Old Roof Shingles Asbestos

Covering old asbestos shingles with new siding may seem like an option too but it s not easy to do safely.

Old roof shingles asbestos.

Corrugated cement panels were used for a short period of time as they break quite easily. If you don t know the age of the shingles inspect them for wear. Instead cover the shingles with polystyrene foam insulation panels then hang the new vinyl siding using 2 in long nails. Flat roofs often chose tar with gravel stones while pitched roofs used layered asphalt shingles.

Asbestos took off as a choice roofing product in the early 1900s. Shingles made with asbestos are only expected to last for 30 years. However there are many that have lasted as long as 50 years and are still in good condition. Johns manville corporation who began manufacturing asbestos containing roofing products in the late 1800s manufactured asbestos asphalt roofing shingles further described as asphalt impregnated asbestos fiberglass reinforced shingles from 1907 to 1979 that contained between 35 and 50 asbestos epa 1990d.

It is acknowledged by the asphalt shingle manufacturers that between 1963 and the mid 1970s some manufacturers did use asbestos in the fiber mat of shingles. Their width can range from 12 to 48 inches and are very simple to identify since asbestos fibers can be seen on the grained sections of the material. This way you ll avoid the hazardous dust created by tearing the shingles off. In reality while asbestos was commonly used in many asphalt roofing materials asbestos was rarely used in the shingles themselves.

Determine when the shingles were installed on your roof. You can t drive screws and nails through them without pre drilling. This would trigger dust and asbestos dust is a problem as i ve mentioned. For decades asbestos roof shingles were considered an invaluable resource offering a superior inexpensive alternative to traditional roof coverings.

If they look old they might have asbestos fibers in them. Asbestos shingles are relatively strong but brittle. Rarely if ever will they need to be cut and cutting is the one activity that creates hazardous dust. Asphalt shingles usually contain small amounts of asbestos.

Regardless of roof style almost all petroleum based roofing materials once contained deadly asbestos fibers. When you remove those shingles they will either come off when you pull out the nails require you to snap them off or require you to cut them. It should be remembered that the danger arises once the cement layer starts to disintegrate and the asbestos fibers surface. History asbestos shingle history begins with inventor and entrepreneur ludwig hatschek who was born in the czech republic on october 9 1856.

Roofing materials widely varied as well.