removing soffits with asbestos

[Neil]

My son is purchasing a 1960's house and the survey states the soffits are made from asbestos paste.
I know on a standard house that changing soffits and fascias to UPVC is about £800-£1000 but how much extra do they charge for removal and disposal of the hazardous asbestos?
Anyone else have this problem before on their property ?

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

He could remove then himself if he is willing to take the risk but disposing of them will be your problem Im afraid .
Hazardous waste is an expensive thing these days

 

[Titanic]

He could remove then himself if he is willing to take the risk...

 

[KZNSeagull]

My son is purchasing a 1960's house and the survey states the soffits are made from asbestos paste.
I know on a standard house that changing soffits and fascias to UPVC is about £800-£1000 but how much extra do they charge for removal and disposal of the hazardous asbestos?
Anyone else have this problem before on their property ?

Can you not get the current owner to do it?

 

[Mannakin]

I think i heard that the asbestos has to be bagged and disposed of specially and it's £70 a bag just for the disposal (they're not huge bags either).

Don't mess around with trying to do this yourself and if the current owner does it, make sure he has professionals in to do it. If done incorrectly asbestos fibres can be airborne and get into the property.

My wife's father died of asbestosis, nasty.

 

[NODC]

I'm interested in this as my asbestos soffits have had wind damage (A portion has fallen down). My local waste disposal place accepts asbestos so I took it there and they happily took it.

I want to replace with upvc but not sure how to remove the remainder, read a lot online saying that soffits are considered low risk for asbestos as it’s mostly concrete but not to sure?

 

[Greavsey]

You can dispose of asbestos at Hove tip if you wrap it tightly and ring them in advance to tell them you are bringing it.

We had some left in the garden of our old house. So my father-in-law who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer at the time offered to remove it... he has since been given the all clear by some kind of miracle that the docs can't explain... you do the maths, as the Americans say!!

 

[jakarta]

All NSCers who want advice about asbestos please feel free to PM me - I have been dealing with asbestos issues since 1986 so know a reasonable amount about the stuff.

In general, however, if you have asbestos materials in your property, they are in good condition and won't be disturbed or damaged on a day to day basis just leave them where they are, they will NOT do you any harm!

 

[Blue3]

Do they need removing they pose little if any risk why not leave them alone

 

[LamieRobertson]

Do they need removing they pose little if any risk why not leave them alone

..yep and plastic board over them

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

All NSCers who want advice about asbestos please feel free to PM me - I have been dealing with asbestos issues since 1986 so know a reasonable amount about the stuff.

In general, however, if you have asbestos materials in your property, they are in good condition and won't be disturbed or damaged on a day to day basis just leave them where they are, they will NOT do you any harm!

This

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

..yep and plastic board over them

And this

 

[Mr Bridger]

Leave the gas stove on over night, but here's the important bit, don't light it.
Get a good nights snore and in the morning go down stairs and turn the light on.

Hey presto, no soffits.......

There's a company in Clacton that does it.

 

[Bold Seagull]

If you go over them with plastic, you will have a duty of care to the persons carrying out the work that the asbestos is there. You wouldn't want them drilling or such into the asbestos to fit the plastic.

 

[Notters]

They're not going to do you any harm outside.

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

If you go over them with plastic, you will have a duty of care to the persons carrying out the work that the asbestos is there. You wouldn't want them drilling or such into the asbestos to fit the plastic.

If they are proper tradesmen they would know this.
Make them a cup of tea and keep out of the way.

 

[ropey9]

I removed some asbestos corrugated sheets from an old shed, hove tip took them, I just had to double wrap with plastic sheeting.

As long as your not cutting / drilling to create asbestos dust there should be no problems, there is a lot of paranoia about asbestos removal fueled by the ET like isolation gear worn by the overpriced asbestos removers. Most of the asbestos health issues are dated from when people worked unprotected cutting asbestos in factories.

 

[rouseytastic]

Interesting thread for me. Had my soffits replaced this week. I had been told they were asbestos by the old fella in the close but got a firm in took them a day and a half. What they removed on day 1 was left outside in the front garden and when finished the next day they took it all away. Having read some of the posts on here should I be concerned....
A: that the stuff was left outside over night

B: that partials are in my loft/house?

Bare in mind none of the blokes wore any protective gear either. I ask because I know the firm (recommended) and they are fully accredited and a family team that's been around decades

 

[Sergio Garcia]

Double bag with a thick polythene, tape up the bags and take to the local tip - they should have a separate unit / sealed skip for asbestos board. In st leonards you are limited to 6 bags at a time and they take your registration number and address.

 

[Notters]

I removed some asbestos corrugated sheets from an old shed, hove tip took them, I just had to double wrap with plastic sheeting.

As long as your not cutting / drilling to create asbestos dust there should be no problems, there is a lot of paranoia about asbestos removal fueled by the ET like isolation gear worn by the overpriced asbestos removers. Most of the asbestos health issues are dated from when people worked unprotected cutting asbestos in factories.

Dont completely agree with that. Corrugated sheeting is completely safe because it only has about 0.01% asbestos in it. The particles are bound into the fabric of the material and even if you cut into it, fibres are generally not released. Materials with a high content (possibly these soffits, they may be asbestos insulation board, which is circa 50% asbestos) you have to be a bit more careful when you handle it. High content asbestos (e.g. flock or pipe lagging) needs to be treated very carefully as the fibres are not bound together. I was an asbestos consultant for several years btw.