How To Tell If Roof Is Asbestos

This government guide contains a useful diagram to identify where asbestos may be present on your property.

How to tell if roof is asbestos.

Roofing and siding shingles are among the most common materials to contain asbestos and will readily release fibers into the air if broken. Asbestos hardly needs an introduction anymore as most homeowners should be schooled in the general dangers of disturbing and breathing asbestos fibers. Accordingly if the material contains less than 1 asbestos it is safe and does not require removal. For roofs fixed after 1984 when the slates could be asbestos cement or non asbestos looking at the original specification may help however it was common at this time for a number of specifications to be changed by the roofing contractor.

How to identify asbestos. Determine when the shingles were installed on your roof. If you don t know the age of the shingles inspect them for wear. When taking a sample be very careful because asbestos dust can get into the lungs and cause cancer.

The only way to know for sure whether your roof contains asbestos is to have a sample tested by professionals in a certified laboratory. But fear not because we re on hand to inform you about how to identify asbestos in your garage roof. Asbestos shingles were so common during the 20th century that almost any shingles installed between 1920 and 1986 probably include asbestos. Asbestos was also put into cement used on the exterior of buildings to help insulate the.

Therefore when deciding to get a sample do so with certain precautions. It isn t easy to identify asbestos especially if you don t know what it looks like. The only way to safely know whether the roof tiles contain asbestos or not is to have a sample professionally checked under a microscope that uses polarized light. On roofs themselves asbestos cement can be frequently found in the form of panels gutters insulation roof shingles siding downpipes or the entire roof itself.

So you may well be wondering how can i tell if my garage roof is asbestos. Because asbestos cement slates were cheaper than their non asbestos alternatives the roofing contractor. If they look old they might have asbestos fibers in them. Asbestos was used to make several exterior materials.

Asbestos isn t easy to identify especially if you are unsure what it looks like. The result of the test will lead you to the next step. Most older cement board products contain asbestos.