Cutting into house with Asbestos-cement siding - precautions / regulations?

DON'T DO IT

YES IT IS

YES IT DOES

CALL IN THE EXPERTS FOR REMOVAL

YES IT WILL

CALL IN THE EXPERTS FOR REMOVAL

DON'T MENTION IT

Not nearly as much. It is only the airborne dust that is a problem and you will not have all that much of it in the whole scheme of things.

It can be landfilled.

If you want to do it properly, do a web search for asbestos on government sites. There is one I saw noted on this newsgroup that had a lot of good information and it simplified the job. Most important, it told you the right way so as to avoid legal problems from a cranky neighbor. It is really not a big deal to remove the shingles, but better to know what is involved. Ed

If you cut it, yes.

Well... the legal way to do it involves tenting the area in question, misting under the tent, pumping air out through a giant HEPA filter, and wearing respirators, but that's a bit excessive if you're not making a living at it.

Personally, I'd wrap it in plastic, tape in in a box, and hide it in the attic, this being marginally preferable to burying it in a cement slab that someone might drill though, later.

Find a source of fiberglass/cement duplicate shingles. Wet down the wall, and remove whole shingles from the area in question, and cut the replacement shingles to fit.

--Goedjn

There has never been a health complaint, of any kind or to any degree, associated with any commercial product made of asbestos, including brake shoes. Don't worry about it.

The cheapest way to dispose of asbestos-related material is to leave it in a schoolyard at night. That's what Dilbert's boss did with his refrigerator. Any other method may involve significant disposal costs in a vain attempt to comply with science environmental regulations.

This stuff is 'encapsulated' and is safe as long as you don't do anything to cause dust. It can be discarded as normal construction debri and does not have to be 'tented' during removal.

Harry K

I cut asbestos board that I've been hoarding for years once in while and see no problem doing so. The paranoid would make a production out of it but my approach is to do it outside and I wear a small particle mask. Dampen the material before you begin to cut and re-wet the surface as it dries out during your work to minimize the amount of dust created.

The asbestos siding in its intact form doesn't present a hazard since none of the asbestos fibers are free. It's the airborne asbestos fibers that are hazardous.

I've never worked with asbestos siding but you may be able to score and break it thus avoiding any cutting.

RB

MDO wrote:

Thank you all for the replies. Amazing the variation in responses! I've done some general reading on the Internet, as advised, and it seems the stuff is encapsulated, as mentioned, and is only a problem if by cutting or drilling the dust becomes airborn. I think we'll take the advice of one gentleman and simply wet the area down, remove the old siding in the area, and get replacement fiber-cement siding for the pieces that need cut. Re-use pieces that don't need cut.

Let me know if you think I'm an idiot and will create an environmental disaster!

Thanks again, Mike

If you don't like the idea of trying to dampen large work areas with a little spray bottle, call around to some garden centers and ask if they carry a brass misting nozzle that attaches to a garden hose. It's made by Dramm. It creates a mist which, with the water pressure adjusted correctly, is like a thick fog. It's designed for watering tiny seeds, but it's handy for other purposes, too.

That should do it for the dust - but what about the radioactive contamination. I'm not kidding - I use the radiation from the cement floor to calibrate my radiation detectors. Have you have put a box of miricle grow in front of a gamma detector?

You may be able to throw asbestos into a landfill, but if you follow federal regulations miracal grow must go to a low level radioactive waste disposal site because it is significantly more radioactive than the cement in the floor.

Think about that the next time you are eating a tomato...

contamination.

I had a bad experience with a tomato once.