Dismantling disused asbestos (?) cement flue safely

If it's practical and safe to do so, I'd like to remove this flue from the side of the house as it's no longer used and someone's previous botching has left it looking unsightly:

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'm assuming there's asbestos in there. How are the joints made and is it possible to take them apart without creating hazardous dust?

Reply to
mike
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Possibly. But you won't officially be allowed to, you will need a specially-trained, specially-equipped, and therefore specially-expensive, contractor to do it.

Reply to
Davey

Probably fire cement, and unwilling to come apart. But cement asbestos is brittle, you will generate less dust by breaking than by sawing IME. Could you block off the bottom and fill the whole thing with water, leaving for a few days for it to become saturated before tapping gently with a lump hammer. The fibres are fairly well immobilised by the cement matrix and the general consensus is that, handled sensibly, it is not particularly dangerous. Ideally double bag and tape shut, check with your local tip because their requirements vary. There may only be one tip in the area which takes it.

Reply to
newshound

Might be asbestos, I suspect not. Joints are likely cement. Starting from the top just give 'em a wiggle & they will come apart. Looking at the fixings, you may not need to bother. Wear a face mask & stand upwind when you reduce to bin sizes. HTH. Nick.

Reply to
Nick

No you don't, you just have to follow an agreed method and take samples to prove you are doing it OK.

The company I worked for stripped some asbestos from old heating pipes by wrapping them in plastic bags and stripping the pipes inside the bag. The H&S agreed that it was safe but fined us anyway because it wasn't approved first.

Reply to
dennis

Wrong on that part. There's nothing to stop a private householder removing asbestos cement items themselves, wrapping it up in heavy duty plastic (sealing the joints) and carting it down in the back of their car to their local council waste station which will have approval to handle such "hazardous material". This "hazardous material will also include plasterboard and artex etc that was made and used back in the last bit of the 20th century.

I had this 'discussion' with a roofing contractor who re-roofed my 1960s property a couple of years ago, when he wanted to charge me in excess of

600 to remove and dispose of a small quantity of asbesto cement soffit (around 15metres x 25cm).

I very politely told him that I would deal with it when he arrived on site and the scaffold was erected (and before he started work), whereby I then simply donned a white disposable suit and approved face mask [1], sprayed it with water and removed the stuff without breaking it (which I'd done for years without all the bulls**t surounding it today), wrapped and sealed it in clear, heavy duty plastic sheeting and carted it away to the local council waste site - where the attendant examined the packaging and accepted it without turning a hair - and the roofer carried on fitting the new UPVc soffits and fascias.

Without getting into a discussion here, there's too much misinformation given about this particular brand of the product which contains less than

14% chrysotile asbestos fibres mixed with cement, gypsum, artex etc - and whilst harmful, is considered less dangerous than the other types when handled in a competent manner. [1] Must be one that is certified to stop asbestos fibres and dust from passing through the weave - and I only did this because some common sense was talked about the stuff when I'd attended a course (at my expense BTW) on handling asbestos cement products some years ago.
Reply to
Woodworm

As a contractor yes - but not as a private householder you don't.

If that was in a boiler house, inside a factory or a ship's engine room of a certain age, then that stuff was usually brown or blue asbestos and mixed in an open receptacle on site to be hand-moulded and finished around the various pipes there - and that's when the H&S procedures really come into their own!

Reply to
Woodworm

It's good to know that there is some sense around after all.

Reply to
Davey

And then dumping the stuff needs a specially authorised hole in the ground which also seems to cost a packet as it seems only specially authorised carriers with specially authorised double wrapped bags and warning labels can be used, IE whapping in plastic and scribbling a label saying asbestos hazard is no good at all.

Sigh. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

Oh I agree, but I'm still stalled with my asbestos corrugated garage, as contractors want the full monty and I don't want to end up broke. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

Finally a question on here where the answer DEFINITELY ISN'T angle grinder.

Philip

Reply to
philipuk

On the contrary, you could even use a *broken* angle grinder just to thump it with.

Reply to
newshound

I imagine that it is similar to the internal flue we disposed of last year. The heating engineers replacing the boiler and pipework disassembled the flue by twisting the individual pipes to loosen the joints, wrapped them in heavy duty polythene sheeting and placed them outside.

Having checked with LA waste people we made sure that the polythene sheeting was secure and then wrapped it in a second layer which we sealed carefully with tape - apparently the 'double bagging' is essential - and took it to the LA dump where it was checked and went into a specified container.

Reply to
rbel

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