How To Identify Asbestos Siding

It may be smooth or have a pressed wood grain pattern on the surface of the board.

How to identify asbestos siding. Look specifically for any printed. Contractors and inspectors or anyone identifying asbestos siding can t tell from just an on site inspection whether or not your siding really has asbestos in it. Check the manufacturer and product name on the insulation label and do a web search to find out if. Look for asbestos cement shingles a mixture of asbestos fibers and cement or asbestos cement corrugated roofing which is thicker and more often found on old sheds barns and low income housing.

Look for a siding that is made to look like roof shingles. It is ususally in a shingle shake form 12 x24. On the outside of buildings asbestos sheets were often joined together with aluminum runners. Look specifically for any printed information that identifies the siding manufacturer or date of.

It does have some characteristics too look for. Older style cement siding shingles were traditionally made by mixing asbestos into the cement in order to fireproof and strengthen siding. The only true way to identify asbestos siding is to have it tested. Identifying possible asbestos materials 1.

As the experts at asbestos siding note it is sometimes difficult to spot because it was often manufactured to resemble different types of siding in a variety of colors and textures. Just to make things more complicated asbestos siding doesn t always look the same. While an expert lab test using polarized light microscopy may be needed to identify the specific type of asbestos fiber or to identify the presence of asbestos in air or dust samples many asbestos containing building products not only are obvious and easy to recognize but since there were not other look alike products that were not asbestos a visual identification of this material can be virtually a certainty in many cases. The only way to be sure if your siding has asbestos in it is to collect a sample and send it to an accredited testing lab.

How to identify asbestos siding determine the age of your home by looking at the property deed or any other records about its construction. While an expert lab test using polarized light microscopy may be needed to identify the specific type of asbestos fiber or to identify the presence of asbestos in air or dust samples many asbestos containing building products not only are obvious and easy to recognize but since there were not other look alike products that were not asbestos a visual identification of this material can be virtually a certainty in many cases.