Old Asbestos Square Siding

The use of a pressure washer for maintenance can crack the siding and lead to moisture intrusion if the pressure setting is high enough.

Old asbestos square siding.

The minute you start removing it you ll disturb the asbestos and need professional abatement. As long as the siding remains intact it can stay. However if you want to remove you have two options. Weatherside is even resistant to warping denting rotting expansion contraction and termite infiltration.

Asbestos cement siding is very brittle and can be easily chipped cracked or broken. On average asbestos siding removal costs between 4 and 6 per square foot. Exposure to and breathing asbestos fibers can result in lung problems and cancer. Asbestos shingles are relatively strong but brittle.

Asbestos cement can be dangerous if pulverized by sawing sanding breaking etc. This would trigger dust and asbestos dust is a problem as i ve mentioned. 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. Asbestos siding was used extensively in buildings and homes from the 1930s until the 1970s when it s use was banned.

It s easy to install after properly removing the old siding simply nail the weatherside siding in place and paint. About asbestos siding asbestos siding is composed of asbestos fibers mixed with portland cement. If installing new siding you can install it over the existing asbestos siding as long as the existing siding is flat. Unlike some of the original siding shingles that it replaces weatherside pre primed siding shingles contain no asbestos.

It is very brittle and has a tendency to crack and break when nailed which can release asbestos fibers into both the air and ground. Asbestos siding never needs to be removed simply because it is asbestos. You can t drive screws and nails through them without pre drilling. It s available in a variety of sizes and shapes to match many of the old siding shingles installed over the last 60 years.

Covering old asbestos shingles with new siding may seem like an option too but it s not easy to do safely.