Find an Asbestos Removal Contractor you can trust in Anerley.

Are you planning to remove or renovate your garage? Before proceeding with the intended project, it’s usually essential to firstly determine whether or not your garage contains asbestos. However, asbestos isn’t the easiest material to identify and even more so when you’re unsure of what it looks. The fibres on the other hand are not visible to the eye and can’t be smelt as it’s odourless. In this article, we’ll provide you some helpful tips to spot an asbestos garage roof. Let’s take a closer look!

✓ Figure out when the building was constructed. In the year 1999, a ban was placed on the use of asbestos in the UK, both to manufacture and supply of asbestos materials. As a result, if your garage was built before this period, then it’s very likely that an asbestos containing material was used. It’s also important to note that several garage roofs that contain asbestos are constructed with the help of flat or corrugated sheets of cement.

✓ Check the surface. When cement contains asbestos its usually fairly thin with visible fibres running through it. Also, the surface of the cement will have a texture and also some craters. If you an older cement sheets is incorporated, there’s a high chance that it contains asbestos.

✓ How it’s built. Asbestos materials are usually joined together by aluminium runners and help in position with nails that are blunt-ended. Take a look at the joints, if the sheets inside is held together by wooden or plastic runners then there’s danger.

Finally, roofs made from asbestos cement has a good chance of becoming very brittle.

Asbestos is basically a naturally occurring fibre which, until the 1990s, has been a commonly used material in construction and other industries. There are three major kinds of asbestos fibres in the UK and they include crocidolite or blue, amosite or brown as well as chrysotile or white.

Before it’s life threatening potentials were exposed, asbestos was commonly used across the globe in buildings and structures as a means of insulation, roofing, flooring and was also sprayed on ceiling as well as walls. Upon the discovery of its hazardous features however, it has been swiftly banned in the UK but it may still be discovered in buildings and structures that have been erected before the year 2000.

In the event whereby a building or structure possesses asbestos within them, it can pose only a little risk but only if they remain undisturbed. It’s only when they’re disturbed or damaged that the tiny asbestos fibres are usually discharged into the air and can be easily inhaled into the lungs. Breathing in of asbestos is a very harmful thing as the fibres can have a terrible impact on your lungs and their linings. What’s more? Asbestos-related health conditions’ symptoms normally takes several years to surface which means that an exposure to the deadly substance many years ago may only start to show symptoms today. Therefore, if you’ve worked in a building or construction industry especially within the time period of 1970s to 1990s, there is a real chance that you’ve been exposed to asbestos. This type of jobs include ship building, construction and insulation projects, but this doesn’t necessarily imply that asbestos exposure can not occur in other jobs as well.

Asbestos is a perfect example of a silent and hidden killer. The harmful fibre it releases is not only totally invisible to the eye, but also absolutely odourless, therefore can’t be smelt. As a result, you can walk into a room completely filled with asbestos and you still won’t suspect a thing. If you live in an old building ( built before the 1980’s) in the UK, it’s very possible that there’s some asbestos in the house.

Asbestos causes up to 5000 deaths in the UK on a yearly basis. When asbestos materials are disturbed, they release asbestos fibres, which when inhaled can result in lung cancer, asbestosis as well as mesothelioma which are all painful and fatal diseases. And perhaps even more importantly, you won’t notice any symptoms of having these diseases until after several years after your first exposure to asbestos fibres.

Therefore, to reduce these numbers, there’s a crucial need to to know how to identify asbestos so as not to put both ourselves and loved ones at risk.

There are three types of asbestos which includes blue or crocidolite, brown or amosite, and white or chrysotile. So they can easily be identified by their respective colour names, right? Wrong! Asbestos fibres can not be seen with the eye, it can only be detected under a microscope. They’re very tiny and light, and once disturbed and in the air, they can float can days. Asbestos are commonly found in several building materials such as cement products, floor tiles, paints, adhesive, partitions, cladding, insulation, doors and lots more. With its wide acceptability in the past, any building product you can probably think of could contain asbestos.

If you’re thinking about having your asbestos removed, you have two options - either you take on the project yourself or you call in a reliable professional for help. If you do not have enough time on your plate or perhaps you’re not confident enough to carry out this project on your own, then you’d have to reach out to an expert and of course, it comes with a cost.

The cost of removing asbestos is, however, not fixed as it depends on many factors. These factors works to decrease or increase the cost of removing asbestos. The factors include the type of asbestos material that needs to be removed, if the material can be encapsulated rather than removed, if the material has been sampled and tested, the location where the works would be carried out, size of the area, the accessibility of the asbestos, if other sites users or neighbours will be affected as well as the type of the building be it residential, commercial, industrial.

With a plethora of important things to put into consideration, it’s therefore essential to call in a qualified, competent and professional asbestos removal company to provide a reasonable quote for your unique project. Generally, in the UK, you can expect to pay the approximate cost of around £1000 or less for smaller areas. However, for larger areas the cost of removing such an asbestos will cost you considerably more. The cost can be within the range of £2500 and above in the UK.

These prices may seem high at first but its definitely worth it when you look at it’s possible effect on the health of you and your loved ones.

For some types of asbestos, you are not legally required to use a licensed contractor. However, it’s recommended that you always use one. These contractors will have all the relevant training and knowledge to make sure asbestos is removed safely. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the licensing body.

How To Remove Asbestos

Asbestos are naturally occurring fibrous material that used to be incorporated into fabrics or mixed with cement for insulation purposes be it electrical or building. As it’s highly dangerous and life threatening if disturbed, the material has been in the UK since 1999, however there are some exceptions. If you happen to reside in a house that has been in existence prior to 1980, then there is a chance your house contains some asbestos. You may discover it in your home when carrying out some DIY tasks or renovation. And once you do, you should waste no time in having it removed as the longer you’re exposed to it, the more life threatening it becomes.

Removal of asbestos is a task you should never try to do by yourself as it becomes harmful when disturbed. In an event whereby you suspect something to be asbestos, do not touch but rather have it isolated and call in a specialist for help. So it’s therefore not recommended to attempt asbestos removal as a DIY project unless you’re are experienced in the techniques below:

✓ Before you get started, it’s crucial to wear the necessary protective gear. These include wearing a respirator, a disposable coverall, disposable rubber gloves, rubber boots as well as safety eye goggles. And ensure that you remove all protective gear clothing and gear before exiting the containment area.

✓ Remove the materials and place in asbestos waste disposal bags

✓ Ensure to remove the asbestos without breaking it up.

✓ Make use of double bag and seal all debris containing asbestos.

✓ Wipe down all surfaces with a damp cloth

✓ Fold and roll the polyethylene sheeting on the floor and dispose them same way as the debris - double bag and seal.

✓ Clean all tools and equipments used.

✓ When done, ensure to wash face, hands and bathe thoroughly.

In recent times, when about to purchase or renovate a building that was constructed before the 1980’s, most homeowners will be particular about knowing whether or not asbestos containing materials are present. Also when a property is being checked, a lot of individuals would want to know the peak years for asbestos to be used in homes.

Modern asbestos production started in the 1800s during the time of industrial revolution, but after some regulation were made to ban some asbestos products and uses in the late 1970’s, the production witnessed a significant drop. The United States was the foremost users of asbestos according to the USGS but this lasted until the 1960’s when it was overtaken by the Soviet Union. In this article, we’ll look at the years of use for asbestos containing materials like pipe insulation, vermiculite as well as wall systems.

✓ Insulation. Asbestos insulation was commonly used in homes with lots of focus on both piping and ductwork. This was started in the year 1908 but was ended between 1915 and 1920 by Air-Cell pipe insulation.

✓ Vermiculite. This refers to a mineral that’s popular for its insulating properties and mostly used as insulation for attics. It possesses a gold to brown kind of appearance and it’s also a pebble material that shimmers in the light. According to the EPA, if this material is suspected in a home it should be assumed to contain asbestos.

✓ Wall Systems. Plaster and drywall are very common wall types that are asbestos containing. And until asbestos was banned both wall systems are said to have asbestos. For example the drywall sheets as well as it’s joint compound both features asbestos from the 1930s to the 1980s.

An asbestos survey is a property inspection to check for the presence of asbestos. A professional will go around your building and look at and take samples of any materials that they think may contain asbestos. These will then be tested to see if asbestos is present.

There are two types of asbestos survey, a Management Asbestos Survey and a Refurbishment and Demolition Asbestos Survey. A Management Asbestos Survey is mainly conducted to check if any materials containing asbestos pose a risk to inhabitants during everyday use of a building. A Refurbishment and Demolition Asbestos Survey is designed to check for any asbestos exposure risks before building work is started on a property.