Old brick building approx 120 or more years old has a black substance like ash or similar between ceiling and 2nd floor. Any old builders know what this could be? And is it inflamable? TIA
tardis537,
Sep 28, 5:25am
Black mold? Does it smell?
annies3,
Sep 28, 5:34am
depending on where this building is it could be anything, most likely dust, we renovated a home which had been relocated it came from near railway tracks and when the area above the ceiling was cleaned it had a thick layer of dust it was all vacuumed out and left beautifully clean, the building was 80 odd years old.
skin1235,
Sep 28, 6:33am
thats 'age' mate, slowly percolating down on all inhabitants, tinfoil hats help to deflect some of it, but you have to sleep eventually, and it sneaks in between the snores
skin1235,
Sep 28, 6:37am
far as I know they used to use all sorts of stuff as insulation, wood shavings, wool clip, shredded sacks, most of which broke down over a long period, and generally left a layer of a black soot like substance ( with a little more meat to it than plain soot ) I've come across places with crushed coke laid as insulation in the roof - anything to create an air barrier, or air movement barrier
happychappy50,
Sep 28, 7:39am
This is it,came across this situation in Newcastle when I was replacing a roof & installing insulation,the whole roof cavity was full of soot,approx 120 mm thick,was very close to an old steel mill which burnt heaps of coal like most factories at the time?Also,the coal in the Hunter Valley is so plentiful that most folk burnt it in their homes as well.Anyway,needed to vacumn the ceiling cavity to clean it all up before installing batts.
reggienz,
Sep 29, 10:04am
Thanks skin1235. You could be right. Had thought maybe insulation of some sort but now you confirmed it.
nzjay,
Sep 16, 5:49pm
There are old villa's in my hometown that have soot in the ceilings from the steam trains that used to run up and down on the other side of the road (up wind). Many times I've had to go home for a shower looking like a chimney sweep after working in a ceiling.
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