Asbestos Siding Description

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that can be fluffed into a wooly consistency and mixed into building materials such as cement.

Asbestos siding description.

Asbestos cement was first developed in 1905 by the johns manville company who became one of the premier manufacturers of cement asbestos materials. Asbestos shingles are relatively strong but brittle. Covering old asbestos shingles with new siding may seem like an option too but it s not easy to do safely. A brief history of asbestos cement siding.

It was popular in the 1960s and 1970s across the nation and is still on homes constructed during that period. If your siding has these characteristics then asbestos could be present. Put on a mask and scrape away some siding material into a baggie. Asbestos cement is a mixture of portland cement reinforced with asbestos fibers.

Asbestos was particularly prevalent in siding that resembles shingles or was made to look like wood grain. That cement was then pressed into siding shingles that came in a wide. Let the siding dry then prime and paint with the best exterior latex you can find. Cementious siding and roofing such as fiber cement siding lap siding and fiber cement roof shingles containing asbestos may then have appeared on homes constructed between 1906 and 1980 in north america and continuing later in some other countries.

Asbestos siding was made by adding asbestos a naturally occurring mineral to portland cement. On the general risk scale of dealing with materials that contain asbestos siding ranks very low and is far less risky and dangerous than asbestos in insulation sheetrock or pipewrap. Asbestos siding was very commonly used in buildings and homes from around the 1920s until the 1980s and can still be found in many older homes in the u s. Asbestos siding is a cement based siding that contains asbestos.

The portland cement binds asbestos fibers into a hard mass. You may choose to take a sample of siding from a damaged area of siding. Adding asbestos makes cement more durable weatherproof and heat resistant and because asbestos cement sheets are fireproof builders initially considered them a much safer material than wood. Siding is by nature very durable and it s difficult for fibers to become airborne.

Cementious siding and roofing such as fiber cement siding lap siding and fiber cement roof shingles containing asbestos may then have appeared on homes constructed between 1906 and 1980 in north america and contining later in some other countries. Since it doesn t expand or contract with the outside temperature asbestos siding makes a good base for paint.