Asbestos roof- walking on

chabsey

I've a kitchen extension put up years ago which has one of those corrugated asbestos roofs. Not sure if it's an asbestos / concrete mix or what but it's a very common roofing material in older buildings around Dublin.

I've a pipe leaking outside the house, directly above this roof and am hesitant to walk on it for fear of going through it and then facing the nightmare of having to replace the roof and disposing of the asbestos.

Does anyone know offhand how strong this type of roofing is? It's small area and is flat, not on an incline. Without being able to walk on it I don't see it being possible to repair the leak.

Thanks.

Here's a photo of what the roof is like, although without the slope, ours is flat.

DublinDilbert

Its usually not very strong, or atleast you wouldn't trust it.

Can you identify where the supporting beams are?

I would be inclined to put some scaffolding planks across it, to spread out the weight, and make sure they pass over the outer walls of the structure.

chabsey

Don't think there are supporting beams, very small area. Might be wrong though.

Where can I get scaffolding beams? Are they wood? Thanks.

AckwelFoley

On your life please do not walk on that roof!!

Asbestos is lethal, manys the man (2 i know of broke their back off one of those roofs.)

The reason is - you could walk across that roof, nearly do a jig on it and be fine, and then without warning you will drop through.

Its the lack of warning thats caught lads out.

You need to put down scaffolding planks on top of it and make sure they are over the support beams

RKQ

snyper wrote: »

On your life please do not walk on that roof!!

Asbestos is lethal, manys the man (2 i know of broke their back off one of those roofs.)

I agree 100%, do not walk on that roof.
As advised above, put down timber scaffold planks or other thick timber boards to support your weight.

chabsey

Cheers, won't be walking on the roof so!

Scaffolding planks are those really thick heavy planks right? Where would I get a couple of those, and are they relatively inexpensive?

Thanks.

DublinDilbert

I'm sure a tool hire place would be rent/loan you a few of them.

If it was me and the roof was say 8 foot wide, i'd get a 16 foot length of 3 x 2 in the providers. Cut into 2 x 8 foot lengths and screw some 1/2 inch ply wood on top of them, you'd have a nice platform to work from then....

dennyire

Agree with others...do not walk on it....it wont take any weight.

You should be able to see the screw r bolts from top so you will know where they are fixed to timber purlins underneath and you will see where you can place your boards or platform.

Also check condition of timbers underneath...if they look damaged or sagging, they may need to be propped to support your planks or platform.

Am in asbestos removal business so come across this regularly

alice001

I recently bought an old council house. The engineer who approved the house neglected to tell me that the cladding he mentioned in his report was actually asbestos. It is an old back kitchen and the roof measures about 10ft by 12 ft. Any idea how much it would cost to replace ? Also, do I have any comeback with the vendor or Council ? The house had been bought out by the family but under archaic rules I still had to prove to the Council that I was in need of accommodation. I'd really appreciate anyone's advice on this because I am now paying a mortgage for a house into which I do not wish to bring my children and with the cutbacks and all this is really really making life difficult for us.

Thanks for any help.

Gordon Gekko

I had a similar sized asbestos roof on an extension when I bought my house. I paid a licensed asbestos disposer to remove it and dispose of it properly. It cost about 400 quid - he gave me a special form (called a form C or something) which is my proof that the asbestos was disposed of in accordance with law. I doubt you'd have any comeback against the vendor tbh - it's not exactly hard to spot an asbestos sheeting roof, and they didn't deliberately mislead you I assume. The engineer should have mentioned it, but if you read the small print in his report you'll see he more than likely gives himself plenty of getouts in case he missed anything as all these reports do.

Really, it's not a big deal - there must be hundreds of thousands of asbestos roofs in this country - also, I understand that the type of asbestos used in corrugated roofing is the least dangerous kind as long as you don't drill/sand it. Just pay the couple of hundred quid and get it removed properly if its an issue - although removing it will be the cheap part compared to the cost of re-roofing the kitchen.

RKQ

alice001 wrote: »

I recently bought an old council house. The engineer who approved the house neglected to tell me that the cladding he mentioned in his report was actually asbestos.

Asbestos sheeting is very common and is safe provided you do not drill, sand or break the sheets. Its the dust that can cause cancer.

It is not an immediate health issue so if cash is tight then wait till things improve and replace with Nordman roof sheet or insulated box metal cladding, (use a registered Contractor - see L.A web site). On a positive note its an opportunity to fully insulate the roof. I assume the pitch of the roof is very low, too low for slates or tiles?

The Engineer brought your attention or made reference to the "cladding". Its a legal question really, but I tend to agree with Gordon Gekko. "Buyer beware" is used in its latin form in many legal documents.

The asbestos is not a reason to get out of your mortgage. Don't worry too much about it, as long as you don't drill or cut the sheets you are safe.