Old Siding With Asbestos

Step 1 inspect the outside of the home for any damages to the asbestos siding.

Old siding with asbestos.

Asbestos siding is composed of asbestos fibers mixed with portland cement. Testing your siding for asbestos. The siding may also contain asbestos if it is old with a wood grain texture to resemble cedar. If your siding fits either of these descriptions you should consider having it tested.

Older style cement siding shingles were traditionally made by mixing asbestos into the cement in order to fireproof and strengthen siding. Scraping or brushing off old paint from asbestos siding is necessary before repainting but dangerous because it can release small asbestos fibres the approach of removing the old shingles and replacing them with new siding is an option that many homeowners have pursued though probably not as safely as they should. What beanie babies were to the 1990s asbestos siding was to the the 1930s. Most siding companies are well experienced at techniques for covering over existing asbestos cement siding with new vinyl aluminum or fiber cement siding.

With some care you are able to paint asbestos siding on your home. On the general risk scale of dealing with materials that contain asbestos a plus for siding as is it ranks very low it is far less risk or dangerous than insulation sheetrock or pipe wrap that may have asbestos in them. Make sure that there are no loose or broken pieces. If a siding company removes an outer layer of siding and finds an older layer of asbestos cement siding beneath the standard procedure is simply to cover it over with new siding rather than remove it.

These shingles are generally 12 by 24 inches and the bottom tends to have a wave like pattern though that is not always the case. As long as the asbestos does not break apart and you are not breathing in the fibers you should have no health or safety problems with your old siding. Cementious siding and roofing such as fiber cement siding lap siding and fiber cement roof shingles containing asbestos may then have appeared on homes constructed between 1906 and 1980 in north america and contining later in some other countries. It is very brittle and has a tendency to crack and break when nailed which can release asbestos fibers into both the air and ground.

Asbestos siding was all the rage in the early part of the 20th century. It is thankless because after all of that time and money spent on removal you are now the owner of a house that needs immediate re siding and more expenditure of money. Well maybe it wasn t quite the same but you get the idea. The asbestos network recommends bringing in a professional to collect samples.

By nature siding is a very durable substrate and it s difficult for fibers to become airborne. Asbestos siding never needs to be removed simply because it is asbestos. The only way to be sure whether your siding contains asbestos is to have it tested. If you are one of the folks whose house got dressed up with asbestos siding back in the day all is not lost.

Asbestos siding removal is a thankless yet often unnecessary task. If they do it s typically outside in open air which minimizes the risk even further.