Is It Required To Replace Asbestos Siding

From about the 1920 s until the 1970 s hundreds of thousands if not millions of homes were built using asbestos cement siding.

Is it required to replace asbestos siding.

There is no legal requirement to do so nor is there significant real estate benefit. A typical procedure is to install furring strips on the existing wall avoiding breaking the existing siding. When there is desire to remove it but there is no money to do it. Average cost to replace asbestos siding the average cost to remove dispose and replace 1 500 square feet of asbestos siding is between 11 000 and 24 000.

Unless asbestos siding is disturbed it doesn t pose a significant health hazard and does not need to be removed. Cement asbestos siding tiles do not need to be removed simply because they contain asbestos. The decision to repair and replace any siding that contains asbestos always carries a certain amount of risk with care required to not disturb and make friable any asbestos fibers. A common remodeling practice is to install new vinyl or aluminum siding over cement asbestos shingle siding as well as over many other older siding materials when the old siding has become damaged leaky or cosmetically ugly.

It is not reasonable to repair most roofs or siding that have suffered significant deterioration or damage. Asbestos fibers can also settle on your clothing if you do break and disturb the material leading to the possible contamination of your home and anyone living in it if you bring the fibers inside. When asbestos siding is in good shape and you don t mind maintaining it. Weatherside fiber cement siding is the one and only solution for replacing or repairing old asbestos siding shingles.

If you re looking to replace a few of the asbestos shingles on your home various manufacturers today make a fiber cement replacement product that looks exactly like older asbestos shingles. It is available in a variety of sizes and shapes to match many of the old siding shingles installed over the last 60 years. Both the epa and the vinyl siding institute recommend not disturbing asbestos if at all possible. Asbestos siding was first introduced into the us in the early 1900 s by austrian engineer ludwid hatschek.

Attempting ordinary maintenance like repairing or replacing individual tiles or shingles to preserve the overall roof or siding can create asbestos dust. Removal alone costs 1 000 to 10 000 depending on the scope of the project. Cutting sanding or breaking asbestos cement tiles poses a distinct health hazard. As long as this material is not disturbed it can stay on the walls of your house for a long period of time.

If your asbestos siding is largely in excellent condition and you decide to keep it you may only a few pieces that are chipped or broken to replace. He discovered how asbestos could help reinforce thin shingles made from cement. In many cases it s possible to buy replacement asbestos siding manufactured to look like older asbestos siding shingles.