Just discovered the Nissen hut I am about to buy is covered in asbestos , if it?s not the blue type am I safe to dismantle the building if I wear reasonable thick clothing and a mask and pay someone to disposed of it , I have been quoted 4000 pounds
It's not possible to determine asbestos type except by analysis. "Blue" asbestos is not blue. Often the types were mixed anyway. Asbestos types are considered equally dangerous. If it IS asbestos you should not touch it. After removal asbestos sites have to be decontaminated. Asbestos cement, you can deal with.
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Thick clothing is of no benefit. Disposable overalls are used by profession als. As clearly you have no clue, you're best to leave well alone.
Why would there be asbestos on a Nissen hut anyway?
Here's the HSE guidance for asbestos cement sheets:
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I have several sheds with AC cladding. Having talked to many people I've been dampening the panels, removing them carefully, double bagging them and taking them to the local tip. I wear a good quality mask and overalls and wash the clothes afterwards. I'll never know whether these are adequate precautions but they're better than when the panels were widely used without any precautions. There's no doubt that some forms of asbestos (google is your friend) are worth leaving to the (expensive) specialists but it seems the risk from AC panels is very low and (for me) did not justify the excessive cost and inconvenience of getting someone to do it. Having said all that, if I was buying a Nissen hut I would look for one without asbestos.
Cement bonded asbestos sheet was commonly used around WW2. A *shed* was issued to my father for temporary accommodation for prisoners of war working on the farm. The structure was pine studwork clad with flat sheet bonded asbestos.
As others have said, bonded asbestos is not hugely dangerous with careful handling. You can hire in a dedicated skip for disposal to a tip licensed for such waste.
However, you mention buying so won't control the site. Will the owners accept amateur labour and skip siting?
The last asbestos skip here was 2008 so I am not up to date with changes in permits etc. The skip hire people will know the detail.
If it *is* standard asbestos cement as you suggest it is not going to be practicable to dismantle it for removal, if that is what the OP has in mind. I could see people (in the old days) covering a Nissen hut with "traditional" fibrous asbestos, then chicken wire and a sand-cement screed as used for insulating high temperature pipework. This would provide thermal insulation and very good fire resistance.
My inclination is to say "walk away quickly" unless there is something
*very* special about it which the OP has not declared. No change from five figures for cleaning up asbestos insulation on something that size.
snipped-for-privacy@aolbin.com used his keyboard to write :
That is what I would do and have done. Don't drill it, cut the fixing, keep it well wetted, don't slide it across other sheets, always lift it. Wear disposable overalls and a mask. You will be fine.
The specialist will make an unecessay meal of it and charge accordingly. None specialists will also charge a premium and possibly dump it in a lay by somewhere.
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