Asbestos removal. Do it myself?
 

I just bought a 1,300 sq foot house. The oustide is covered with asbestos shingle that seems to be in safe condition but I want to take it off.
Can anyone recommend a method for doing this myself? Or are there laws against that? If so how much does it cost to have removed?

In most states you can do it yourself... but I'd be very careful. The biggest thing you will have to worry about is disposal of them. They have to be placed in a certified landfill and carefully wrapped in plastic before transport.

DON'T DO IT YOURSELF. that is some nasty shit. its worth a few bucks to have some one else do it. then they have to pay to haul it off. alot of states its considered hazardous waste and cost a pretty penny to dispose of. i would even stay away from the house until they are finished, it does take very many of those micrscopic fibers in your lungs to cause damage.

I recentlly did it myself and thought it was very worth it. FAR CHEAPER than a contractor. Just don't crumble it and try to rip off in the sections with one or two breaks. I did a pretty descent sized house in one day with 3 people. Just using hammers and small crows. You just need to get special bags(50 bucks for a big box of em) and dispose at a designated area specially for them. and u have to do it all urslef and only those in your family are allowed to help. I vote do it urslef but if u got the money than i would hire it out

These are rated "non friable" but if you snap one in half when you are up on the ladder, and it is 4" from your face, and the little puff of dust goes right into your lungs ... You will wish that you just had someone come and do it for you...

if you are going to do it yourself make sure you invest in the right safety equipment. Any good paint shop will sell the cheap plastic hazmat suits and a decent respirator. Personally I wouldnt do the job with anything less than that.

I think asbestos is just a tad over-hyped. Car brakes used the stuff for years and years and you can still find lots of old mechanics still walking around. I remember my dad using the air hose to blow the asbestos dust off the rotors when he was doing brake jobs. He's still kicking... Cost wise, it's not a couple of bucks, it's mega bucks to have a licensed company remove it. Doing it yourself will save you big time and if you just use a little common sense like using a respirator and try to keep the dust down, you'll be fine.

As an example, a friend of mine had asbestos shingles on his roof. Got an estimate of $15,000 to have a contractor come in and do it. That didn't include the new roof, just removal.

Why take it off? It's far easier (and safer) to cover them with new siding. It's done all the time.

Makes sense to me... Unless you're trying to restore an old house to its original condition that would be the best and easiest solution.

I live in a town where the main industry for the past 30+ years has been asbestos production.The amount of people in this place who have died from asbestos related illness is unreal, and it is a terrible death.
I know of a few who have gone to England to see specialists because of lung problems and they (the specialists) were able to tell them straight away where they came from.
So asbestos should not be taken lightly when dealing with it.

Asbestos shingles (and Floor Tiles) are far less likely to become airborne (friable) upon breaking than most other forms of asbestos used in the home (assuming they are in good condition)...As Jbrooks544 says be careful. Use the proper equiptment and protection... In our area it is perfectly acceptable & legal to just leave them and cover them up with some other type of siding...Do not rip or smash them up, treat them nice & gently to remove them.

Thanks for youre help people. I wish I could cover it with something else but unfortunately, this is a 1920's bungalow, and I need to restore it to the original condition if I'm going to get any buyers.

Before proceeding, you ought to check with your local health department to see if you can do this legally.

As echoed by most here, asbestos does deserve its reputation but only when in an airborn state. Unfortunately, busting a piece is enough to get it airborn.

Also, assuming you know bust up alot of the siding (and possibly track the contamination inside) asbestos can't just be tossed in the trash.

Anyway, good luck with your remodel.

In my experience, "original condition" is not necessarily a big selling point. It's a VERY common thing to cover it with new siding and you can't even tell that there's old siding under it. What type of siding are you planning to put on the house?

If I know my houses, asbestos shingle siding would be the original siding for a 1920's bungalow. It's very common in the houses around here.



I knew a guy who installed fiberglass insulation and ended up with very bad lungs from breathing in glass fibers. I know another guy who used to do auto body work and got bad lungs from being around too many paint fumes. The exposure isn't going to kill you unless you're planning on making a full time job out of it. Now, I'm not saying it's not bad stuff because it is in the long term, I'm saying it's not as scary as the trial lawyers would have you believe...

I ripped up one small section behind the house and discovered heart pine wood panels underneath in perfect condition.

Here's some info for Florida.

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/air/publi...p/asbestos.pdf

Personally, I would leave it alone and side right over it as some of the previous posters have suggested.

I agree with the posters who say leave it alone or leave it to the professionals. The possible harm to your health and the health of your neighbors is too great.

It's confusing why they would re-side the house if there's good lap siding underneath. Does it appear that the house had been added on to? If it had then that addition wouldn't have any siding underneath the asbestos shingles and you'd need to side that part of the house.

Wood siding is really pretty easy to do, just really expensive anymore unless you use the cement board or press board stuff which would defeat the idea of restoring the house. I'm in the process of restoring my house too. It was built in the 1850's and needed lots of siding replaced. It's tough because they don't even make the right size siding anymore. I have to buy the full side cedar stuff. Cut it down the middle and throw away about half of each piece in order to match the width of the original stuff.