Old House Siding Asbestos

Most homes built after the 1980s no longer use siding that contains asbestos because of its obvious health risks.

Old house siding asbestos.

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. However fixer uppers and older homes with their original siding may still contain this dangerous material. Scraping or brushing off old paint from asbestos siding is necessary before repainting but dangerous because it can release small asbestos fibres. 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.

Because fiber cement siding manufactured in north america after around 1978 was made without using asbestos in those later products and because those non asbestos fiber cement shingles included products that by eye were an exact visual match for their older asbestos containing brothers and sisters already installed a building built before 1978 and sided with cementious shingles may contain a mix of both asbestos containing and non asbestos containing cementious shingles. Fabrics that contained asbestos or were made entirely of asbestos were numerous and were used in a wide range of applications such as aluminized suits for fire fighters foundry workers and furnace repairmen. It may not be dangerous. Keep the asbestos material that has been removed wet.

Testing your siding for asbestos if your siding fits either of these descriptions you should consider having it tested. Although homes built after the 1980s are generally safe some newer builds may also have asbestos lurking in the siding. It often exists in older insulation material but can also be present in tiles and siding. Wrap asbestos siding in 6 mil thick plastic sheeting and secure the plastic with duct tape or place the debris in heavy duty plastic bags.

Dispose of the asbestos properly at a landfill or contact your local waste collection service to find out if they will pick up asbestos material. Use a flat pry bar to remove the asbestos siding or roofing material starting from the top. And see asbestos cement siding for details about cement asbestos building siding its repair removal demolition or cover over. These materials are known as fiber cement siding and they contain no asbestos.

A highly effective and inexpensive fire retardant material and thermal and acoustic insulator asbestos was used extensively in home construction from the early 1940s through the 1970s. Wet down the asbestos siding or roofing with a mixture of water and liquid soap in a pump up sprayer to limit dust. Cementitious siding installed after 1973 is very unlikely to contain asbestos. The name has its origin in the greek word for inextinguishable.