DIYbanter - View Single Post - Replacing window compound

HeyBub

wrote:
I'm in the planning stages of a whole-house window project, which
includes some replacements but in both the interests of saving money
as well as keeping at least a few of our historic windows, I'd also
hoped to just reapply the window compound around a bunch of our old
ones. These windows have fine sashes and wood, but the old compound
is dry and in some cases has nearly completely flaked off.

When I was a kid, I had a little summer job re-compounding the windows
in a church rectory, so I know this is easy enough to do, and I'm
actually pretty good at it.

Now I'm reading that some window compounds might contain asbestos, and
I'm suddenly freaked out about scraping off what's left of the old
compound, or even opening any of my old windows that are still
actively flaking. I know people get old windows replaced all the
time, and they also replace window compound all the time, and I never
see or hear of any asbestos abatement procedures as part of the
process. The installer who's putting in the new windows we are
getting looked at our windows and never mentioned any risk to himself
or anyone else. Should I assume there's an asbestos risk, or am I
freaked out over nothing? How much asbestos was there in old window
compound?

Forget about it.

If you get it tested, and the stuff does turn out to contain asbestos,
you're talking big-bucks to remediate.

There has never been a case, so far as I know, of an asbestos hazard with
ANY commercial product. Not in its application, its use, or its removal.
Ever. All asbestos health problems have been associated with asbestos mining
and that limited to those exposed to it for many years. Asbestos-phobia
ranks along side crop circles.