Old Asbestos Roof Shingles

This way you ll avoid the hazardous dust created by tearing the shingles off.

Old asbestos roof shingles.

If you don t know the age of the shingles inspect them for wear. Do you have asbestos in your home. Asbestos was banned in 1989 so as the buildings that incorporated it age their roofing and siding will fall into disrepair. When you remove those shingles they will either come off when you pull out the nails require you to snap them off or require you to cut them.

For decades asbestos roof shingles were considered an invaluable resource offering a superior inexpensive alternative to traditional roof coverings. The most common and least expensive solution is to leave the original asbestos shingles in place and remove only the aluminum siding. Rarely if ever will they need to be cut and cutting is the one activity that creates hazardous dust. Asbestos siding in particular however has a tendency to chip crack and break with normal wear and tear of family life.

The asphalt shingle became the preferred roofing choice. Instead cover the shingles with polystyrene foam insulation panels then hang the new vinyl siding using 2 in long nails. While asbestos based roofing shingles and siding were still available their popularity had waned drastically well before the federal ban of the product in 1989. Asbestos shingles were so common during the 20th century that almost any shingles installed between 1920 and 1986 probably include asbestos.

If they look old they might have asbestos fibers in them. History asbestos shingle history begins with inventor and entrepreneur ludwig hatschek who was born in the czech republic on october 9 1856.