The exhaust will be at the front of the house and the soffit is profiled UPVC so a more aesthetically pleasing solution I think will be to make a bigger hole as you say and either fit it with a blanking plate of the type used to hide blowout, or make a square hole and fit an access panel with the outlet mounted directly in the door if it's strong enough (I think 3mm should be but the latch might not), or next to it if not.
It's never straight-forward is it!
While cutting the hole in the soffit for access today, I could feel there was some resistance. They've stuck the UPVC on top of the old soffit. Then realised building materials being what they used to be, the dust that was falling on my head was potentially not something I want to be breathing so I had to stop once I'd got the plastic off.
From the photos, it will ...
The OP should get an FFP3 mask from a reliable source. There should be quite a few around "left over" from the days when Covid was rampant.
Keeping the area damped down to reduce dust is fairly obvious, but I hadn't heard of the advice to cover it in something gloopy like wallpaper paste to entrap the dust ...
Can recommend these and this supplier, if you don't already have some lying around:
Theo
I've been using this type for a while now:
Although looking more closely, I'm not sure what protection it actually offers in practice.
I generally stop using one and buy another when I can smell whatever it is I'm cutting etc.
quick google search uncovered was "don't".
I have a similar one with replaceable filters and comes apart for washing etc. I have a beard which probably makes it essentially worthless anyway.
The multitool attachment was only just long enough to reach the surface so not a lot of dust. Unfortunately I made the hole to see if I could work out why the plastic wasn't coming away after I cut right round. I put on the mask as soon as I realised but thankfully there was a breeze away from the houses.
Didn't realise soffits were asbestos until very recently. I've drilled through it before with a small hole saw to run a cable so I must have gone through it then as well.
Expecting it to come back positive (i.e. bad news) but I think overall the risk is low, as I understand it it was all about regular and prolonged exposure. Clearly giving myself a face full and letting it drift down the road in the breeze should be avoided. I need to properly read the PDF that was shared and the associated docs but sounds like I need to either go all-in per that doc or bail on the plan altogether and make it safe.
follow the flowchart in a0.pdf to determine if it's non-licenced work (e.g. asbestos cement soffit) then make your decision from there
what appropriate precautions are (e.g. mask, gloves, disposable coveralls, wetting the area with wallpaper paste, protection to the cut edge, double bag the offcuts used ppe then take it for proper disposal at waste site)
Result came back positive for Chrysotile which is the least worst type (also had the shed roof tested at the same time, same result). What that doesn't tell me if I'm dealing with AIB or cement.
It's hard to find extensive descriptions as to the difference between AIB and cement board. Both types have been used in soffits apparently.The best I've found around the web albeit not all from authoritative sources but AIB has been described as shredded wheat, friable and light weight. AC is denser, harder.
My accidental drill core soffit sample was surprisingly heavy for its size, more the weight you'd expect from metal. And had the appearance of plasterboard and pretty solid, would have a hard time snapping a corner with your fingers. I'm leaning toward it being asbestos cement board.
If asbestos cement it means I can take the precautions suggested in the HSE guides to finish the job. If AIB then as the job is 'maintenence' and will take under an hour it sounds like that's acceptable without a licence or notification but I feel more of a moral responsibility around it not to continue other than to seal the cut edges and leave it alone.
The shed roof is clearly cement panels so at least we know for sure now and can take appropriate measures when we (eventually) dispose of it.
I don't know much, but would expect AIB to have texture somewhere between softboard and ceiling tile, be friable, but cement bonded asbestos to be very rigid and "ping" if tapped with a screwdriver (like your shed roof)
+1. I've not seen AIB, but I've seen the cement board ('Masterboard', which in the 80s contained asbestos). It looks pretty similar to those pictures. (80s MB is relatively low in asbestos - yours looks more fibrous so I'd guess there's more asbestos in there).
Since the point of soffits is to keep the rain out and not to insulate, I can't see why they would have used AIB.
I wonder at what point it's worth just getting the whole lot stripped out. Might be expensive but deal with the problem once and for all. Maybe that would need to happen when the uPVC needs replacing, as I suppose there's a limit to how many layers you can slap on top.
Theo
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