Asbestous Siding

[oldmanriver]

I have the chance to buy 39 acres that joins the farm but there is a house on it that has abestous SP siding on it Will this be a danger if someone wants to live in the house will it cost a lot to get rid of it. This type siding was used in a lot of the older homes in this area they are white retangular blocks that break fairly easy.

[Jena]

The asbestos is not a problem as long as it is left undisturbed. It is only a problem when you start trying to take it down and create dust. There are many houses with asbestos in them (mine included) and they don't cause problems for the people who live there.

I have heard it can be quite expensive to have it removed.

Jena

[Rick]

Others reading your question may feel differently, but as long as they are on the house, I don't think they are a hazzard. We have them under our aluminum siding, as the previous owner of our house just left them there (note: possibly a vapor barrier problem). Their are several on our block with asbestos shingles as the siding.

Disposing of them may require "special handling" or taking them to a special place to dump them. You might also find others who intend to maintain the asbestos siding on their house might be eager to pick up your shingles as spares.

When proof-reading my post, I noticed Jane's post below, and she seems to agree.
Yes, breathing the dust created by cracking, and cutting would be a hazard.

As far as I know, the asbestos used as insulation INSIDE, wrapped around pipes is a whole different matter, in the eyes of the governments. Our building here at work had this asbestos, and the engineers had to hire an abatement team to remove it, due to federal grant money being involved in the project.

[caberjim]

Asbestos siding is actually a terriffic thing, depeding on how you look at it. Holds paint readily and is difficult to burn. Do not, however, ever try to remove it. If you cut it, wear a mask. If you want different siding, put it over the old. Taking it off will cost you a small fortune.

[agmantoo]

You may want to have the siding product tested to verify that it is in actuality asbestos. Most of the stuff we call asbestos siding is NOT asbestos. It is a cement product with fibers that often are not asbestos. You can buy a kit to send a sample to a lab and the kit is inexpensive. These kits are sold at building supply stores for around $20. Well worth that to know for certain.

[Jessikate]

In my experience the cost of removal and disposal can be outragious. Most dumps will not take asbestos unless it is fully contained.

[gobug]

You have to get a permit to do anything with it. If you remove it without a permit, you're in for a big fine. If you dump it and are caught it could be jail time. A friend didn't know this and decided to take his asbestos siding off the house and put on vinyl. It's easy to remove and his came off quickly. The next day someone showed up and wrote a ticket that cost him $2500. You're ok if you leave it alone. As mentioned above, have a small piece tested, don't cut it.

[Yankee1]

Dig a hole on your property and do the removal yourself. just be quiet about it. If you wear a mask it must have a HEPA filter or it will not stop any of the particles. Hose it down pop it off with a flat shovel and put it your hole.

[seedspreader]

There are many, many govt. buildings and older buildings still in use today with asbestos. From all the studies I have seen, I too would agree that the issue is the dust, and on top of that it is PROLONGED exposure to it, years and years. That said, a dust mask and a rainy day would do wonders for you. But if it ain't bad, why change it? It is FAR less dangerous than LEADed Paint which is much more prevalent in old houses, but people don't seem as concerned about that.

[jack_c-ville]

Asbestos is fine as long as you just leave it there. Don't pull it off, don't cut it, don't move it. Paint it or put new siding over it. The danger of asbestos is when tiny particles of asbestos dust get into someone's lungs. Seal it away and it is perfectly safe to live in an asbestos-sided house.

Getting rid of it can cost a ridiculous amount of money. There is law applying to asbestos disposal that must be followed. Not just anybody is going to be able to do it right. It's not like when the county tries to tell you how steep your stairs can be or how many old trucks you can have in your front yard. Asbestos laws are ones that you really should follow.

-Jack

[Cosmic]

The advice of be sure of what you have first is the correct approach. Here is a source that has most of what one must know.

http://www.bobvila.com/wwwboard/messages/3817.html

There are many products that can look like the old asbestos cement shingles. There is a Masonite product that is many times confused with it. Real asbestos shingles tend to be on the heavy side. The bad one is a soft fiber type siding that had a coating sort of like roofing shingles with an underlayment like felt, it is thick, ~1.5" and can generate a lot of free asbestos if you attempt to remove it.

The big thing about all asbestos removal is to wet it and keep it wet during all handling of it. It can't hurt you unless it can get airborne or you somehow injest it. The soft forms of materials that used asbestos are the bad actors. Many times the hard versions are either just cement with jute fibers or Masonite. I have worked around a lot of the stuff, isn't really that dangerous with the right precautions.

Removal is best, or just leaving it in place and painting it if in good shape. Trying to go over it with other sidings or coverings is difficult. It typically breaks into pieces if nailed thru. When orginally installed it required using the provided nail holes, any other spots were typically predrilled before attempting to nail. As it ages the problem becomes worse, it is quite brittle and any attempts to nail or penetrate it causes it to break. As mentioned you can attempt to cover with OSB or thin plywood but it may be more problematic than it is worth.