Hi PP. Sorry to hear about your dilemma. We had to have our drywall texture tested when we remodeled our kitchen, as part of the permit process. We were raising the ceiling, and the rule in our county (or maybe it's a state rule?) is that if 100 sq ft of drywall (or flooring, or whatever) was being removed, it had to be tested. I'm not sure if testing would be required for just removal of popcorn texture. Ours came back positive, unfortunately, surprising everyone. The asbestos was in the drywall texture and joint compound at 2-3 % levels (less than 1% would not have required mitigating). We don't have popcorn ceilings, though. We decided to have all the kitchen ceiling and wall drywall removed by licensed company. Our kitchen is 11x12 ft and the cost was $3000. House built in 1975. The removal process was pretty involved with plastic barriers (2 sets, I think), with chambers for the workers to go through, and negative pressure, air quality testing afterwards, and lots more. And the material had to be put in special hazardous waste bags and brought to a special facility, as snookums said. I know when we remodeled (summer 2010) the testing law was just being implemented in our state (I think the state passed a law, but it was up to each county to roll out the testing requirement when they wanted). I'm in Colorado - Denver area. We would rather not know, for the disclosure reason you mentioned, mostly, but also because I wonder if I exposed my kids to it over the years, and also I wonder about future remodeling and the added cost of mitigation. We REALLY wish we didn't know... I haven't told any neighbors. The asbestos phase-out was right around the time your house was built, but you probably already know that. I would look into the option snookums suggested of just dry walling over it, unless you're concerned about lowering the ceiling height. I think it's the best of both worlds because you don't have to have it testing (I'm assuming you wouldn't need it tested in this case) and no health risk/exposure, either. Good luck.

I guess my problem is where I have seen patches, it was not because a wall was moved, it was because there had been a leak. And they all looked awful. A friend suggested making the area being patched where the can lights are installed. LOL...if you look up instead of seeing the patch, you are blinded by the light!

My position on lead and asbestos isn't exactly popular here, so I may get flamed, bur I'm old enough that I think my decent health says I might be on the right track. I grew up in that era of "peak asbestos" that SJ talks about. It was probably peak lead, too, because every car on the road ran on leaded gasoline. I don't want to go back to those days, though, because neither lead nor asbestos is good for you. However, I do think that the dangers of both to the average homeowner have been exaggerated. Initially this was through sensationalized television reports, and more recently through overwrought social media posts. Let's face it, fear sells. SJ is right that a lot of building materials used asbestos, back in the day. But it wasn't the people who lived in the houses built with asbestos who got sick from it. It was the tradespeople who installed it and, even more, the factory workers who produced it. Casual and incidental contact with asbestos products in good condition isn't going to hurt you. You might not even be significantly harmed by taking a pry bar to a roomful of asbestos ceiling tile once or twice. That said, I strongly recommend that if you're going to work on building materials that you think might contain asbestos, you isolate the area where you're working with closed doors and/or plastic sheeting, keep an exhaust fan running in the window, and wear a good quality particulate filter mask. The more you're exposed to asbestos products being torn apart and beaten up, without proper protection, the more risk you take with your health. It's up to you where you want to draw the line with that, but I'll say that I've worked on a couple of asbestos-tile ceilings over the years, and I'm not very concerned about it. BTW, I was a bit amused several years ago when I was taking bids on having some asbestos floor tile removed. The 2 contractors who made the loudest noise about the asbestos both drove off in their trucks with their seat belts unfastened. :) As for lead paint, IMO it's a concern mainly if you have children or pets who might ingest paint chips flaking off, or chew on painted woodwork. I also recommend that you avoid sanding paint that might contain lead. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry so much about it. In most cases, you can just paint over it to seal it in. Keep that paint film in good shape, and you'll be fine.

Even professionals do not do a perfect job. If you wore the correct respirator, and have cleaned everything up correctly, you now have a house without friable asbestos in the ceiling. Get a test if you want. "Background" air tests are known to have come back positive even when sampled from outside.