However there are ways you can determine whether it is likely that your shingles contain asbestos.
How is asbestos siding made.
The issue here is asbestos and the risks of serious lung diseases it can cause.
Most siding companies are well experienced at techniques for covering over existing asbestos cement siding with new vinyl aluminum or fiber cement siding.
Asbestos was also put into cement used on the exterior of buildings to help insulate the.
Asbestos siding was made by adding asbestos a naturally occurring mineral to portland cement.
As the experts at asbestos siding note it is sometimes difficult to spot because it was often manufactured to resemble different types of siding in a variety of colors and textures.
Most older cement board products contain asbestos.
Even a single airborne fiber of the most dangerous types of asbestos can eventually cause a particular form of lung cancer if inhaled.
Asbestos siding was very commonly used in buildings and homes from around the 1920s until the 1980s and can still be found in many older homes in the u s.
Installing vinyl siding will require disturbing the asbestos by nailing into it.
And make no mistake asbestos is dangerous.
æ s ˈ b ɛ s t ə s or æ s ˈ b ɛ s t ɒ s is a term used to refer to six naturally occurring silicate minerals all are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals each fibre being composed of many microscopic fibrils that can be released into the atmosphere by abrasion and other processes.
Asbestos is an excellent electrical insulator and is highly heat.
Both the epa and the vinyl siding institute recommend not disturbing asbestos if at all possible.
Older style cement siding shingles were traditionally made by mixing asbestos into the cement in order to fireproof and strengthen siding.
Roofing and siding shingles are among the most common materials to contain asbestos and will readily release fibers into the air if broken.
Asbestos siding removal isn t free but if you re having it replaced with something else you just might be able to get a good deal with the company you end up choosing.
Unless asbestos siding is disturbed it doesn t pose a significant health hazard and does not need to be removed.
Because fiber cement siding manufactured in north america after around 1978 was made without using asbestos in those later products and because those non asbestos fiber cement shingles included products that by eye were an exact visual match for their older asbestos containing brothers and sisters already installed a building built.
The reported costs for such projects range from 500 to 4 500 while the typical cost for asbestos siding removal is generally between 1 000 and 2 500.
It s pretty serious but according to health canada one of the world s leading sources of unbiased information on the subject if.
However asbestos fibers can cause serious lung and respiratory problems if inhaled.