A brief history of asbestos cement siding.
Asphalt siding asbestos.
Asbestos cement was first developed in 1905 by the johns manville company who became one of the premier manufacturers of cement asbestos materials.
Roofing siding this old house has asphalt siding the type that comes in panels that measure about 18 x 28 inches designed to look like several courses of brick.
If they look old they might have asbestos fibers in them.
Asbestos cement is a mixture of portland cement reinforced with asbestos fibers.
Testing your siding for asbestos.
Keep the asbestos material that has been removed wet.
The portland cement binds asbestos fibers into a hard mass.
Alternatively if you leave the asbestos on your home you can safely seal the old siding underneath the new siding and because asbestos is an excellent insulator you will actually be adding to the energy efficiency of your home by leaving it on.
Some asphalt siding may contain asbestos in the asphalt impregnated felt backer or asbestos may also be in the asphalt impregnated paper tar paper or felt used as a house wrap under the siding.
Removing asbestos is often cost prohibitive for most people.
Asphalt based roof shingle material on an organic paper mat or asphalt on hardboard siding products were later supplanted by cement asbestos siding shingles then aluminum siding and steel siding then currently by vinyl siding.
Asphalt brick look siding tags.
Use a flat pry bar to remove the asbestos siding or roofing material starting from the top.
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.
Determine when the shingles were installed on your roof.
Wet down the asbestos siding or roofing with a mixture of water and liquid soap in a pump up sprayer to limit dust.
If you don t know the age of the shingles inspect them for wear.
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.
It is very difficult to remove spray paint graffiti without also dissolving or discoloring some of the siding surface coating material itself.
If your siding fits either of these descriptions you should consider having it tested.
Nonfriable means they cannot be broken up by hand pressure.
Asphalt or cement roofing and siding that contain asbestos when intact and in good condition are generally considered nonfriable and are not hazardous.
