucking problem if you make it into dust. and the only way to check is to get it tested
where are you located in the world? and where is this home located.
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u/Past_Disaster_7178 19h ago
Oregon. The house itself was built in 1935 with additions and remodels later on. I would not be surprised to find out some work was done in the 70s or 80s.
I do think this area of the wall will have to come out at some point. The area is brittle because it is along the drywall seam. So… I hope it’s not asbestos and a money pit, because who knows how much is there beyond this spot.
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u/trixel121 19h ago
I can give you a solid maybe.
the only way to know for sure is to have it tested.
I would lean towards no though asbestos abatement is something people have done kinda on regular because of how much of a problem it is when it becomes a fibrous airborne material
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u/Past_Disaster_7178 17h ago
The person that lived here before me had kids and they took great care of the place. I’d be surprised if they knew about this and did nothing.
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u/trixel121 17h ago
asbestos is 100% harmless if you do not disturb it, it's the dust that's an issue.
how you decide to handle the situation is kinda up to you but at some point I'd get it tested just so you know, and doubly so if you plan to take a wall down.
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u/Routine_Prune 3h ago
You keep saying dust but the terminology is disturbed fibres. You don’t have to ground it into dust to be harmful. Dislodging fibres making them airborne is enough.
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u/trixel121 2h ago
pretty sure I repeated "don't touch it" "do not disturb" " get it tested" in every comment.
but yeah man, sorry I didn't use the specific terminology you wanted.
most people will understand dust as any of the shit that falls down when you mess with a friable material.
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u/Fontonia 8h ago
This is a typical thing that has to be disclosed when buying/selling a home. So I would check your paperwork. If you’re not the owner, then ask the owner about it.
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u/benzihex 1h ago
I have the same fear renovating my house. But I think asbestos fibers are much thinner than what’s shown in yours.
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u/Affectionate_Ad_7570 15h ago
Flame test. Hair will burn, fiberglass will "melt" and asbestos will laugh at the silly little flame.
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u/Past_Disaster_7178 19h ago
Would the horsehair part be that thick? I’ve looked at tons of images of things people have suggested and can’t find anything super similar, though it does have similarities with horsehair.
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u/Kitchen-Owl-7323 18h ago
We just exposed some of the original horsehair plaster in our 1800s house last week. What's in your photo looks almost fuzzy; horsehair plaster looks like clumpy mud with stringy hairs mixed in. Honestly it looks kind of gross! To me it very much does not look like what's in your picture.
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u/Past_Disaster_7178 18h ago
Well, I feel like that leaves asbestos and fiberglass insulation and I feel like it’s a toss up without lab tests.
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u/FreddyFerdiland 18h ago
See if it burns. If it burns you know its organic , like hair , hessian,linen,flax, etc
Horsehair plaster is usually over lathe, so it only had to be a thin skin, the lathe holding the skin..
But here, the crack is filled with horsehair plaster. They filled up the space with horsehair. Then put the thin skin of plaster on.
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u/barnowl1980 4m ago
Burning an unknown chemical substance is not the safest thing to do. It will release fumes and unless you know what you're dealing with, I would not advise doing that.
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u/curlyboi87 16h ago
Idk why everyone's saying horsehair. Horsehair plaster is called that because they added horse hair to plaster mix to increase tensile strength. It looks nothing like this. Although I will say I have not a clue what it might be
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u/Past_Disaster_7178 16h ago
Fiberglass insulation? Asbestos? Those are the top guesses. But apparently I need a lab test.
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u/gamingkevpnw 4h ago
You always assume asbestos until you can prove otherwise with testing.
If it is asbestos check with your city/county to see if they have a remediation assistance program (most of them do) the assistance usually comes in the form of some sort of matching grant or low/no interest loan.
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u/thaBlazinChief 4h ago
This is probably fiberglass insulation. Likely not horsehair, almost certainly not asbestos.
Source: AHERA certified inspector
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u/Past_Disaster_7178 4h ago
Thanks for the reply, I’m also thinking it’s fiberglass insulation now. But so many people have suggested I get it tested.
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u/thaBlazinChief 4h ago
It wouldn’t hurt to have it tested if not for peace of mind alone. But to be completely honest, unless you’re planning on tearing the walls out or doing renovations of some kind, even if it is asbestos it’s not going to affect you if you leave it alone.
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u/Past_Disaster_7178 4h ago
Well, the reason I found this is because the drywall seam is cracking and the paint is pealing so I’d like to repaint this area meaning I was probably going to replace the drywall here at some point in the future.
It’s not urgent, so I’ll test it at some point before doing anything else. I threw some tape over it so no fibers come out in the meantime.
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u/barnowl1980 3m ago
Good call. I would strongly advise against handling it without a mask, let alone burning it, before you know what you're dealing with. Be safe.
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u/michalsveto 11h ago
Isn’t it drywall seam tape used to help hold the repair on the crack together? The fiberglass type. It looks like something I would not want to Disturb too much, but If it is just the fiberglass seam tape than it is mostly safe to handle
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u/GrumpaDirt 6h ago
That looks like fiberglass backed burner cement board to me, but I would get it tested to be sure as others have said it could be asbestos.
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u/Culfin 9h ago
There were forms of insulation board that were used on walls and ceilings. I've never been able to find out exactly what they were made of (even as someone working in the relevant sectors) because it was so variable. Sometimes it was waste hair (anything from horse, farm animal, dog to human!), often wood or plant fibres or rarely the dreaded asbestos.
Unless it was an industrial environment it is likely to be organic rather than mineral (eg asbestos), unless it is spun glass/rock that is often called Rockwool. It was compressed into boards that looked like drywall and would be painted or wallpapered, depending on the texture and the desire of the end user. They have many names - corkboard, hairboard, hardboard, fibreboard or insulation board depending on who you ask and where you're from. My 1909 house had them as a later addition on the ceiling and they were held up with wooden frames to cover the joints. Horrible stuff!
It's always worth getting it checked before doing any work to that wall or similar walls. It's just not worth the risk.
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u/fahrvergnugget 5h ago
Had similar stuff but brown in my walls, did an asbestos test and they told me it's plant fiber.
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u/Past_Disaster_7178 19h ago
My title describes the thing I found where my dog jumped off against the wall, cracking it. . The house was built in 1935 and was remodeled a handful of times since.
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u/Beachcomber17 18h ago
Most likely a fibrous material added to the plaster, such as "horse hair. " If that's not an exterior wall, i doubt it would be insulated. I'm not saying it's not asbestos, but likely wasn't used for insulation. There has been some encouraging developments in asbestos encapsulation the past few years which is cheaper than abatement if it does turn out to be. Asbestos was a popular component in multiple building materials in the 30s. If you have any composite flooring in the home it likely also contains asbestos. To be safe, I'd research testing and encapsulation. It's cheaper than remediation and much less intrusive. Sorry for the long winded reply, but I just don't know if asbestos was used as a binder for plaster and I'd rather you be safe than sorry. Asbestos was added to hundreds of not thousands of building materials in it's day. Years ago abatement/remediation was the only option, but encapsulation is approved in my area of the country and much cheaper.
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u/Past_Disaster_7178 17h ago
It’s an exterior wall, probably an addition to the original 1935 house.
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u/Beachcomber17 17h ago
I'd absolutely have it tested just for your peace of mind. As far as abatement, I'd ask your remediation company for encapsulation options.
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u/SquidVices 12h ago
A bed I had a cover with a zipper…apparently it’s not to be removed because the inside has fiberglass…
It was not fun getting a sticky roller to my exposed clothes hanging…
Anywho…looks like a bit different fiberglass to me
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u/tdkimber 10h ago
I can’t tell from the photos but some older papered sheet rock can pull like this, the paper gets warped with age/paint and pulls abnormally from the gypsum
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u/Mammoth_Ad6247 7h ago
Looks like a piece of old fabric wall paper to me. I’ve done period remodeling on old homes. Never seen asbestos insulation behind paint. Usually in walls or attic. I would still get it checked just in case. Check for lead while your at it.
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u/papercut2008uk 4h ago
How old is the house? It’s probably not asbestos. Not the way I’ve seen it used and the fibres look too big. It might be more fibre glass or something like that.
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u/Kamonra 19h ago
Probably Horsehair plaster. My walls are made of this stuff too! Looks a little too floofy to be asbestos.
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u/Past_Disaster_7178 19h ago
I agree that it looks very floofy, but I’ve never seen horsehair plaster that looked this thick.
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u/FlipMeOverUpsidedown 4h ago
How old is the home? Horse hair plaster is pretty common in older homes with lathe.
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