How Do I Identify Asbestos Siding

If your siding fits either of these descriptions you should consider having it tested.

How do i identify asbestos siding.

Testing your siding for asbestos. 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. It is virtually impossible for anyone but a trained professional with a high powered microscope to tell definitively whether a shingle contains asbestos. Since asbestos was included as an additive when siding was manufactured for many decades the odds are good that original shingle siding on holder homes may contain asbestos.

Damaged asbestos siding however could release the hazardous fibers that cause lung disease. The siding may also contain asbestos if it is old with a wood grain texture to resemble cedar. Asbestos was also put into cement used on the exterior of buildings to help insulate the. Identifying asbestos siding is impossible unless you have a sample tested in a lab.

The first option is to do nothing. Roofing and siding shingles are among the most common materials to contain asbestos and will readily release fibers into the air if broken. However there are ways you can determine whether it is likely that your shingles contain asbestos. The siding specialists at pj fitzpatrick have experience identifying asbestos siding.

Most older cement board products contain asbestos. If your siding is in good condition and intact the asbestos poses a relatively low health risk to your home and the environment. However asbestos fibers can cause serious lung and respiratory problems if inhaled. Some homeowners opt to cover their asbestos containing siding with vinyl siding sheets or other materials in order to minimize risk instead of leaving their siding untouched.

Asbestos hardly needs an introduction anymore as most homeowners should be schooled in the general dangers of disturbing and breathing asbestos fibers. In older homes specifically asbestos may be found in many different materials from pipe insulation to flooring adhesive to roof shingles. Because fiber cement siding manufactured in north america after around 1978 was made without using asbestos in those later products and because those non asbestos fiber cement shingles included products that by eye were an exact visual match for their older asbestos containing brothers and sisters already installed a building built before 1978 and sided with cementious shingles. Asbestos was used to make several exterior materials.