How Do You Know If There Is Asbestos In Siding

If you find that you do in fact have asbestos in your exterior siding there are several things you can do to make your home safe.

How do you know if there is asbestos in siding.

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 date of the building or material can also tell you a lot about asbestos risk. If you are handy you can do it yourself there are many videos online. Cementitious siding installed after 1973 is very unlikely to contain asbestos.

Gaf and other manufacturers make asbestos free shingles that match the old ones. If your siding fits either of these descriptions you should consider having it tested. You just simply carefully take off the old damaged shingle and put the new one in it s place. Testing your siding for asbestos.

There is no legal requirement to do so nor is there significant real estate benefit. Check the manufacturer and product name on the insulation label and do a web search to find out if it contains asbestos. 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. Asbestos shingles are relatively strong but brittle.

These materials are known as fiber cement siding and they contain no asbestos. How do you know if it s even asbestos siding. The siding may also contain asbestos if it is old with a wood grain texture to resemble cedar. The first option is to do nothing.

If your siding is in good condition and intact the asbestos poses a relatively low health risk to your home and the environment. You can t drive screws and nails through them without pre drilling. Of course contractors won t tell you this cause they can t make money on it. Identifying asbestos siding 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.

Buildings made between the 1940s and the 1980s are very likely to have used asbestos materials. Let the siding dry then prime and paint with the best exterior latex you can find. Cement asbestos siding tiles do not need to be removed simply because they contain asbestos.