See our inspection advice at asbestos fiber cement roofing and our advice about tile and slate roof inspections found in this document below.
Walking on asbestos roof.
Advice about inspecting walking on cement asbestos or fiber cement roofs.
Asbestos is lethal manys the man 2 i know of broke their back off one of those roofs the reason is you could walk across that roof nearly do a jig on it and be fine and then without warning you will drop through.
The more weathered your roof gets the more risk there is of deterioration which might expose your family and neighbors to harmful asbestos fibers.
Cement asbestos roof shingles.
Though we ve walked carefully on a few such roofs it s easy to damage them.
Homes with asbestos roofs are generally harder or more expensive to insure.
Hi the first floor of my house has large portion of it covered by asbestos cement it has been so for a few decades now.
Its the lack of warning thats caught lads out.
The simple fact is that you should never walk directly on an asbestos roof.
It is the fall from height more than anything else that makes asbestos roofs dangerous.
Leave asbestos cement products around the garden or where they may be broken.
Some people including experienced roofers claim that it is safe to walk along the line of the purlins where the roof sheet fixings are visible but this is definitely not the case since the purlins are usually quite narrow often only a few inches wide.
Consequently safe access systems must be in place before any work commences to both prevent and arrest falls from height.
When working indoors do.
On your life please do not walk on that roof.
Precautions to take with asbestos roofing.
It s best to stay off of this surface.
If you walk on on an asbestos roof sheet it can give way without warning leading to serious injury or even death.
If you are the building owner then there is an additional responsibility involved as you could be held culpable for the effects of the substance.
Selling a property that you know or suspect contains asbestos can be a challenge.
Cracking of the asbestos cement materials usually from mechanical stress from walking on impact or around fasteners or due to thermal movement of the materials see larsen 1990 and hansen 2009.
Walk on corrugated asbestos cement roofs if it can be avoided many people have been injured by falling through weathered asbestos cement roofs while attempting to treat or repair the roof surface.
The roof was in excellent condition for long but over the past few months there were a few incidents of tree branches falling on the roof during heavy winds causing small portions of the roof on the edges to break off.
Not only can this mean people fall through the roof from walking on it but the roof will more easily break from other causes such as hail or falling branches and so release asbestos fibres.
These shingles are as fragile as slate.
