Is There Asbestos In Slate Roofs

Many asbestos roofs and siding are damaged cracked or broken.

Is there asbestos in slate roofs. Thankfully slate last for so long you don t run into the need to replace it often. Regular flat shingle tiles standard lap are shown below as are common diamond shaped tiles and side lap tiles. There are two parts to a slate roof. There is usually underlying.

Some people will call cementitious shingles slate and those can be asbestos. There is more information about asbestos roofs in the slate roof bible. Their color ranges between grey light green peachy orange and even purple. Corrugated cement our least favorite acm to encounter.

When the use of asbestos became forbidden manufacturers rushed to replace asbestos containing products with cement based products reinforced with non asbestos materials. The surveyors report states that the roof slates will contain asbestos fibres and they are perfectly acceptable and safe so long as they are not disturbed. Since asbestos building materials cannot be easily spotted with the naked eye the best clue is to find out when the roof was actually built. Asbestos was used from the early 20s to the late 80s.

What happened before the 1980s most artificial roofing slate was made from asbestos cement a material that had a long track record of successful performance. While not able to match the endurance of slate asbestos shingles were expected to last a minimum of 30 years enhancing their desirability. However many states still require a licensed abatement contract to handle this material in approved ways. Health safety concerns related to the removal of asbestos containing roofs.

There are at least three types of asbestos shingles. When a building is quite old it has a good chance of having asbestos building materials. The asbestos fibers inside slates can only be released when they are broken and this roofing material does not necessarily require removal although many people choose to do it. Asbestos shingles were valued for being fireproof especially among those living in turn of the century communities where fire spread was a common concern.

Determine the age of the building. He also states that the slates are in reasonable condition. Asbestos siding in particular however has a tendency to chip crack and break with normal wear and tear of family life. It is not unreasonable to expect 100 years from a properly maintained asbestos roof.