Rayburn removal and asbestos ?

[Shaun]

Hello,

I'm looking at removing our old 1949 Rayburn 2 and it looks like the only way i'm going to get it out is by breaking it up. What i'm concerned about is the likelyhood of asbestos. The fire bricks look in good condition and I think they'll come out without breaking, but does anyone know if Rayburn used asbestos anywhere else in the construction of a Rayburn ? Also any tips on the best way of breaking it up ? Any help would be appreciated.

thanks

Shaun.

 

[Tom]

We took a sledgehammer to ours and weighed it in, although we did do it in the yard. There was some brown kind of insulating material in there (but not a lot...half a bucketful?) and I guess it *could* have been asbestos but I don't know. To be on the safe side, we wore full-face respirators and worked with the wind behind us.

 

[Gervase]

When my son ripped ours to bits we found loads of glass wool but no asbestos. The only place where you may find it on older models is the heat resistant 'rope' around the lid. It was made of glass fibre on more recent Rayburns, but I have a feeling it was once rather nasty fibrous asbestos.

 

[Lime]

Wet asbestos is a lot safer to handle than dry.

 

[DaveBrigg]

There was no asbestos in ours, but the plate that sealed the chimney, through which the flue passed, was. The flue which ran inside the chimney may have been asbestos - the builders were unsure, and since this was to be bricked up anyway it was left in situ.