How To Know If You Have Asbestos Siding

Contractors and inspectors or anyone identifying asbestos siding can t tell from just an on site inspection whether or not your siding really has asbestos in it.

How to know if you have asbestos siding. If they look old they might have asbestos fibers in them. The use of a pressure washer for maintenance can crack the siding and lead to moisture intrusion if the pressure. That s called a cement asbestos tile because the asbestos is inside of a cement binder. Asbestos wasn t always added to cement siding and there s no way to tell from a visual test or physical inspection on site if siding really does have asbestos in it.

The only way to be sure if your siding has asbestos in it is to collect a sample and send it to an accredited testing lab. So if it s not a tile then it s not likely to be asbestos. If you don t know the age of the shingles inspect them for wear. Asbestos shingles were so common during the 20th century that almost any shingles installed between 1920 and 1986 probably include asbestos.

Determine when the shingles were installed on your roof. It is difficult. In a house that was built in that era if it did have asbestos it would most likely be an asbestos tile. Asbestos siding was manufactured to resemble many different materials so it doesn t always look the same.

Asbestos cement can be dangerous if pulverized by sawing sanding breaking etc. Actually what he said he mentioned lap board is what he said. During the removal of asbestos containing siding your professional will use safety masks and gloves as well as a hepa filtered vacuum to eliminate airborne toxins. Asbestos cement siding is very brittle and can be easily chipped cracked or broken.

It is generally very brittle and the back may be black and have the appearance of tar paper.