Charlotte asbestos removal
Asbestos-cement products, sometimes sold as transite, were made into durable siding shingles, roof shingles, flat panels and pipe. They are hard and non-friable while intact, and on many older houses they are still doing their job. Removal is usually triggered by re-siding, a re-roof, an addition or a demolition. The goal is to take each piece off whole, by pulling the nails rather than snapping the shingle, so the material does not break and release fibres.
Asbestos was mixed into cement to make thin, tough siding shingles, roof shingles, corrugated and flat panels, and pipe. The products were sometimes called transite. Intact asbestos-cement is hard and non-friable, which is why so much of it is still on houses decades later doing its job. The fibres stay locked in until the material is broken, cut, sanded, drilled or pressure-washed hard enough to erode the surface.
The method is about keeping each piece intact. The siding is wetted, and each shingle is removed by cutting or pulling its nails so it lifts away whole, rather than being snapped or pried off. Pieces are lowered by hand, never thrown or dropped, and stacked and wrapped in heavy plastic. The ground under the work is covered so any fragments are caught.
Under the federal asbestos rule, asbestos-cement is a non-friable material, but non-friable material that is likely to be crushed, ground or reduced to powder during the work is treated as regulated material with stricter handling. That is the line between a careful removal and a demolition crew knocking siding off with a bar.
Asbestos-cement roof shingles are handled the same way, with the added work of safe access on a pitched roof. They often sit under one or more later layers of asphalt shingles, which means they turn up partway through a re-roof. If a roofer finds them, the right call is to stop and test before the tear-off continues.
New siding can often be installed over intact asbestos-cement siding, provided the fastening does not shatter it. It is a common choice, and it avoids removal now, though whoever eventually takes the wall down will deal with it then.
How long does it take? A typical single-family house is often two to four days for siding, depending on wall area, height, and how much of the wall behind needs repair before new siding goes on.
These often turn up in the same house, or the same remodel:
Samples of each suspect material sent to a lab, with a written result for each one before any work is planned. Includes surveys ahead of a renovation or demolition.
Read more →Loose grey-brown pebble fill vacuumed out of the attic under negative air, so the house below stays clean.
Read more →Old 9-inch vinyl tile and the black cutback adhesive under it, taken up before new flooring goes down.
Read more →Free to ask
Don't sand, scrape or drill it. A quick description is enough to start.
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