Asbestos Audits warns home renovators about asbestos in roofing
Announcement posted by Asbestos Audits Queensland 13 Feb 2013
Asbestos Audits Queensland has warned home renovators about the significant danger of asbestos in residential roofing, in its new book, Identifying Asbestos in your Home. The book, which has received government funding, seeks to help homeowners and renovators understand and locate asbestos used in the construction of their homes.
According to author Brian Sketcher, who is also the General Manager of Asbestos Audits Queensland, roofing materials in houses built before 1990 are likely to contain asbestos and are in fact one of the most hazardous sources of asbestos.
“One of the most common areas to find asbestos in your home is the roof. It’s also one of the most dangerous, because of its constant exposure to extreme weather conditions (sun, hail and strong winds), which can damage the asbestos-containing materials and result in harmful asbestos fibres becoming airborne,” says Brian Sketcher.
Brian’s book Identifying Asbestos in Your Home provides numerous pictures of asbestos-containing roofing materials to help renovators understand and identify the different uses of asbestos in residential roofs.
The most common use of asbestos in roofing is the “fibro roof”, which is usually found as corrugated sheet, trimmed or cut into various styles and widths to suit the house design. However, asbestos roofing can also be flat, profiled or imitation slate tiles. Skylights, ventilators and ridge/edge capping can also be formed or shaped using asbestos cement.
Another hidden danger of asbestos roofing is the potential of drinking water contamination. Asbestos Audits strongly recommends that homeowners who have an asbestos cement roof do not collect the rainwater for usage.
“Over time, as the cement erodes, the asbestos is released and washed down your roof into your gutters and down your drains,” warns Brian Sketcher.
Homeowners who wish to replace their roofs are advised to first get a sample analysed for asbestos, before commencing work.
Identifying Asbestos in your Home is available in both hardcover edition ($29.95) and eBook ($9.95) from the Asbestos Audits Queensland website.