How To Tell If A House Has Asbestos Siding

To determine if your building has asbestos check areas where the material was most commonly used like the roof bathroom and basement.

How to tell if a house has asbestos siding.

Recognizing siding with asbestos. If you suspect that your siding may contain asbestos there is no need for alarm. Efflorescence chalking can commonly be seen on asbestos siding. Look for a siding that is made to look like roof shingles.

And typically that s made of wood or a composite. Asbestos ranks high on the list of dangerous substances because of its toxic and carcinogenic properties when airborne. It s not usually that style made of asbestos. 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.

If in good condition flooring siding or roofing materials with asbestos can last several lifetimes. 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. However you re not legally obligated to do anything about asbestos in your home. It is generally very brittle and the back may be black and have the appearance of tar paper.

While older homes will likely contain asbestos in roofing insulation and tiles it can also be present in exterior siding. Unless the asbestos in your home is damaged it doesn t pose any threat to inhabitants. If your house was built around or prior to the late 70 s has the original siding and seems to be made of cement it is probably asbestos siding. 5 aluminum siding aluminum siding is pretty easy to identify.

The use of a pressure washer for maintenance can crack the siding and lead to moisture intrusion if the pressure setting is high enough. Since asbestos is a fibrous material you can t simply look at a material and know it contains asbestos. Once you know about asbestos you can t go back. Patent 1 865 677 issued july 5 1932.

Well i think he s calling he s talking about clapboard which is like a horizontal 6 inch siding. Asbestos cement can be dangerous if pulverized by sawing sanding breaking etc. Plus there may be an increased health risk if fibers are released so don t try to handle it or get a sample of it yourself. Asbestos in sound deadening products has been documented by patent search.

Asbestos cement siding is very brittle and can be easily chipped cracked or broken. Also look around the siding roofing and soffit materials for small dimples or shallow craters on the surface which are signs of asbestos.