How do I know?
Asbestos cement appears in HSE's list of building materials for corrugated roofing, cladding, guttering, drainpipes and certain flues: ordinary cement with fibres blended in. Only laboratory analysis of a small sample can confirm it, never a glance. The newer the building the better, since HSE considers anything constructed after 2000 improbable.
Can a builder just take it off?
Under HSE's rules much of the work on asbestos cement needs no licence, as long as the people doing it are properly informed, instructed and trained. Lowering a whole roof, though, can fragment the sheets, and HSE says that kind of job has to be notified. In every case the work must be done with care and the waste sent where the law says.
Because our contractor is licensed, it can also handle anything licensable it comes across nearby in the same building, insulating board for example.
Where this comes from: HSE FAQ page; HSE list of where it is found.
Just the roof, or everything?
- Sheets off, nothing back: the roof comes off and the building is left open, or someone else re-covers it.
- Sheets off, new covering on: check whether the firm does both.
- Demolish the lot: sensible if the walls or panels are also asbestos cement, or you simply want the site clear.
What helps a quick quote
- The size of the roof, or its length and width
- Whether the building stands alone or is joined to something else
- How a lorry or van can reach it, which matters for fields and farmyards
- A few photos from the outside, described on the form
And the sheets afterwards?
A contractor takes them away. If you would rather do a small tip run yourself, only certain sites accept them and the rules differ by council. See the Somerset tip rules.