Is Asbestos a Problem?

When carrying out a survey of a property built prior to 2000 we would assume that there is likely to be some asbestos content in parts of the building e.g. textured coatings, old fittings, roofing materials, etc.

Asbestos is a traditional building material which has been used for many years. Over the years the type and quality of the material and its form of construction have changed and some asbestos materials are more acceptable than others. Many modern forms of asbestos are good and hard and may not necessarily constitute a health risk but flaky or loose asbestos material is dangerous. No matter how good the asbestos appears, as a material it should never be cut, drilled or damaged in any way. Many local authority amenity tips now refuse to accept any asbestos-based materials other than by prior arrangement and it is generally necessary to have old asbestos material removed by a specialist company and this can be costly. It is sensible to accept that asbestos, as a material, has now gained a ‘bad’ reputation with the general public who view all types and ages of the material as equally dangerous, even though this may be technically wrong. In view of this general attitude it is advisable to replace asbestos materials whenever the opportunity arises.

We generally advise further tests and analysis by specialists to confirm the levels and risk of asbestos in a property