In basement of the 90-year-old house that we are about to sell, there was some asbestos ceiling tile above the furnace in the basement. We hadn’t known about it until our home inspector pointed it out, so we had it professionally removed.
My question is, do we need to replace it with a new heat shield of some kind?
The basement is unfinished, with wooden joists about six feet above the furnace. There is no insulation between the joists, just the original wooden floorboards of the room above.
The pictures hereshow the old asbestos tile (now removed) and the current furnace.
My thinking is that the asbestos was probably installed long before the current furnace, to protect against the heat generated by an older, larger, and less efficient unit. I don’t get the sense that this furnace could possibly give off enough heat to damage the wood above it, so I’m wondering if installing new heat shielding is necessary. But I’m no professional, and I don’t know building codes or standard practices in this area.
To be clear, I’m not trying to cut corners or do anything unsafe. I want to make sure there’s no fire or other safety risk. But if there’s no need for a new heat shield, I’ll be happy to save that expense.
Unfortunately I don’t know the exact age of the current furnace. I hope to get that info and post it here in the next day or two.
Related questions: When was asbestos tile like this common, and when was it banned from this kind of application? IOW, how old was that stuff?
(I know that Dopers have opinions about everything, but I’d much prefer informed opinions from people with professional experience in the field over WAGs. I’m plenty good at WAGing!)
Thanks.