How Asbestos Sheets are Made
While we waved goodbye to the production of asbestos materials in New Zealand a long time ago, that doesn’t mean we are entirely rid of them. Asbestos can be lurking in any home built before 1990, including walls, insulation, flooring, and even cement sheeting on roofs. That’s right; corrugated asbestos roofing is more common than you might think.
If you’ve got asbestos-cement corrugated roofing, why is it such a big deal? You may even be asking yourself why asbestos roof sheets are harmful and what you can do about them. Read on to learn not only how asbestos sheets are made but what you need to do once you find out your home has them.
How Are Asbestos Sheets Made
Surprisingly, it’s not only the asbestos in cement sheeting that proves problematic but also its manufacturing process. Cement is mixed with asbestos fibres in alternate layers. If you can picture a lasagne, it’s not all that much different. The sheeting will begin with a layer of cement before finishing with another layer of cement.
Once a roofer or construction worker placed those sheets on your roof, the homeowner could face two problems down the line: weathering and fire damage.
Fire Damage
Because of the corrugated asbestos’ layering structure, like Super Six Roofing, there wasn’t enough room for the sheeting to expand with the heat of a fire. With no ‘give’ in the material, it was prone to exploding. Firefighters then had to deal with hazardous shards of sheeting that could release deadly asbestos fibres into the air.
Weathering
When cement sheeting was first installed on roofs, it was the best thing since sliced bread. It was affordable, light, easy to mold, and easy to work with. But what we didn’t anticipate was that it would contain a natural but deadly material.
With a lifespan of around half a century, homeowners are only now having to contend with aging and weathering roofs that contain asbestos. Without knowing they do, they use maintenance techniques that are unsuitable for asbestos roofing and dangerous.
Moss can form on the sheeting that seems almost impossible to get off. Homeowners will then use a wire brush to remove it, not knowing they are scratching into an asbestos-containing material. The brittle nature of asbestos cement sheeting also means that people are at risk of falling through them.
So, if you want to know why asbestos roof sheets are harmful, you’ve got the answers. What you do next makes all the difference.
Identifying Asbestos Cement Sheeting
If your home was built before 1990, you may have been well aware that asbestos could be present. Before you begin renovations, demolition, or any changes that impact building materials, an asbestos test can be crucial.
Contact an asbestos removal and testing company and request asbestos sampling. They can test the cement sheeting to confirm or refute the presence of asbestos. You can then start looking at your asbestos roofing replacement options.
What to Replace Asbestos Roof Sheets With
If cement sheeting on your roof is all you have ever known, you may struggle to imagine what else is available. There are a handful of different options now available to consumers – none of which contain asbestos.
Fibre-cement roofing, galvanised metal sheets, concrete tiles, metal tiles, the list goes on. Many of these vary in price and lifespan, but all are an excellent alternative to corrugated asbestos. Once you’ve decided on a roof replacement option, it’s in your best interests to hire a licensed removalist to take care of all the hard work.
Trained and qualified teams of asbestos removalists are skilled in removing cement sheeting in the safest possible way. This can involve removing sheets intact and wrapping them in plastic for safe disposal.
Can’t I Just Clean My Roof?
If you have discovered that your roof contains asbestos, you may wonder if you need to replace it straight away. Not everyone is in the financial position to act immediately, so there are things you can do in the interim to keep yourself and those around you as safe as possible.
If you must clean the roof, do so with a soft brush and a low-pressure water system. Do not use a water blaster or abrasive products like sandpaper or a wire brush. An asbestos removalist may also recommend sealing the asbestos by applying a water-based PVA paint with an airless, low-pressure sprayer.
Asbestos Sheets Are Not Our Friend
It can be interesting learning how asbestos sheets are made. And as they say, knowledge is power. However, the more you learn about asbestos, the more you will understand just how dangerous this material is.
Before you decide to undertake roof repairs, maintenance, or removal yourself, consider the possibility that deadly asbestos fibres could be lurking just beneath the surface. It might be time to contact asbestos testers in NZ to determine your next steps.