Asbestos in pre-2000 homes
A white rope at a flue collar in the loft may be asbestos. Why is that a warning not to pull the rope out, rather than a repair the survey has priced?
Not a white rope at a flue collar, which may be asbestos, is a repair the survey has priced, and it is not something to pull out. The warning is to leave the rope alone. A home survey is not an asbestos survey. It does not sample, test or remove materials, and it has not proved the fibre. The rope may be asbestos or it may not. Disturbing it to find out, including a tug to see how it is fixed, is what the note is telling you not to do.
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?
Old flue joints were sometimes packed with a white fibrous rope. A collar in the loft that still has that packing fits a warning even before a laboratory has named the fibre. Naming it means a proper sample, not a pinch between fingers. The surveyor records a suspect material and the advice not to disturb it. The surveyor does not price a removal, because removal is decided after identification, not guessed on a visual visit.
If later flue work will touch the collar, ask someone competent in asbestos whether the rope should be sampled and how any disturbance should be done. Do not add that task to a casual loft clear-out. Until then, leave the rope where it is. The report has not identified a product and has not specified a removal. It has told you the collar is not a do-it-yourself repair and not a priced item in this survey.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where is the white rope, and did the inspection disturb it at all?
- Are you stating that the rope is asbestos, or only that it may be?
- Does the report include a removal, or any price for dealing with the rope?
What are the typical next steps?
- Leave the rope in place. Do not pull it, sand it or vacuum it.
- If flue work will touch the collar, ask an asbestos specialist before anyone starts.
- Do not treat this home survey as an asbestos survey or as a priced 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
Should the rope be pulled off so it can be identified?
No. Do not pull it out. A home survey is not an asbestos survey, and disturbing a rope that may be asbestos is the opposite of the warning.
Has a repair of the rope already been priced?
No. The rope has not been identified by a test, and the survey has not priced a repair. Both steps sit outside this visual inspection.