Deciding to renovate your home is an exciting occasion. You now get to take care of all those niggly things that have been bothering you and enjoy a fresh and modern home!

It can be tempting to get stuck in as soon as you’ve got a plan in place, but did you know that tens of thousands of houses in Aotearoa New Zealand contain asbestos? If your home is one of them, here are some tips for an asbestos-safe home renovation project:

Find Out Where the Asbestos Is

Asbestos has been identified in approximately 3,800 building materials used in NZ homes and commercial buildings until around the 1990s. If your home was built before the 1990s – or 2000, to be on the safe side – there’s a chance it might contain asbestos.

Before renovations get underway, consider undertaking asbestos testing to find out where asbestos is lurking in your home. When you know where it is, you can create a plan for it. That plan might include leaving it in place, removing it, or encapsulating it.

Asbestos testing doesn’t have to be a time-consuming or complicated process. It can be as straightforward as contacting an asbestos testing company who can visit your home and undertake the testing for you. They can then send the samples to a lab for analysis and reporting before informing you of the asbestos quantity, condition, and type. You can then make an informed decision about what you do next.

Hire Professionals for Removal

One of the best pieces of advice you can receive during a house renovation is to hire professionals when it’s essential to do so for your health and safety. So, alongside bringing them in for any plumbing and electrical work, you should also call upon experts to remove asbestos from your home.

While anyone can legally remove up to 10m2 of non-friable asbestos from their homes, that doesn’t mean we should. Moreover, removing any quantity of friable or non-friable asbestos requires strict health and safety measures for our family’s well-being.

As a result, hiring professionals for removals can be the right decision to make – whether you have a small patch of lino in a toilet or a large popcorn ceiling.

When In Doubt, Get It Checked

Most of the thousands of asbestos-containing products and materials in the world don’t have a giant warning label on them. Asbestos can be mixed in with other materials, meaning it’s not always obvious when something contains this hazardous substance.

As a result, an innocent-looking building material in your home may contain asbestos without you knowing. When in doubt, get it checked. A fast and easy asbestos test is a small price to pay for your peace of mind.

Wear Personal Protective Equipment

If you’ve decided to remove up to 10m2 of non-friable asbestos or will be renovating near exposed asbestos, don’t forget to wear personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE can prevent you from coming into contact with the small asbestos fibres that have the potential to make you extremely sick.

For non-friable asbestos, you’ll need:

• Respirators or half-face respirators with p2 or p3 filters

• Disposable coveralls

• Disposable boot covers or easy-clean footwear without laces   

Listen to the Experts

You might be a DIY expert, but that doesn’t mean you’re an asbestos expert. There can be a great deal of unknowns, so don’t be afraid to talk to experts when you’re unsure about something.

Asbestos removal companies can provide helpful information on:

• What to do if you find asbestos

• Your options for removal or encapsulation

• The pros and cons of removal and encapsulation options

• Why asbestos is dangerous

• How you can keep yourself safe around asbestos

• The types of building materials that often contain asbestos  

The more you learn about asbestos during home renovations, the safer you and your family can be.

Dispose of Asbestos Responsibly  

Many homeowners go down the DIY route for asbestos when they only have a small area of non-friable asbestos to take care of. Once you’ve removed it from your home, it’s important to dispose of it safely. You can’t just throw asbestos waste in your skip or wheelie bin as you would general waste or building waste.

Instead, you must dispose of it at an approved landfill facility after providing advanced warning. You must also contain your asbestos waste in heavy-duty polythene with a minimum thickness of 200 µm. Mark all bags with a caution label, identifying the contents.

Contact Chemcare for Asbestos Testing and Removal

Even the most skilled DIYers can’t tackle everything themselves. Fortunately, they don’t have to. If you’re in the process of renovating a house with asbestos, contact the team at Chemcare today. We can tackle everything from testing your home for asbestos to removing it from your property. Call us to find out how we can help!