Asbestos in chimneys?

[Zero102]

Well I thought we had everything in order for the renovations we are doing on our house, then I found out something new.....
There is a corner of our kitchen notched out. There is a chimney for a gas/wood stove behind that notch, and it was built with the house in the 50's. Now there is an electric stove and it is not necessary.
Part of the chimney has been cut off so it no longer protrudes through the roof, this was done before we moved in when the roof was done by the last owner. The plan was to knock down the rest of the chimney in order to get the space back for our kitchen (which really needs the space....). However my wife has told me something I didn't know. Apparently they used asbestos somewhere building chimneys 50 years ago. I did some reading but nobody will identify where/how the asbestos is installed.
Do I have to worry about asbestos if I knock the rest of the chimney down?
Is it only installed where the chimney is run adjacent to wooden structure? Is it used to seal entrances/exits from the chimney?...
I don't know, and nothing I have found so far is giving me a straight answer. I don't want to knock it down and spread asbestos throughout the house, but I also don't want to spend thousands on having the chimney removed by asbestos professionals if it is not necessary.
Can somebody tell me how asbestos was used in chimneys (if at all)???

[kaput]

.

[Zero102]

From what I understand, most of the asbestos is on the inside. There is no access to the top of it since the sheating on the roof runs right against the now trimmed top, so the only way to the inside is to take it apart, which if there is asbestos.......
But, perhaps asbestos was only used where they join the metal pipes (which are long gone), or where they run the brick chimney near wooden structure using some kind of asbestos board, or something like that.
If that is the case then I can be a lot more selective about what I do. The problem is that I can't find anything about how they would have built it in the 50's. :(

From the outside it just looks like a brick chimney. Well, sort of the outside, I mean from the attic it just looks like a brick chimney ;)

[kaput]

.

[nusneak]

Older chimneys (1" thick very heavy chimneys) I've demo'ed in commercial/industrial places had asbestos inside between the inner/outer piece of metal. If the metal looks anything like that I'd call in a asbestos crew. they have to completely seal the area while removing it and water it down to keep stuff out of the air/clean up the area when finished.

Never seen one in a house, but I'm not going to say it was never in homes.

[Zero102]

Inner/outer pieces of metal?....
Looking at mine, it is just brick on the outside, does this mean I'm clear?.....
I would estimate it is 8" thick, but I can't be certain since I can't see the top of it. You're telling me there is a metal pipe inside of it? Or rather, 2 metal pipes inside of it?....

[nos_efx]

If you're concerned and want to know whether it contains asbestos you should get it tested. There are labs that analyze for asbestos fibres. If you bring in a good sample (eg. 10X10 cm), they should be able to tell you if there is any asbestos present and what type of asbestos. Then you can determine if you need an asbestos remediation company to do an assessment or if you can probably just remove it yourself, but if you're going to remove it yourself and there was some asbestos found (eg. Chrysotile asbestos, most common) then you should spray it down with water and wear NIOSH approved personal protective equipment.

[Zero102]

If there is a risk of asbestos I'm not f'ing touching it....
Not something I want to deal with ever again, been in enough houses with it on heating ducts, exhaust ducts, etc.
I won't be removing a sample. Just not that interested in having lung cancer ;)

What I'm wondering the most, is whether I will be able to tell without disturbing it. I mean, if I start pulling bricks out, am I only going to find asbestos between layers of metal within the flue? That way I could just take the bricks out, and the asbestos guys would have a nice small easy job instead of having to demolish a chimney.
On the other hand, if it is wrapped into the mortar, or outside of the metal part of the flue or whatever then I could be in big trouble.
nos_efx, do you work in asbestos abatement?

[nos_efx]

My Gf works in that field. Without testing specifically for asbestos you will not know if there are any in the chimney because back then they would use asbestos in everything since it was such a great insulating agent, it was cheap and durable. Asbestos could be found in everything from paint to masking tape and was used up until it was banned in the 1980s. You could take a sample if you're really careful or you can just contract somebody to come down and take a sample if you're seriously uncomfortable, but without sampling it'll be pretty much impossible to tell if there is asbestos. There are also different types of asbestos and depending on the form of asbestos it could be more or less hazardous for you. Like I mentioned before Chrysotile asbestos is the more common and less hazardous one where as Actinolite asbestos found in vermiculite if much more harmful. Since you're really concerned maybe hiring a contractor is the way to go?