fabric conduit, asbestos?

[junkhound]

Nearing 80 YO and had never seen fabric conduit (actually looks like tarred cotton, but may be asbestos?) in a home before last week.

Was left in place when a previous contractor replaced K&T in the house. Wires in the fabric conduit is not frayed and looks in good shape.

Was this stuff common at one time (house late 30's or early 40's) - precursor to fabric romex?

Anyone ever run into fabric conduit residentially, acquaintance said movie theaters used it and movie theater stuff was 100% asbestos.

Any concerns with leaving in place?

 

[LarryFine]

Are you talking about a tube many feet long like conduit, or loom several inches long through framing.

 

[norcal]

Closest thing I can think of is orangeburg pipe, a paper & asphalt material, that they stopped making 50 years ago.

 

[PaulMmn]

Normally, asbestos has to be 'encapsulated' so little kids can't gnaw on it (ie painted windowsillls). I know that cement/asbestos siding on houses can remain as long as it's not disturbed.

 

[jim dungar]

Normally, asbestos has to be 'encapsulated' so little kids can't gnaw on it (ie painted windowsillls). I know that cement/asbestos siding on houses can remain as long as it's not disturbed.

You are mixing asbestos and lead paint.

Asbestos can usually remain in place if it is not friable (cannot easily be turned into dust) like house siding, floor tiles, and fiber style pipe.

Of course local regulations may be different.

 

[infinity]

Photos please.

 

[Joethemechanic]

I could swear I saw Transite used as conduit, but it was medium voltage

 

[PaulMmn]

You are mixing asbestos and lead paint.

They're both tasty!

 

[Joethemechanic]

They're both tasty!

Lead paint was really good stuff, we never thought about exposure. So was asbestos, it held up well and didn't burn, it was thought of as a safety material.

They used it in schools a lot to keep us "safe". Although not the cause of this fire, there was a big push for fire safety after it happened.



Our Lady of Angels School Fire

That picture was in every newspaper in the country

 

[synchro]

Our Lady of Angels School Fire

That picture was in every newspaper in the country

I knew a technician who was working at the Motorola headquarters and plant located 1 mile west of the Our Lady Of Angels School when the fire occurred. Many of the women who worked in the plant had children at this school . He mentioned how they sent everyone home when they became aware of the fire, and the great emotion, concern of everyone as they rushed out of the plant.

 

[Joethemechanic]

I knew a technician who was working at the Motorola headquarters and plant located 1 mile west of the Our Lady Of Angels School when the fire occurred. Many of the women who worked in the plant had children at this school . He mentioned how they sent everyone home when they became aware of the fire, and the great emotion, concern of everyone as they rushed out of the plant.

Yeah it was really terrible. In school they showed us so many fire safety films about it using actual footage and reenactments. We were all horrified

 

[PaulMmn]

From watching lots of old cartoons over the years, asbestos was woven into fireproof fabrics and used as fire protection curtains in theaters. Many cartoons showed layers of curtains being raised, usually with one including the word "asbestos" prominently displayed!

 

[Joethemechanic]

From watching lots of old cartoons over the years, asbestos was woven into fireproof fabrics and used as fire protection curtains in theaters. Many cartoons showed layers of curtains being raised, usually with one including the word "asbestos" prominently displayed!

Yeah, things made of cloth were big time fire hazards back in the day. This fire in a sewing factory, changed workplace safety and labor relations throughout the 20th Century

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: A Catalyst for Reform | Triangle Fire | PBS LearningMedia

Learn how unsafe conditions at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory led to a fire in 1911 that killed 146 workers, mostly young immigrant girls, and exposed the need for workplace reforms in these videos adapted from Triangle Fire | AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. The tragedy, witnessed by helpless onlookers...

whyy.pbslearningmedia.org

 

[Frank DuVal]

Are you talking about a tube many feet long like conduit, or loom several inches long through framing.

Getting back to Larry's question, I too have seen many single K&T wires through loom entering metal device boxes. I've seen this loom stapled to the studs. Could be the K&T remover just left the loom in place when they rewired with NM-B (Romex to us Ha! ).

Mom told the story of getting fingerprinted in elementary school after a tornado incident destroying a school in the midwest (30s) made identification about impossible.