How To Tell If Siding Is Asbestos

Asbestos was particularly prevalent in siding that resembles shingles or was made to look like wood grain.

How to tell if siding is asbestos.

Determine when the shingles were installed on your roof. It s not usually that style made of asbestos. 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 your siding has these characteristics then asbestos could be present.

If you don t know the age of the shingles inspect them for wear. And i didn t know if the lap board if it had asbestos in it or not. Asbestos cement siding is very brittle and can be easily chipped cracked or broken. 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.

Asbestos shingles were so common during the 20th century that almost any shingles installed between 1920 and 1986 probably include asbestos. We found this cement asbestos siding debris on the ground around a home that boasted new vinyl siding. Asbestos cement can be dangerous if pulverized by sawing sanding breaking etc. If they look old they might have asbestos fibers in them.

The siding may also contain asbestos if it is old with a wood grain texture to resemble cedar. 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. They then send the samples to a qualified laboratory to test and determine whether they contain asbestos. The asbestos network recommends bringing in a professional to collect samples.

And typically that s made of wood or a composite. The age of an home or the siding on it isn t. The use of a pressure washer for maintenance can crack the siding and lead to moisture intrusion if the pressure setting is high enough. Well i think he s calling he s talking about clapboard which is like a horizontal 6 inch siding.

They can make educated guesses and may often be proven right but the only way to be sure is to have a sample of your siding tested for asbestos. To determine if your building has asbestos check areas where the material was most commonly used like the roof bathroom and basement. The presence of multiple layers of exterior siding can be spotted by noticing that the wall cladding extends out past the original window or door trim. You may choose to take a sample of siding from a damaged area of siding.

Put on a mask and scrape away some siding material into a baggie.