One house on Channel 9’s popular renovation show has been shut down after one couple uncovered what they suspected to be asbestos during demolition work.
On an episode of the show aired this week, one contestant was completing demolition work on the floor of the home only to discover what he suspected to be asbestos.
Tom, who is participating with his wife Sarah-Jane, on the show, was nearing the end of the demolition task when he realised the uncovered material was likely asbestos-containing material.
“As soon as I saw it, I’m like: Oh god, here we go, more delays,” he said.
Safety supervisors for the show quickly shut down the site of the home for a full day, and a specialist asbestos team were sent in to assess the risk and remove the asbestos.
“They shut our house down, and rightfully so – asbestos is very dangerous,” said Tom.
The assessment and subsequent removal of the asbestos material took six hours. The site foremen explained that the asbestos hadn’t been identified during initial assessments of the properties because it was in an unlikely location.
“In this location, under the fireplace and used as formwork, it’s very hard to locate. That’s why we didn’t find it – Tom’s done the right thing in alerting us,” they explained.