Where Should I Look Out For Asbestos?

Asbestos can exist in a variety of forms in a building; cement, coatings, floor tiles, insulating, lagging and loose. Many buildings build before 1999 will contain at least one form of asbestos as it was often too expensive or too difficult to extract. Asbestos filled cement can often be found in the form of guttering, wall cladding and roofing.

It is most commonly used for corrugated cement roofing which can be found on old farm buildings, warehouses and on some private sheds and garages. Many walls and ceilings used to be coated in asbestos in either a sprayed or textured form, this could exist in lofts, around beams and living spaces. Textured coatings are generally quite stable but sprayed coatings have the highest asbestos content so even a minor disturbance could release huge quantities of the material into the air. Asbestos floor tiles were often used when insulating floor surfaces underneath carpeting or laminate flooring. A similar version of the material was even used in fire blankets and oven gloves.

It is generally quite safe but still considered a risk and should not be handled or worked with. Fireproofing with asbestos insulating board (AIB) was quite common and this often existed in partition walls, fire doors, lift shafts and roof lining. Large quantities of this can be found in many buildings from the 50s-90s and it is considered very dangerous to work with.

It should be handled by a fully licensed contractor. Many cavities, pipes and boilers are filled and coated with loose fill and lagging asbestos.

These are both considered very hazardous and should not be worked with or exposed to anyone other than a trained contractor. Exposure to any of the toxic fibres released can cause damaging respiratory problems and eventually cause a form of cancer known as Mesothelioma.
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