E127. Dealing with contamination onsite for renovations and new builds

In this episode of the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast, Amelia and Frank dive into a topic that many homeowners rarely think about, the hidden contaminants that can exist in homes, particularly when renovating or extending older properties. If you're planning a renovation, extension, or even a simple demolition project, there could be hidden contaminants that impact your health, your timeline, and your budget.

From asbestos and lead-based paint to mould, contaminated dust, and even soil contamination, older homes can contain a surprising range of materials that only become dangerous once they’re disturbed. Frank shares real stories from past renovation projects and personal experiences where unexpected discoveries brought work to a sudden stop. It’s a reminder that sometimes the biggest risks in a project are the things you can’t see.

The episode also explores why contaminants aren’t just a problem in older homes. Even newer houses can suffer from mould and moisture issues, often caused by poor ventilation or hidden leaks. Amelia and Frank discuss where these problems commonly occur, like under carpets, inside wall cavities, and in roof spaces, and how quickly they can escalate if they’re not identified early.

But this conversation isn’t just about the risks it’s about how to approach renovations smarter. Frank talks about when to test materials and when to call in specialists, and why doing a little investigation before you start demolition could save you thousands of dollars and a lot of stress.

If you’re thinking about renovating, buying an older home, or simply want to understand what might be lurking in your house, this episode will change the way you look at renovation projects forever, and how it can keep you safer in your home.

About us
Prime Design is a building design company locally owned and operated in Tasmania since 2004.  Our goal is to share as much valuable information as possible about the process of building design, extensions, and more. We will talk about a different topic each week. To suggest a topic you would like us to talk about contact us at info@primedesigntas.com.au

Disclaimer
The information provided on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, individual circumstances, or remedy. We strongly suggest you consult a qualified professional before taking any action based on the information provided in this podcast. The views, opinions, and information provided in this podcast are those of the hosts  do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation, employer, or company.  All content provided on this podcast is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this podcast and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses,  or damages arising from its use. We reserve the right to change content or delete any information provided on this podcast at any time without prior notice.

Transcript

E127. Dealing with contamination onsite for renovations and new builds

[INTRO] (0:08 - 0:42)

Hello and welcome to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast, focused on providing valuable information for anyone looking to undertake a new build or extension project. We'll share our tips, tricks and stories from a building designer's perspective. 

[Amelia]

Hello and welcome to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast. I'm your host, Amelia. And once again, we're joined by Frank Geskus.

[Frank] (0:43 - 0:43)

Afternoon, Amelia.

[Amelia] (0:44 - 0:45)

Another happy Friday.

[Frank] (0:45 - 0:46)

It's always a happy Friday.

[Amelia] (0:47 - 0:49)

It is. It's sunny and shining outside.

[Frank] (0:50 - 0:51)

And we're loving it.

[Amelia] (0:51 - 0:52)

It's very nice.

[Frank] (0:52 - 0:56)

Coming to the end of summer. No, we're in autumn now, aren't we?

[Amelia] (0:56 - 0:57)

Oh yeah, it's March.

[Frank] (0:57 - 0:58)

Yeah, there you go.

[Amelia] (0:58 - 0:59)

That's gone quick.

[Frank] (1:00 - 1:02)

So today's topic.

[Amelia] (1:02 - 1:03)

Your favourite.

[Frank] (1:03 - 1:47)

Okay, we'll figure that out. Something that most homeowners are never aware, think about, but it's the hidden contaminants. 

[Amelia]

Yes.

[Frank]

So we wanted to highlight this because of some renovations that we saw recently and over the years. You get a few little surprises and you're not quite realising what you're dealing with. I've done it myself doing home renos and being foolish and young and weren't educated and did stuff I shouldn't have done.

But it's really important. Buying an older house, then renovating, extending, even just lifting up floors, pulling out walls, redoing things. You potentially can have a stop of your project because of some of these contaminants.

[Amelia] (1:48 - 1:52)

And you and I, we're probably familiar with this. We've both renovated before.

[Frank] (1:52 - 1:52)

Yep.

[Amelia] (1:52 - 2:01)

I know in my bathroom, Dad and I were doing some demolition and one of the walls in our shower was asbestos.

[Frank] (2:02 - 2:03)

As simple as that.

[Amelia] (2:03 - 2:06)

And I mean, we had no idea what was behind the tiles.

[Frank] (2:06 - 2:21)

No, you don't. But at least you were smart enough to be aware of that because you don't know. 

[Amelia]

That's right.

[Frank]

You're right. Look, to be fair, demolition is one of the most therapeutic things you can do in your life.

[Amelia] (2:21 - 2:23)

It's pretty awesome.

[Frank] (2:23 - 2:33)

It is. You've had a bad week. Doesn't get any better when you just smash the crap out of the house.

And it's for a bigger purpose.

[Amelia] (2:34 - 2:34)

That's right.

[Frank] (2:35 - 2:47)

But it's pretty disheartening when you've got to stop and you realise, what is that? And it could be not just asbestos. It could be mould. It could be, even the dust can be a bit ordinary. It can look a bit dodgy.

[Amelia] (2:47 - 2:48)

Yeah.

[Frank] (2:48 - 2:49)

You don't know what's in it.

[Amelia] (2:49 - 2:50)

Bits of timber, concrete.

[Frank] (2:50 - 3:05)

Yeah. All sorts of stuff. So, what's behind the walls, the ceilings, the floors could matter far, far more. So, yeah. So, the things with contaminants, what are they going to do? Well, obviously, they can potentially affect your health.

[Amelia] (3:05 - 3:06)

Short-term and long-term.

[Frank] (3:07 - 3:40)

Yep. And health of others. It will affect the construction costs because you're in clean-up mode.

You need to get rid of this stuff or deal with it. And there can be a trap on certain houses where there's more of. I remember looking at old shacks and they call them fibro shacks.

[Amelia]

Yes. 

[Frank]

Inside, outside. All asbestos shooting that have never been painted.

[Amelia]

Oh, really?

[Frank]

Seriously. I saw this one down at Hawley Beach and it was just, like, beautiful. Yet, it's all asbestos shooting. It's not going to kill you. Only when you start breaking it and you've got all the fibres out.

[Amelia] (3:41 - 3:41)

That's right.

[Frank] (3:41 - 4:11)

So, yeah, maybe we'll just jump in to see what matters because these are some of the areas that you're going to be looking at. Could be in your flooring. This is the one that gets a lot of people flooring.

You wouldn't have thought so. So, you could get cutting into walls, floors, all that type of stuff, and you don't know what's in there, what you're actually cutting through, so then all the dust and fibres come through. So, demo work is where it's really potential has a lot of danger because you just don't know.

You could have layers of wallpaper, layers of paint, layers of vinyl.

[Amelia] (4:12 - 4:12)

Yes.

[Frank] (4:13 - 4:24)

Lino. You could have false ceilings, all sorts of stuff. So, yeah, when it becomes a surprise, it's a real surprise because how do you normally break shit?

Big hammer.

[Amelia] (4:24 - 4:26)

Oh, yeah. 

[Frank] (4:27 - 4:50)

Oh, it's so good. Crowbars, all that. You might have to get the power saw in. Well, there's a heap more dust.

All this stuff generates dust. So, when it becomes airborne, we've got a problem in Houston. Obviously, you've got to wear the right personal protective gear when you're doing this stuff.

Now, when I was younger, I was a hero. Nah, didn't have any of this stuff. I just got in and broke stuff. And I know there was some contaminants now, looking back.

[Amelia] (4:50 - 4:51)

Yeah.

[Frank] (4:51 - 5:09)

So, some of these issues I've already mentioned. Asbestos, lead dust, mould. Where did mould come from?

Mould. Contaminated insulation, and that could be mould in there as well. It could be a type of insulation, and even some of the dust because you don't know what's in the dust.

[Amelia] (5:09 - 5:10)

That's exactly right.

[Frank] (5:11 - 5:39)

You know? So, and I'm not going to tell you how to fix this because I'm not an expert on this. This is where you need to get experts in to do this.

So, the number one on our list is asbestos. Everyone's heard it. People carry on like idiots with this stuff, how they react. Everyone's pretty smart now. You don't go and break this stuff. You don't muck with it.

You get experts in. But if it's not frayed, broken, dust, it should not cause you any risk.

[Amelia] (5:40 - 5:40)

Yes.

[Frank] (5:41 - 6:01)

So, it's going to be in your wall lining. It could be in your eaves or soffits. Wet area, like you found behind the shower.

Could be the underlay to the tiles or underlay in the floor. Corrugated roofing, actual roofing made out of the stuff. Backing boards, vinyl floor tiles. There's an interesting one. The glue.

[Amelia] (6:02 - 6:02)

Oh, really?

[Frank] (6:03 - 6:05)

There's glues with a window putty with asbestos.

[Amelia] (6:05 - 6:05)

Really?

[Frank] (6:06 - 6:23)

Fencing. There's all sorts of stuff. Cutback glues. You know, there's so much stuff. Plumber. This is rare in housing.

Plumbing lagging. I know a commercial, we dealt with one project and they had what was called a fibrous insulation around a boiler. That was the worst of the worst.

[Amelia] (6:23 - 6:23)

Really?

[Frank] (6:24 - 6:34)

Yeah, this took weeks and weeks to clean up this industrial site. Super expensive because it was just like powdered asbestos. It's touch it, it's airborne type.

[Amelia] (6:34 - 6:35)

Yeah, that's not good.

[Frank] (6:35 - 6:47)

It was awful. Very, very expensive and they had to put air monitoring systems around the whole site, inside, outside. And the guys had to be in the proper gear.

It cost tens of thousands to clean this mess up.

[Amelia] (6:48 - 6:48)

Wow.

[Frank] (6:49 - 7:16)

So asbestos is generally a lower risk when it's in good condition and left undisturbed. Okay? So the risk is low.

As soon as you cut it, drill it, sand it, bash it, do whatever you like, don't do whatever you like. That's the bottom line. Get an expert in, get it tested.

If it's starting to fray, fall apart, walk away. Get someone in. So this stuff happens. The flooring is the one that people don't realise. That's the worst one.

[Amelia] (7:16 - 7:21)

Yeah, I would never have thought of the glue holding vinyl or something together.

[Frank] (7:21 - 7:25)

When you pull up the lino, old flooring, because sometimes on floors there's multiple layers.

[Amelia] (7:26 - 7:26)

Yeah.

[Frank] (7:26 - 8:00)

I want to get to the floorboards. 

[Amelia]

Yes, yes. 

[Frank]

You don't know what it is. Yeah, and you could have the asbestos-contained black adhesive. But best thing is just don't disturb it. Don't guess. Get it tested and assessed. Slows you down, but it's worth it. So contact an asbestos assessor or a licensed asbestos removal contractor. They can point you in the right direction. There's plenty of those guys around. So what it does, well, the disposal costs, the clearance inspections, the removal, depending how much, because there's all these different ranges.

[Amelia] (8:00 - 8:01)

Even the time delay.

[Frank] (8:02 - 8:05)

The time delay is the most annoying. Imagine if you were living in your house and renovating it.

[Amelia] (8:05 - 8:06)

And then you find it.

[Frank] (8:06 - 8:06)

Yeah.

[Amelia] (8:06 - 8:07)

Yeah, that's not good.

[Frank] (8:08 - 8:10)

I lived in my reno. Yeah.

[Amelia] (8:10 - 8:13)

So did I. Living in filth.

[Frank] (8:13 - 8:14)

Never again.

[Amelia] (8:15 - 8:16)

Never again for me either.

[Frank] (8:17 - 8:21)

No, no. Mind you, it teaches you a lot.

[Amelia] (8:21 - 8:22)

It does.

[Frank] (8:22 - 8:32)

And resilience, living in that. But there's something satisfying of turning an older place and you've improved it. There's something very satisfying about that.

[Amelia] (8:32 - 8:36)

Especially when you have done some of the work yourself.

[Frank] (8:36 - 9:13)

Yeah, and I've said this before. Have a crack. But now you become better educated.

You know what to do, not to do. Get experts in when you need to. But have a crack at doing some of that stuff.

One of the other contaminants is lead paint. This can be a real problem with the older homes. Lead-based paint, commonly with houses before the 70s.

Typical locations, obviously the windows, weatherboards, doors, trims, internal joinery, your bathrooms, wherever. So the dust can be harmful, particularly for children and pregnant women. And the risk usually occurs when you're sanding or stripping it.

Now, I've got a confession to make.

[Amelia] (9:14 - 9:15)

You've done that?

[Frank] (9:15 - 9:15)

Yeah.

[Amelia] (9:16 - 9:18)

Really? And was it lead-based paint?

[Frank] (9:18 - 9:19)

I've got no idea. I never got it tested. I was an idiot.

[Amelia] (9:20 - 9:21)

This was back in your yahoo days?

[Frank] (9:21 - 9:34)

Yeah, my yahoo days where I was indestructible. Drink a ton of beers and go and renovate the house and just go for it. Dodgy scaffolding, sliding off roofs, all that type of stuff.

[Amelia] (9:34 - 9:36)

You don't get away with that stuff now, Frank.

[Frank] (9:37 - 9:38)

Well, not at my age, no.

[Amelia] (9:39 - 9:42)

No, no, like with having more dodgy things.

[Frank] (9:42 - 9:43)

Well, you can.

[Amelia] (9:43 - 9:48)

Well, I guess you can. There's more rules now is what I'm trying to say. More red tape.

[Frank] (9:48 - 10:09)

But not when you're doing it yourself. I mean, you can still do this stuff if you want to. But I was a dill. There was no doubt about it. I shouldn't have. What I did, I repainted the whole house. It was a 1910 build house. Beautiful place. Sanded the whole thing back.

I had to strip a whole section of it because it all flaked and blistered. And I stripped it with a heat gun.

[Amelia] (10:10 - 10:11)

Oh, really? 

[Frank] (10:11 - 10:24)

Yep. The whole front of the house. And then redid it all. And I'd never done it before. Learned heaps. And you know what? I haven't been there for 25 years and still got that paint job I put on there.

[Amelia] (10:24 - 10:25)

It looks good?

[Frank] (10:25 - 10:26)

It still looks fine.

[Amelia] (10:26 - 10:27)

Wow.

[Frank] (10:27 - 10:33)

From a distance anyway. So I'm pretty proud of that. But tell you what, that's a hard job.

[Amelia] (10:33 - 10:34)

I reckon.

[Frank] (10:34 - 10:38)

But with lead-based paint, now that I know this, I would have got to tested.

[Amelia] (10:39 - 10:39)

Yeah.

[Frank] (10:39 - 10:57)

You know? Same when there was asbestos shooting on the wall. I didn't know. I was foolish. It wasn't that common. So you live and you learn.

Again, avoid sanding, which I didn't. Controlled removal methods. I don't know how you do that when your whole house is painted.

[Amelia] (10:57 - 10:59)

Yes. Tricky.

[Frank] (11:00 - 11:06)

Window replacement. Well, I didn't. I just stripped all the window frames and repainted them.

[Amelia] (11:06 - 11:07)

Oh, wow.

[Frank] (11:07 - 11:49)

Redid all the ropes in them and stuff. Yeah. So also you've got to be careful on the interior strip-outs there as well. I'd like to say common sense. I didn't have much when I was younger. Just tore into it because everyone did.

Renovating was a thing back in the 90s. 

[Amelia]

Yeah. Lots of people did it.

[Frank]

Just do it. Yeah. I still believe do it. But now that you're better armed and we're trying to educate you, then do this. Get everything tested. Make sure and keep safe.

The next one. And this is one that we talk about a lot. And we believe it's in a lot of new homes. And you'll never, ever see it until you start pulling stuff apart. And I go to quite a number of renos that pulled stuff apart. And I can see it there on the frames.

We're talking about mould.

[Amelia] (11:50 - 11:53)

Yeah. And it's not just old houses we're seeing it in.

[Frank] (11:54 - 11:54)

New houses.

[Amelia] (11:54 - 11:56)

That's right. Which is really concerning.

[Frank] (11:57 - 12:06)

If it makes for an unhealthy home because we're not getting it vented properly. Mind you, mould needs moisture. Pretty simple.

[Amelia]

Yes. 

[Frank]

So get rid of the moisture.

[Amelia] (12:07 - 12:08)

Yeah. It seems so simple, doesn't it?

[Frank] (12:08 - 12:26)

Well, this is why, if you're not aware, under the building code, but also in Tasmania, the CBOS, the controlling body, is making an insistence that all our walls have to ventilate really well to minimum requirement. Their roofs have to ventilate. Everything has to be ducted outside.

[Amelia] (12:26 - 12:26)

Yes.

[Frank] (12:27 - 12:55)

Really hard to do on certain style of houses. Really, really hard. And I've spoken before, you need to mechanically ventilate inside your house as well.

I talk about heat recovery, ventilation. I keep banging on about it, but I'm a big believer in it. And this will reduce the chances of mould and those common contaminants because there's different types of moulds.

So typically you're going to get in your bathrooms, your laundries, roof leaks. Still can't believe we get roof leaks in new homes.

[Amelia] (12:55 - 12:58)

Really? 

[Frank]

Yeah. 

[Amelia]

Is that a box gutter thing?

[Frank] (12:58 - 12:59)

Yeah. That's why I hate them.

[Amelia] (12:59 - 13:00)

Yeah.

[Frank] (13:00 - 13:00)

You know that.

[Amelia] (13:01 - 13:01)

I know that.

[Frank] (13:02 - 13:05)

Yeah. Check out, mate, on YouTube, you know, non-compliant.

[Amelia] (13:05 - 13:05)

Yeah.

[Speaker 1] (13:06 - 13:19)

It's kind of everywhere. Well, what's really interesting, he shows some of the drawings that he's got. And you can just see the roof designs are just stupid.

There's not just compliance. They don't comply with the manufacturer's specs.

[Amelia] (13:19 - 13:20)

That's right.

[Frank] (13:20 - 13:23)

And someone stamped to prove it. I can't believe this dumb shit.

[Amelia] (13:23 - 13:23)

Yeah. It's pretty bad.

[Frank] (13:24 - 13:38)

Terrible. So venting your rooms, venting your roof, behind your cupboards, wall cavities. The other interesting, horrible place to get mould is when you have a leak is under carpets.

[Amelia] (13:39 - 13:41)

Oh, and you've talked about this before.

[Frank] (13:41 - 14:05)

Yeah, it is filth. I've got a rental property and there was a problem with the plumbing and the bathroom leaked. And anyway, it was enough for it to go outside the door.

The water stop didn't control all of it and it got in the carpet, but it wasn't realised straight away. I got a photo from the real estate agent. Hey, we've got a problem with the carpet.

And they pulled it up and it's all mould. And I said, just pull it out, get it fixed, replace it, clean it, detox it, do whatever you have to do.

[Amelia] (14:05 - 14:06)

Yeah, make it healthy.

[Frank] (14:06 - 14:11)

I was frustrated because it was actually a product failure.

[Amelia] (14:12 - 14:13)

Was it really?

[Frank] (14:13 - 14:15)

It was the shower, the flick mixer.

[Amelia] (14:15 - 14:16)

Oh, yes.

[Frank] (14:16 - 14:17)

It actually failed.

[Amelia] (14:17 - 14:17)

Okay.

[Frank] (14:18 - 14:23)

Yeah, and caused a lot of problems. And what do you do? You claim it, they give you a new flick mixer. Great. What about the rest of the damage?

[Amelia] (14:23 - 14:25)

Yeah, true.

[Frank] (14:25 - 14:27)

And it actually leaked behind the wall. That's where the failure was.

[Amelia] (14:27 - 14:28)

Okay.

[Frank] (14:28 - 14:34)

Winner, winner, chicken dinner that was. That was a few thousand bucks to fix that mess. 

[Amelia]

Oh, it gets messy.

[Frank]

And then the carpet.

[Amelia] (14:35 - 14:35)

Yes.

[Frank] (14:35 - 14:36)

So there's another $1,700.

[Amelia] (14:37 - 14:37)

Yep.

[Frank] (14:38 - 15:10)

Yeah. Anyway, got to get rid of this mould, but also you've got to get the place cleaned. So sometimes if it gets real bad, you've got to get a professional in.

What's the name of those guys again? They're a specialist. Building...

[Amelia]

Biologist. 

[Frank]

Building biologist that specialises in stuff. So this health impact will be long-term respiratory irritation, allergies, asthma, flares up.

So the key thing is with the mould, fix the moisture source first. Don't just fix the moisture problem because it's just going to come back.

[Amelia] (15:10 - 15:11)

Exactly.

[Frank] (15:12 - 15:15)

And harder than you think. Who do you contact? The...

[Amelia] (15:15 - 15:16)

Building biologist.

[Frank] (15:17 - 15:17)

Thank you.

[Amelia] (15:18 - 15:19)

It is Friday.

[Frank] (15:19 - 15:41)

Yeah, it is. What a week. Building inspector possibly. I wouldn't necessarily... Plumber, plumber mate, they're there to try and fix the leak, which is pretty common.

They're pretty good at that. Yeah. And then you may have to pull out plaster, insulation, waterproofing, because your plaster can get all mouldy and horrible.

Sorry, plaster gets mouldy, insulation gets mouldy, everything gets mouldy and it's horrible.

[Amelia] (15:41 - 16:07)

Yeah. I know in my rental, I had a leak in the ceiling. From the roof?

Yeah, pipe in the roof. Yeah. It was when we had really, really cold weather and nearly every day there was, you know, plumbers being called out to so many places because old properties were just having burst pipes from the cold.

And half of the insulation in the ceiling had to be replaced because it was all wet.

[Frank] (16:07 - 16:09)

Yep, wet and then stuffed, throw it away.

[Amelia] (16:09 - 16:10)

Yep.

[Frank] (16:10 - 16:13)

So, yeah, that's horrible, that's a pipe.

[Amelia] (16:14 - 16:14)

Yeah.

[Frank] (16:14 - 16:19)

And also I've seen it, I've actually seen condensation in a roof space where it's actually dripping through the down lines.

[Amelia] (16:20 - 16:21)

Oh, that's a bit gross.

[Frank] (16:21 - 16:22)

I've got a video of it.

[Amelia] (16:22 - 16:24)

Is that because the roof is not vented properly?

[Frank] (16:25 - 16:48)

Exactly. That was one of the reasons. I believe it was more complex than that because where it was positioned, how much sun got onto the roof, there's a whole tonne of stuff.

It wasn't just one simple thing. Anyway, nasty. So, the other thing we want to bring up is dust build-up.

So, when you're pulling stuff apart, you know, wall cavity, ceiling spaces, subfloors, decades of dust. What's in that dust?

[Amelia] (16:49 - 16:50)

Yeah, exactly.

[Frank] (16:52 - 17:14)

Again, in my job here, I crawl through floors, under floors, roofs, all sorts of stuff and haven't really thought twice about it. So, a bit of a dope when it comes to that from a safety point of view. So, you could have mould spores, lead particles, rodent contamination, the old rat poo.

[Amelia] (17:14 - 17:15)

Yeah, yuck.

[Frank] (17:15 - 17:22)

Or if you're lucky enough, you might have a possum living in your roof where they just like urinating everywhere and come back to the same spot.

[Amelia] (17:23 - 17:24)

Wonderful.

[Frank] (17:24 - 17:25)

Yeah.

[Amelia] (17:26 - 17:29)

Hopefully, you hear them in the roof though and you can do something about it.

[Frank] (17:29 - 17:32)

Yeah, you need to take them for a bit of a holiday because they will come back.

[Amelia] (17:33 - 17:34)

Yeah, yeah.

[Frank] (17:34 - 18:52)

So, they will come back. So, a bit nasty. So, normally this stuff just sits there for ages and same thing is when you disturb it becomes a problem.

But I'd say that with also if you're cutting concrete, cutting tiles, cutting walls, you got to wear the right protective gear, dust, you know, places for contaminants from this as well. We'll just move on to that with what that might be but like old insulation can break down and release fibres and dust. Like I said, rodents, droppings, nesting materials, urine contamination from the locals using your roof space as the local toilet.

The other thing you consider on some of the old joinery, some of the chipboard, MDF may have formaldehyde in it. 

[Amelia]

Yes. 

[Frank]

So, you got to be real careful of that. This one is a weird one but it has come up in a couple of times is soil contamination. Old houses might used to run their business and they used to have an oil or fuel storage on there. They used to have burn piles, agricultural equipment.

One I had was an old sawmill on the backyard and they had all this sawdust in the ground and stuff. So, at the time they treated that as a contaminant. Old orchards, some of the old pesticides they used to use.

[Amelia] (18:52 - 18:53)

Yeah, right.

[Frank] (18:54 - 18:56)

Then they helped them convert it into subdivisions.

[Amelia] (18:56 - 18:56)

Yes.

[Frank] (18:57 - 18:59)

Doesn't mean they've got rid of it.

[Amelia] (18:59 - 18:59)

Yeah, right.

[Frank] (18:59 - 19:00)

They might have buried it.

[Amelia] (19:00 - 19:01)

Yeah.

[Frank] (19:01 - 19:13)

You don't know. So, how do you find this stuff? Well, interesting in Tasmania work, I think it's workplace safety.

Workplace health and safety, they keep very good records in Tasmania of where the contaminants are.

[Amelia] (19:13 - 19:27)

They are very good too. I've looked at property before. There was one in particular that was well deemed contaminated. It was an agricultural site and it had like a cotton, some sort of meal that had been on there previously.

[Frank] (19:28 - 19:33)

Yeah, yeah. Even some of the nasty greases and oils and stuff, they used to dump it on the ground.

[Amelia] (19:34 - 19:34)

Yeah.

[Frank] (19:34 - 19:41)

Apparently, a certain place down near Hobart Wharf where a new rather large building is being built.

[Amelia] (19:41 - 19:43)

You're not going to name the building?

[Frank] (19:43 - 19:49)

Oh, bugger it. Stadium. Everyone knows they've got a contamination problem underneath there.

[Amelia] (19:49 - 19:51)

Do they really? 

[Frank]

It's massive. 

[Amelia]

Yeah, right.

[Frank] (19:51 - 20:06)

This was all industrial. It used to be abattoirs down there and everything else. What did they used to do back there?

Just dump it on the ground. They've had it in Victoria just recently with some of the tunnels. It's just this crazy contamination because of sins of the past.

They just dump stuff into the water or on the ground.

[Amelia] (20:07 - 20:08)

That is a little bit concerning.

[Frank] (20:09 - 20:35)

Well, it annoys me because we have to pay for it. I can't remember which river it is at the Queenstown, which is one of the deadest rivers in the country because all the leakage of cyanide and all these other things dealing with the mine tailings and stuff from 100, 150 years ago. I think it's the Queen or King River near Queenstown.

It is insane. And it's just got shit leaching in there. It's all orange.

[Amelia] (20:35 - 20:36)

Oh, yuck.

[Frank] (20:36 - 20:46)

And this is all around the world where governments, businesses could do whatever they like, dumping stuff everywhere, yet the average person gets affected by it.

[Amelia] (20:46 - 20:46)

Yes.

[Frank] (20:46 - 20:50)

They've ruined our environment. Anyway, that's a whole other topic, isn't it?

[Amelia] (20:51 - 20:52)

That's a soapbox topic.

[Frank] (20:52 - 21:09)

Yeah, big time. So you need to deal with a lot of this stuff as soon as possible. If you're looking at reno-ing, try and find it, get it tested.

Because once the builder is on site and it's not cleared, it gets super expensive. Yes. If he's waiting, he's charging you by the hour.

[Amelia] (21:10 - 21:10)

That's right.

[Frank] (21:10 - 21:12)

He's not going to stop charging you.

[Amelia] (21:12 - 21:12)

No.

[Frank] (21:12 - 21:12)

You've got a contract.

[Amelia] (21:13 - 21:14)

That's exactly right.

[Frank] (21:14 - 21:25)

So it gets expensive very quickly. So existing homes can hide more than what people think. So the key is most contaminants issues can be managed.

You just need to identify them early. And you need to get specialists.

[Amelia] (21:26 - 21:31)

Yeah. And don't take any risks. If you're not sure, get a professional to check it for you.

[Frank] (21:31 - 21:41)

Yep. So before you start cutting, drilling, sanding, or just the therapeutic demolition, do some investigation first. It could save you a lot of money, stress, and health issues.

[Amelia] (21:41 - 21:46)

Exactly. All right. Wrap it up there, folks. Thanks for listening to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast.

[Frank] (21:46 - 21:47)

Catch ya’s later.

[OUTRO] (21:56 - 22:00)

You're listening to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast.