Hi all
1970s refurb on-going.The soffits on my place appear to be asbestos sheet! Is this usual for a house of this age? All the paint is pealing off and they look a disgrace. What should I be paiting these with, masonry paint? Should I be alarmist and get them stripped out by ultra-expensive asbestos control company? How do I get rid of the unflaked paint without risk to health?
TIA
Phil
I'm doing the same job. Asbestos sheet has been painted previously and the paint is peeling off. I just wore a mask, rubbed them down and repainted with white gloss.
I don't see any problem so long as you wear a mask and are not working in a confined space.
I've seen many houses where the asbestos has not been painted at all. It looks OK.
Bruce
Whoa! and what about the dust particals floating about after you and yours are walking about, do you wear a mask all the time in your house.
Tis the particals that do the damage.
Or Particles. :-P
Yes, painting the stuff is the quickest way to having to replace it.
Yes, I agree asbestos particles can be harmful. But in what concentrations over what time span? I'm not sure a DIY job would cause lasting harm to the surrounding populace.
Do you recommend that the OP should get a specialist asbestos firm in to refurbish his soffits?
Generally, what do other owners of 1970s houses do in this situation?
Bruce
It does represent an very vague health hazard, but largely mitigated by wearing a mask. Also a very still day should be used to avoid sharing it with your neighbours.
Repainting is not advisable as you will have to clean it off.
Either cover it with sheet material or remove it and replace.
A lot round here are having it boxed over with upvc.
Its getting rid of it thats the problem?
If I was to have this in my home and seriously wanted to get shut, I would cover it first in polythene and Packing tape and carefully remove the boards so as not to crack or splinter the asbestos.
I have that choice but seeing as it's crumbling only half way through it's expected life, I favour removal. It's relatively easy to do with a claw hammer, and the local tip has a bin for it. Problem is there's so much of the damn stuff.
Asbestos cement (the stuff used on soffits etc) usually contains no more than around 15% of 'free fibre' asbestos.
With regards to painting soffits - providing that adequate masks are used with disposable overalls and the loose paint is *scraped off* (rather than sanded by using glass paper etc) and the scrapings swept up and properly disposed of, then there is a very minimal hazard - and once the bare patches have been sealed and the soffit painted - there is no hazard unless it is physically disturbed.
Brian G
Here are the facts:
If its crumbling, its best to remove and bin it, double wrapped. As you'll see in the report, white asbestos is not the problem, blue and brown are.
If your soffits are blue or brown, which is unlikely, then yes there is a safety issue, and the whole situation should be approached with more care.
NT
Hi,
AFAIK you need an alkali resistant primer or paint, masonry paint should do:
Is the existing paint masonry paint?
cheers, Pete
At my school the gym had a large asbestos roff
>
This is dangerous...a lethal dog. :-)
we have had 60 years of the stuff in brake pads giving off dust at every street corner, still its no excuse not to take every precaution before working with it, do not sand it! and wear a mask at all times.
I don't think so. Looks more like plain old gloss to me. Judging by the state of the rest of the place, probably applied without sealer, primer etc!
Phil
Well, the walls had whitish crystals growing out of them. At the time I thought it was chemicals leaching from the roof but it could have been damp rising up the walls.
I used to cut the dates off old sick notes and so had a comprehensive 'library' for getting off PE ;)
And back then there was no register for people cycling to the games grounds instead of taking the coach ;)))
Also remember paint peeling off the high ceilings in the stairwells in large sheets...
cheers, Pete.
Ive seen emulsion straight onto asbestos last a long time.
NT
You dont need an ultra expensivce asbestos control co, you can do it yourself then phone the local authority and find out where to take it. I've just done the first one but not the second yet.
This only makes sence if you want to replace the facias anyway. After the facias were off I found the soffits were not nailed to the rafters in any way but to bits of wood attatched to the side of the rafters purely to take the weight of the asbestos soffit. I Split them with an old chisel and that way I didnt break the soffits. Replaced with PVC ones whcih just sit on the wall and dont need any other support. Then some acrylic sealer to seal to the new facias.
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