Asbestos in pre-2000 homes
A bitumen pad is still under a stainless sink in a pre-2000 kitchen. Why should you not scrape it off while you measure up?
No, you should not scrape the bitumen pad from under the stainless sink while you measure up. The pad is still in place in a pre-2000 kitchen. HSE says asbestos can be found in buildings built or refurbished before 2000. Scraping the pad to get a tape under the bowl disturbs a material nobody has identified. The home survey has not sampled it. Leave it alone until someone competent has said what it is. Do not treat measuring-up as a reason to break it off.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
A sink pad is easy to dismiss because it is black, stuck, and in the way of a template. That is how people sand, pick and bag suspect material. HSE's point is that you do not disturb suspect material to find out. The survey can note a bitumen pad under a steel bowl. It cannot, by looking, tell you the pad is free of asbestos, and it cannot tell you to scrape a sample into an envelope. Identification is a competent person's job.
Tell the fitter, in writing, that the pad stays until it has been identified. Do not let a measure visit become the removal. If a competent person later says what the material is, follow that advice rather than a guess made while the tape was out. The survey has flagged a material in a pre-2000 kitchen. It has not cleared the pad, and it has not instructed you to take it off the underside of the bowl.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you only see the pad, without taking or asking for a sample?
- Is the pad recorded as unidentified material under the sink?
- What should stay in place until someone competent has identified it?
What are the typical next steps?
- Leave the bitumen pad in place while you measure.
- Do not scrape, sand or bag it as a sample.
- Ask a competent person to identify it before any removal.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the pad is small, is scraping it harmless?
No. Size is not identification. A small pad under the bowl is still a material you should not scrape off while measuring up.
Does a new stainless bowl mean the pad was tested?
No. A new bowl can sit on an old pad. The survey has not tested that pad, and a new bowl does not do it either.