Soffits and Fascia

[Deleted User]

Hi 

was looking at getting our soffits and fascias replaced. When we had our survey done we were advised the soffits were possibly asbestos cement sheeting. However after obtaining several quotes I went with a company that offered an asbestos test. I paid £150 assuming that it was being carried out by asbestos specialists. It wasn't and it was carried out in house and sent off online. Part came back as no asbestos detected and the other half of the house 'amosite' was detected. Looks like they used an online lab where they sent it away and now they are saying to assume it is all the worst despite my opinion being they weren't qualified to take the sample leading to an inconclusive test. Anyway bottom line is they can pass me onto someone to remove it at £4K plus and on top of that the cost of soffits but it does not sit right that the test wasn't done by a legit asbestos company and that half the house was classed as not detected 🤷‍♀️ Its a lot of money for us and we have had 4-5 other quotes some who had done work on our street previous advising that they can remove. I'm just annoyed I've wasted £150 for an inconclusive test but also want to ensure I'm not putting anyone at undue risk.

Ramouth

You say they weren’t qualified to take the sample but I don’t see how that would affect the result?  A lump of material was taken from your property in which the lab found asbestos.  Whether that lump was collected by a specialist or not there are still asbestos containing materials present.

If the facias and soffits were installed at the same time and appear to be the same material it is likely that both sides do contain asbestos but one of the samples (presumably a small piece of material not big chunk?) just happened to not hit one of the fibres.

You could get it retested but having had one positive test I would think you would have a duty of care to inform any contractors of the original result and that most would want it removed safely

Is leaving it in place an option?

sevenhills

bexter24 said:

was looking at getting our soffits and fascias replaced. When we had our survey done we were advised the soffits were possibly asbestos cement sheeting.

My soffits/fascias are covered with some thin sheeting, it's been painted black. I just assumed it was plastic. Perhaps I need to investigate.

Jeepers_Creepers

That quote seems excessive, Bex - but I don't know.

Perhaps treat this job as two separate ones - asbestos-cement removal, and fascia/soffit fitting?

Call up a couple of asbestos specialists and start from the beginning - "Could this contain asbestos, and - if so - how much would you charge for removal?"

If the answers are still "Yes - amosite - and £4k...", then I think you know where you stand.