Asbestos?

[Dutchie]

The soffits of the garage eaves almost fell down, so I removed a couple of sheets.
The house is from 198?. Erring on the save side I was wearing a P2GV mask.

Do you think the stuff on the photo is asbestos? 86454

[johnc]

Bit hard to tell from the photo but if its 80's then it may contain asbestos and you should assume it does, it looks like the older sheet so probably does. I'd bag and dispose properly but you could get it tested if really interested.

[ringtail]

A bit hard to tell but it looks too layered to be asbestos so I would say no. The dimpled back of the sheet looks about right though. As johnc said, assume that everything contains asbestos until proven otherwise.

[jiggy]

The dimpled back is usually an indicator of the older style sheeting, so probably asbestos, also usually harder and more brittle than the modern style.86 to 87 was the supposed phase out of asbestos but better safe than sorry.

[ringtail]

Bear in mind that the dimpled back is the least reliable method of ID. I bought 4 sheets of BCG Durasheet yesterday and all had a dimpled back. The more I look at that sample the more it looks like hardiflex but better to be cautious, not alarmed.

[phill green]

push a few tiles up along the eave (in a different spot of course) and look for any stickers/identifying marks for asbestos. Most 80's era places ive messed around on have any asbestos marked as such (eave lining, heater flues etc)

Of course if you are careful, use the right respirator and treat all cement sheet as though it contains the stuff you should be fine.

[ringtail]

I must say that Ive noticed the markings too, but only in 80's and later houses. Things built in the 50's to the 80's have no markings at all.

[Ken-67]

Asbestos sheeting is far more brittle than fibre cement, and, because of manufacturing methods does not break in the lamination way the photo shows. However there are all kinds of contaminents in the layers of dust on the top of the sheets, so wearing a mask is always a good idea.

[asbestosMan]

Looks like asbestos to me. I would at the minimum seal it with pva glue and water in a spray bottle, or have professionals remove it making sure they follow a removal plan