Asbestos Felt Roof - Help !!

hxdude1

Hi, I am buying a house which has an extension above the garage, the extension has an asbestos felt roof. Is this something to worry about? The house owner says he has the roof maintained every year in the summer. If the roof needs to be replaced could it cost me thousands or are these roofs comman in the uk.

Any help/advice much appreciated ASAP.

Thx

clutton_2

only use a licensed asbestos firm = they have to have a HSE license to be able to dispose of/work with it. i think your local council may know of licensed companies.

eldowardo

i always thought that as along as the asbestos isnt disturbed then it is OK (by the way Im washing my hands of liability if thats not true, so dont blame me if its wrong)

why cant u re-negotiate the price to reflect costs of having it removed in the future?

JonnyBravo

eldowardo wrote: »

i always thought that as along as the asbestos isnt disturbed then it is OK (by the way Im washing my hands of liability if thats not true, so dont blame me if its wrong)

why cant u re-negotiate the price to reflect costs of having it removed in the future?

I have to admit I've not encountered asbestos felt and am not sure of what it consists.

Not sure if this helps but here goes.....

(First off if you don't have to disturb it I wouldn't worry.)

I had an asbestos garage at the house we bought a few years ago. The asbestos concrete type affair. I think this typically is c.10% asbestos.

In short asbestos is most dangerous in particles you can breathe in.

The garage was made of huge 6 ft sections. So I simply dismantled it breaking it as infrequently as I could, frequently damping it down with a hose and whilst wearing a mask. These large pieces I took to my local tip and placed in their special container for asbestos. Most tips have one. So long as you're not a business there's no charge for this. I had to sign something to say I it was private waste.

Is the felt liable to break up when you remove it? Is it asbestos coated onto metal or something?
In my experience companies who remove asbestos are expensive. I suppose it all depends on your view of the risk/reward involved.


I'll leave you to make your own decisions. I have no professional qualifications for any of this advice etc etc

hxdude1

thanks for all the replys so far anymore would be welcome.

aardvaak

If these are asbestos sheets they are very common and only about 10% asbestos the rest concrete and as I understand it little risk to health. I have not heard of an asbestos felt roof.

Obviously if in doubt check it out.

unknown_member

aardvaak wrote: »

If these are asbestos sheets they are very common and only about 10% asbestos the rest concrete and as I understand it little risk to health. I have not heard of an asbestos felt roof.

Obviously if in doubt check it out.

I'd agree with you.

It shouldn't cost the earth, could be fairly simple and not warrant to much but on the other hand it can. *scrolls down to read if you've agreed contracts... Roofs often need repairing especially when they get older, if it's a newly built extension (say within the last five years) it should be in fairly good condition. Mind you I cannot say for sure, I just assume...

Remember to find at least five quotes and then question the two cheapest if they can budge. My friends parent, does this all the time and he gets no end knocked off. :P
~Unknown

morg_monster

Hi I found this

Roof Felt

Asbestos roof felt was used between 1910 and 1995 and typically contains 10-15% Chrysotile (white) asbestos fibres mixed with asphalt. It is a composite material and therefore there is little risk of fibre release unless badly damaged.

On this webpage http://www.ams-holdings.com/asbestosmaterials.htm

I think in general it probably isn't a big worry as long as it isn't damaged, if you want to leave it there it doesn't pose a health risk. Also it probably shouldn't be too dangerous to remove as it will probably come off in one piece unless the roof is really big, so hopefull not too costly.

Unless it is damaged there should be no reason to remove it in the foreseeable future - unless you are overly worried about the health risk. At the end of the day, before they knew about the health risks, asbestos was chosen for these jobs because of its amazing properties - it is immensely hard wearing, does not decay or weather, and so will last for years and years.

Canucklehead

Good evening: The Health and Safety Executive website has a wealth of accurate info on asbestos FWIW, my OH (plumbing and heating) will get the pros in if he encounters it...too many plumbers/related trades out there with asbestosis:eek:

HTH

Canucklehead

apuleius

hi, my mother is selling her flat, and this has just come up as an issue in the survey. The purchasers asked for a 3k reductiion to allow for replacing the garage roof (on a purchase price of 485k). We have agreed to this on the proviso no further renegotiating. It seemed a fair point.