How To Tell If You Have Asbestos Siding

You can t see or smell asbestos but exposure to loose fibers can cause lung disease such as mesothelioma asbestosis or lung cancer.

How to tell if you have asbestos siding.

We also provide a master index to this topic or you can try the page top or bottom search box as a quick way to find information you need. A quick visual inspection can tell you whether or not you should get your insulation tested for asbestos. Even still asbestos was phased out in the 1980s so some buildings built during that time could have still used asbestos materials. Identifying asbestos siding is a major concern for many homeowners with older homes that have cement siding.

If you aren t sure about the exact composition of your siding you should check to make sure. In a house that was built in that era if it did have asbestos it would most likely be an asbestos tile. Identifying asbestos siding is impossible unless you have a sample tested in a lab. We also summarize the differences among manufactured lookalike siding products such as asbestos cement siding fiber cement siding and hardboard siding differences that can be confusing to many people.

Just to make things more complicated asbestos siding doesn t always look the same. The date of the building or material can also tell you a lot about asbestos risk. That s called a cement asbestos tile because the asbestos is inside of a cement binder. However asbestos fibers can cause serious lung and respiratory problems if inhaled.

The health risks of asbestos have been known for many years since the early 1960s. If your siding fits either of these descriptions you should consider having it tested. The siding may also contain asbestos if it is old with a wood grain texture to resemble cedar. Actually what he said he mentioned lap board is what he said.

Inhaled asbestos fibers have definitively been linked to a variety of lung diseases including asbestosis and different types of cancer such as mesothelioma. They ll take fingernail sized samples and test them in a laboratory. So if it s not a tile then it s not likely to be asbestos. Buildings made between the 1940s and the 1980s are very likely to have used asbestos materials.

Loose fill insulation if your attic or wall insulation is in batt or blanket form whether it s fiberglass cellulose or another material you generally don t have to be concerned about asbestos. Testing your siding for asbestos. These shingles are generally 12 by 24 inches and the bottom tends to have a wave like pattern though that is not always the case. No level of exposure to asbestos is deemed safe although the people suffering from serious asbestos related diseases are usually those who have handled.

The only reliable way to know if your home contains asbestos is to hire an environmental consulting firm or asbestos building inspector for asbestos testing. Although homes built after the 1980s are generally safe some newer builds may also have asbestos lurking in the siding.