How Do You Know If You Have Asbestos Siding

The only reliable way to know if your home contains asbestos is to hire an environmental consulting firm or asbestos building inspector for asbestos testing.

How do you know if you have asbestos siding. Covering old asbestos shingles with new siding may seem like an option too but it s not easy to do safely. Let the siding dry then prime and paint with the best exterior latex you can find. Buildings made between the 1940s and the 1980s are very likely to have used asbestos materials. You can easily send a sample to a lab is you suspect that it may contain asbestos.

Asbestos shingles are relatively strong but brittle. Some states offer free testing for residents while others charge a nominal fee of 20 or less for testing services. You can t drive screws and nails through them without pre drilling. The use of a pressure washer for maintenance can crack the siding and lead to moisture intrusion if the pressure setting is high enough.

If you suspect that your siding may contain asbestos there is no need for alarm. So any older building could contain a mix of asbestos and non asbestos cement shingle siding. Asbestos cement siding is very brittle and can be easily chipped cracked or broken. It is very brittle and has a tendency to crack and break when nailed which can release asbestos fibers into both the air and ground.

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. Exposure to and breathing asbestos fibers can result in lung problems and cancer. Asbestos siding is composed of asbestos fibers mixed with portland cement. Else you may miss asbestos containing material on the building.

Asbestos cement can be dangerous if pulverized by sawing sanding breaking etc. Many manufacturers made their products to look like asbestos free products so it is not really possible to determine if your siding contains asbestos just by looks. 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. If you are testing fiber cement shingles on an older building for asbestos content be sure that you select for testing one of the older shingles installed before 1978.

Asbestos testing always test first to see if you actually have asbestos in your shingles or siding as many manufacturers made similar looking cement siding that in fact contains no asbestos whatsoever. Check the manufacturer and product name on the insulation label and do a web search to find out if it contains asbestos. Asbestos ranks high on the list of dangerous substances because of its toxic and carcinogenic properties when airborne. They ll take fingernail sized samples and test them in a laboratory.

Look online for a lab near you to have a test performed on your siding and ensure the safety of your home and family.