Asphalt Asbestos Siding

Breakage releases asbestos fibers.

Asphalt asbestos siding.

Keep the asbestos material that has been removed wet. It is available in a variety of sizes and shapes to match many of the old siding shingles installed over the last 60 years. Asbestos cement was first developed in 1905 by the johns manville company who became one of the premier manufacturers of cement asbestos materials. 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.

A brief history of asbestos cement siding. It is very difficult to remove spray paint graffiti without also dissolving or discoloring some of the siding surface coating material itself. If they look old they might have asbestos fibers in them. 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.

Testing your siding for asbestos. If siding should begin to crack or crumble immediately wet the cracked or broken areas with the pint size spray bottle or garden pump sprayer. Wet down the asbestos siding or roofing with a mixture of water and liquid soap in a pump up sprayer to limit dust. The portland cement binds asbestos fibers into a hard mass.

Determine when the shingles were installed on your roof. Asbestos cement is a mixture of portland cement reinforced with asbestos fibers. If your siding fits either of these descriptions you should consider having it tested. 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.

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. Asbestos shingles were so common during the 20th century that almost any shingles installed between 1920 and 1986 probably include asbestos. Use a flat pry bar to remove the asbestos siding or roofing material starting from the top. The siding may also contain asbestos if it is old with a wood grain texture to resemble cedar.

If you don t know the age of the shingles inspect them for wear. Remove pieces of siding by pulling nails or cutting nail heads so as to minimize breakage. Nonfriable means they cannot be broken up by hand pressure. 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.