house with asbestos siding

[happyscooter]

So some of you know that DH and I have been looking at a few houses to buy to renovate and either rent or sell.  The one I wanted was in a great location but DH didn't think we should.  I would not try to talk him into it since I knew he would be the one to have to do a lot of the heavy work.  So it's gone.  Another one we have looked at is in a good area, low property taxes, and the house doesn't need that much work.  However, the outside is the old asbestos shingles.  (For those of you under the age of 50, they look like cedar shakes but they are made out of thin ceramic material, or so it sounds like it)  There is nothing wrong with the shingles, the house would look so much better with another kind of siding.  I have been told DO NOT TOUCH THEM.  And I have been told that the asbestos in them is so small that there really is no problem.  The inside is nice, there really isn't anything major to do.  A few things but not BIG structural.  How do I find out if there would potentially be a problem?  Unless we actually put in a bid and buy the house, we can't have someone remove a tile to have it tested.  Then it is too late.

Suggestions?

[Deleted]

Why do you need to have them tested if you already know the contain asbestos?

[swamp]

The house I grew up in had asbestos siding. Its still there with the asbestos siding and has changed hands at least twice since my parents sold it 10 years ago.

[happyscooter]

If the content is low, we would remove it to put up something else. 

[happyscooter]

Keep responding.  I am off to the gym.

[zibazinski]

Remediation for it can cost a lot of money and they usually don't know until they start how bad it is. I'm surprised it was allowed to sell without being fixed as soon as it was discovered.

[Deleted]

IMHO I would leave it up.  If you remove it the "correct" way it is going to be a huge pain because asbestos is  considered so terrible these days..   It is going to be expensive.    If you do it under the radar you will be able to do it much, much cheaper, but that may be tough to do because it is on the outside of the house.

[973beachbum]

Oct 13, 2013 8:10:27 GMT -5 happyscooter said:

If the content is low, we would remove it to put up something else. 

Desn't matter, you still shouldn't ever remove it.  The only way the asbestos can cause a problem is when it is taken off or breaks and becomes friable.  Under the new siding it is as safe as it can possibly be.  Taking it off would be a hazadous material removal situation that would actually put everyone is much more danger from the asbestos than leaving it there or covering it up, not to mention doing a good job of emptying your wallet.

I used to live in a neighborhood where most of the houses had asbestos shakes either as is or under vinyl siding.  No one ever had a problem putting the new siding over the asbestos.

Personally if I liked the house and location and it was the right price I would buy it no problem.  HTH and good luck!.  

[Deleted]

Oct 13, 2013 8:27:28 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

Oct 13, 2013 8:10:27 GMT -5 happyscooter said:

If the content is low, we would remove it to put up something else. 

Desn't matter, you still shouldn't ever remove it.  The only way the asbestos can cause a problem is when it is taken off or breaks and becomes friable.  Under the new siding it is as safe as it can possibly be.  Taking it off would be a hazadous material removal situation that would actually put everyone is much more danger from the asbestos than leaving it there or covering it up, not to mention doing a good job of emptying your wallet.

I used to live in a neighborhood where most of the houses had asbestos shakes either as is or under vinyl siding.  No one ever had a problem putting the new siding over the asbestos.

Personally if I liked the house and location and it was the right price I would buy it no problem.  HTH and good luck!.  

Unless you have to drill or cut through the tiles to put up new siding.  That pulverized the tile material making the asbestos airborne which can be hazardous.

[Deleted]

I had a house with real cedar shakes.  I hated them, by the way. While that's another story, are these faux ones literally indestructible?  Otherwise, aren't they going to have to replaced someday?  And if you are the owner when that someday comes along, it will be expensive.

Also, how can you put new siding on top of that uneven surface?

I'd run from this house personally.  Given the time period, there is probably asbestos throughout the house from the floor tiles on up.

[Deleted]

I did a search on this because I used to own a 2-family that had asbestos shingles, built just before 1900. The place is still standing and still has them, from what I can see on Zillow.com.

From what I'm seeing, a whole lot depends on local regulations. The siding itself wears like iron; it's really asbestos imbedded in a type of cement so it's chemically inert and not a health hazard if it's just sitting there. It can also be painted and there are paints that seal it, making it even less likely that any particles will get into the air. Some municipalities will let you remove it yourself (with all kinds of precautions and paperwork, of course).

One good indicator might be how common this siding is in the area. If every other home has it, people are used to it and buyers will find that they don't have a lot of options. If it's the only one in town it could be a deal-breaker when you want to resell.

[973beachbum]

Oct 13, 2013 8:29:49 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

Oct 13, 2013 8:27:28 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

Desn't matter, you still shouldn't ever remove it.  The only way the asbestos can cause a problem is when it is taken off or breaks and becomes friable.  Under the new siding it is as safe as it can possibly be.  Taking it off would be a hazadous material removal situation that would actually put everyone is much more danger from the asbestos than leaving it there or covering it up, not to mention doing a good job of emptying your wallet.

I used to live in a neighborhood where most of the houses had asbestos shakes either as is or under vinyl siding.  No one ever had a problem putting the new siding over the asbestos.

Personally if I liked the house and location and it was the right price I would buy it no problem.  HTH and good luck!.  

Unless you have to drill or cut through the tiles to put up new siding.  That pulverized the tile material making the asbestos airborne which can be hazardous.

No you are still better off leaving it where it is and siding over the top of it.   The siding would be on top so any "dust" would be blocked by the siding itself.  Of course the less nails ect the better but it is still MUCH less hazadous staying where it is than being removed and trying to do that without any dust getting in the air.  

I know the instinct is to get the material out but leaving it where it is is much safer. 

[MarleyKeezy78]

I think you can put new siding over the exsisting asbestos to seal it. Way less $$ that having it pulled off.


ETA: did not read the post above 

[whoami]

MILs house has asbestos tile on some of the floors.  We are prepping the house for sale and were told to leave it alone and throw carpet over the top.  I guess it has to be disclosed, but the carpet makes it acceptable (not to me as I would never purchase a house with asbestos tile on the floor carpeted or not but whatever).  

[Deleted]

Oct 13, 2013 7:55:34 GMT -5 happyscooter said:

So some of you know that DH and I have been looking at a few houses to buy to renovate and either rent or sell.  The one I wanted was in a great location but DH didn't think we should.  I would not try to talk him into it since I knew he would be the one to have to do a lot of the heavy work.  So it's gone.  Another one we have looked at is in a good area, low property taxes, and the house doesn't need that much work.  However, the outside is the old asbestos shingles.  (For those of you under the age of 50, they look like cedar shakes but they are made out of thin ceramic material, or so it sounds like it)  There is nothing wrong with the shingles, the house would look so much better with another kind of siding.  I have been told DO NOT TOUCH THEM.  And I have been told that the asbestos in them is so small that there really is no problem.  The inside is nice, there really isn't anything major to do.  A few things but not BIG structural.  How do I find out if there would potentially be a problem?  Unless we actually put in a bid and buy the house, we can't have someone remove a tile to have it tested.  Then it is too late.

Suggestions?

If you are going to do the removal yourself, it is no big deal - special respirator + coveralls 
If you hire someone else out to do it, then they push you into remediation specialists & it suddenly costs 10's of thousands

If you are going to do the work, you just need to talk to your local waste management & find out what the disposal rules & costs are because that is the next expensive part.  

Asbestos siding would not put me off of a nice home, but you do need to bid being aware that re-siding the house is something you need to do before you sell, so you need to factor that into the offer price.  

ETA: I owned and sold a home with the asbestos siding still on it.  It makes buyers tichy but it is not actually an issue if the tiles are intact etc.  Unlike beach, if I am going through a residing process, I would remove it.  If it is under the new siding, you need to disclose it, so it does not resolve the issue for buyers if it is still on the house.

[Nazgul Girl]

    I would not buy the home because of future possible health code issues.   The siding can get friable ( I live just twenty to twenty-five miles away from an area with a plethora of deteriorating housing stock ) and chip away, and it's not unusual to drive down a block with deserted houses, and see pieces of asbestos siding laying around on the lot of one of this type of home.   Personally, I wouldn't want one that has them.

[Deleted]

I have no idea if this would be a consideration for homeowners insurance or not. But something else to check out. We are getting dumped by our insurance co because our new house has a cedar shingle roof (fire treated). Too bad for them, because they are also losing all of our other insurance too....

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

As long as asbestos remains intact, it's not a health issue. I know that my lab had a lot of asbestos in the lab benches and floor, but both were in excellent shape so there were no health issues when we did the renovations, they just worked around these issues.

A lot depends upon the shape of the siding. Asbestos was a perfect material and was used at the time because it WAS such a dependable and long lasting material, that is resistant to fire and breaking. It's only when it is disturbed (and drilling into the siding would disturb it) where it becomes a health issue.

I'm not sure I'd use this as an exclusion factor.

[Timberwolf]

I think I must own Athena's old house  .  I have a two-family pre-1900 home that is sided with asbestos shingles.  I was very young when I bought the house and too dumb to know anything about this type of siding.  I have lived in this house for 25 years now and never had a problem with the siding.  In fact, the siding has been very, very good.  It's looks the same now as it did when I bought the place (except I had the house painted because I got tired of the original color and it takes paint well, too). 

One thing I would not recommend is trying to side over it.  The siding tiles are very, very brittle and break easily when trying to pound nails into them.  (This is virtually the only way to break these tiles, though) You have to pre-drill with a diamond-tipped drill bit. 

I know most people shy away from anything asbestos and I probably would have too if I had known better, but I was suprised how very durable they turned out to be.  Replacing them might be a whole "nother" can of worms, but luckily they never seem to need replacing.  Painting might be the better option.

[happyscooter]

It is in good shape, it would just look nicer with new siding.  I still have to call and ask the city a few questions.

[tskeeter]

One of the things to recognize is that there are a lot of unreasonably emotional issues associated with buying, selling, and renting homes.  Some examples are mold, lead paint, radon, high tension power lines, and asbestos.  Even mention these words, much less include them in some kind of a disclosure, and a lot of buyers/renters are going to run for the hills.

If you're considering buying a home with any of these issues, I'd plan on doing a complete and permanent remediation.  Not encapsulation. And factor the cost into your offer. 

[Tiny]

Asbestos shingles on houses is pretty common in my area. The choices are: paint them, put new siding over them, or spend a bazillion dollars and have them removed and disposed of. Most people opt for new siding (or paint the house).

How are you feeling about the lead paint that is surely in the houses you are looking at?

My actual advice would be to find out how your city/town/area deals with the siding - you probably aren't the first person to deal with it... what are the city/towns/area's regulations about it? Will they let you paint the tiles or side over them? If you hire someone who needs to drill thru them (like a cable/satillite installer) do you need special permits?

I'd learn all I can about the building codes/permit process in the area AS well as any 'inspections' and compliance stuff for buying and selling a hosue - it's useful info since you are looking to buy a home.

Knowledge of the building codes/and city inspections for houses bought/sold was very valuable to me when I was buying an 'investment property' that needed work - because those costs played into my assessment of whether a house was worth putting in a bid on (ie... how much above and beyond the cost of the house I would have to spend to get it rental ready - ie meeting the city's inspection). As it was my little Starter House needed 3K in work from the city inspection that took me by surprise -- the other 6K of 'problems' I anticipated. The house needed special 'fire escape' type windows in the bedrooms and in the basement. As well as some changes to the securty gates/doors that were already on the house.

Know your local building codes.