Question 1

Is my garage roof asbestos?

Accepted Answer

If it is grey corrugated cement sheeting and it went on before the mid-1980s, very probably. Modern fibre cement looks similar and is not. It is not dangerous while it is sound and undisturbed — the risk comes from breaking, cutting or dropping it, and where anyone is going to work on it the answer comes from a sample and a test rather than a guess. Asbestos cement sheeting was used enormously on garages, outbuildings, lean-tos and farm buildings until it was phased out, and there is a great deal of it still in place across this patch. It is the commonest asbestos-containing material a homeowner encounters. The identification is age rather than appearance. A grey, slightly fibrous corrugated sheet, often weathered rough and with moss in the corrugations, that went on before the mid-1980s is very likely asbestos cement. Modern fibre cement sheeting looks much the same and contains none. Where anyone is going to disturb it, that guess is not good enough — it gets sampled and tested, which is a cheap test that changes how the whole job is done. The reassuring part is that sound, undisturbed asbestos cement is stable. The fibres are bound in the cement matrix and it is not releasing anything into the air by sitting there. Leaving it alone is a completely legitimate decision if it is intact and you have no reason to work on it. The risk is disturbance, and that is what the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 exist to control. Asbestos cement is usually non-licensed work, meaning a trained contractor can remove it without an HSE licence — but there are firm rules. It must not be broken up. It must not be cut with a power tool, because that generates fibres. It must not be dropped off the roof. Sheets come down whole, are wrapped, and go to a licensed waste site with a consignment note. That last part is worth knowing because it is where corners get cut. Asbestos cement cannot legally go in a skip or to a normal tip, and disposal is a real cost. A quote that is conspicuously cheap on an asbestos garage roof is often a quote that has not priced disposal properly. What replaces it is usually straightforward. A garage roof with a sound frame takes a new covering easily — EPDM on a flat deck, or new profiled sheeting on a pitched frame. The one thing to establish first is what the structure will carry, because lightly-built and prefabricated garages have real limits.

Question 2

Asbestos corrugated roof sheets

Accepted Answer

If it is grey corrugated cement sheeting and it went on before the mid-1980s, very probably. Modern fibre cement looks similar and is not. It is not dangerous while it is sound and undisturbed — the risk comes from breaking, cutting or dropping it, and where anyone is going to work on it the answer comes from a sample and a test rather than a guess. Asbestos cement sheeting was used enormously on garages, outbuildings, lean-tos and farm buildings until it was phased out, and there is a great deal of it still in place across this patch. It is the commonest asbestos-containing material a homeowner encounters. The identification is age rather than appearance. A grey, slightly fibrous corrugated sheet, often weathered rough and with moss in the corrugations, that went on before the mid-1980s is very likely asbestos cement. Modern fibre cement sheeting looks much the same and contains none. Where anyone is going to disturb it, that guess is not good enough — it gets sampled and tested, which is a cheap test that changes how the whole job is done. The reassuring part is that sound, undisturbed asbestos cement is stable. The fibres are bound in the cement matrix and it is not releasing anything into the air by sitting there. Leaving it alone is a completely legitimate decision if it is intact and you have no reason to work on it. The risk is disturbance, and that is what the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 exist to control. Asbestos cement is usually non-licensed work, meaning a trained contractor can remove it without an HSE licence — but there are firm rules. It must not be broken up. It must not be cut with a power tool, because that generates fibres. It must not be dropped off the roof. Sheets come down whole, are wrapped, and go to a licensed waste site with a consignment note. That last part is worth knowing because it is where corners get cut. Asbestos cement cannot legally go in a skip or to a normal tip, and disposal is a real cost. A quote that is conspicuously cheap on an asbestos garage roof is often a quote that has not priced disposal properly. What replaces it is usually straightforward. A garage roof with a sound frame takes a new covering easily — EPDM on a flat deck, or new profiled sheeting on a pitched frame. The one thing to establish first is what the structure will carry, because lightly-built and prefabricated garages have real limits.

Question 3

Old cement garage roof

Accepted Answer

If it is grey corrugated cement sheeting and it went on before the mid-1980s, very probably. Modern fibre cement looks similar and is not. It is not dangerous while it is sound and undisturbed — the risk comes from breaking, cutting or dropping it, and where anyone is going to work on it the answer comes from a sample and a test rather than a guess. Asbestos cement sheeting was used enormously on garages, outbuildings, lean-tos and farm buildings until it was phased out, and there is a great deal of it still in place across this patch. It is the commonest asbestos-containing material a homeowner encounters. The identification is age rather than appearance. A grey, slightly fibrous corrugated sheet, often weathered rough and with moss in the corrugations, that went on before the mid-1980s is very likely asbestos cement. Modern fibre cement sheeting looks much the same and contains none. Where anyone is going to disturb it, that guess is not good enough — it gets sampled and tested, which is a cheap test that changes how the whole job is done. The reassuring part is that sound, undisturbed asbestos cement is stable. The fibres are bound in the cement matrix and it is not releasing anything into the air by sitting there. Leaving it alone is a completely legitimate decision if it is intact and you have no reason to work on it. The risk is disturbance, and that is what the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 exist to control. Asbestos cement is usually non-licensed work, meaning a trained contractor can remove it without an HSE licence — but there are firm rules. It must not be broken up. It must not be cut with a power tool, because that generates fibres. It must not be dropped off the roof. Sheets come down whole, are wrapped, and go to a licensed waste site with a consignment note. That last part is worth knowing because it is where corners get cut. Asbestos cement cannot legally go in a skip or to a normal tip, and disposal is a real cost. A quote that is conspicuously cheap on an asbestos garage roof is often a quote that has not priced disposal properly. What replaces it is usually straightforward. A garage roof with a sound frame takes a new covering easily — EPDM on a flat deck, or new profiled sheeting on a pitched frame. The one thing to establish first is what the structure will carry, because lightly-built and prefabricated garages have real limits.

Question 4

How do I know if my roof is asbestos?

Accepted Answer

If it is grey corrugated cement sheeting and it went on before the mid-1980s, very probably. Modern fibre cement looks similar and is not. It is not dangerous while it is sound and undisturbed — the risk comes from breaking, cutting or dropping it, and where anyone is going to work on it the answer comes from a sample and a test rather than a guess. Asbestos cement sheeting was used enormously on garages, outbuildings, lean-tos and farm buildings until it was phased out, and there is a great deal of it still in place across this patch. It is the commonest asbestos-containing material a homeowner encounters. The identification is age rather than appearance. A grey, slightly fibrous corrugated sheet, often weathered rough and with moss in the corrugations, that went on before the mid-1980s is very likely asbestos cement. Modern fibre cement sheeting looks much the same and contains none. Where anyone is going to disturb it, that guess is not good enough — it gets sampled and tested, which is a cheap test that changes how the whole job is done. The reassuring part is that sound, undisturbed asbestos cement is stable. The fibres are bound in the cement matrix and it is not releasing anything into the air by sitting there. Leaving it alone is a completely legitimate decision if it is intact and you have no reason to work on it. The risk is disturbance, and that is what the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 exist to control. Asbestos cement is usually non-licensed work, meaning a trained contractor can remove it without an HSE licence — but there are firm rules. It must not be broken up. It must not be cut with a power tool, because that generates fibres. It must not be dropped off the roof. Sheets come down whole, are wrapped, and go to a licensed waste site with a consignment note. That last part is worth knowing because it is where corners get cut. Asbestos cement cannot legally go in a skip or to a normal tip, and disposal is a real cost. A quote that is conspicuously cheap on an asbestos garage roof is often a quote that has not priced disposal properly. What replaces it is usually straightforward. A garage roof with a sound frame takes a new covering easily — EPDM on a flat deck, or new profiled sheeting on a pitched frame. The one thing to establish first is what the structure will carry, because lightly-built and prefabricated garages have real limits.

Is my garage roof asbestos?

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