Avoid houses with asbestos cement roofs?

[Rödmyran]

But please, don't spread your paranoia as if it were facts. To TS, yes, one can be scared and foolish. My advice is not to listen to those who speak in this manner. 1 asbestos fiber

Unfortunately, the knowledge about asbestos is practically non-existent in our long country. It is a fact that asbestos is a common substance in houses built before '82. That doesn't mean it's impossible to remediate! It's easy to take a tape sample and send it in for analysis to determine whether it contains asbestos or not. Unfortunately, it's a fact that it can take just one fiber, but not everyone is that unlucky! However, it's a reason to be careful if you're doing the remediation yourself.

 

[useless]

Unfortunately, it is a fact that a single fiber can be enough, but not everyone is that unlucky! However, it's a reason to be careful if you're doing the remediation yourself.

So the 100-1000 fibers per cubic meter of air that are more or less naturally everywhere are harmless, but if you happen to pull loose one fiber from the asbestos roof of the house, you can die?

 

[z_bumbi]

Include in the budget the ability to replace the roof regardless of the material when it is so old. If you choose a metal roof as a replacement, it won't be too expensive, even with the cost of cleaning included in the price.

 

[blackarrow]

Eternit roofs make me associate with much drearier roofs than that one. There are companies that perform roof treatments on eternit roofs. First inspection, if okay cleaning/kill off growth, wait a year, apply new surface layer (paint).

You don't have to worry about asbestos fibers coming loose and get a life extension for the roof.

 

[Krikkan]

Unfortunately, it is a fact that just one fiber can be enough, but not everyone is that unlucky! But it's a reason to be meticulous if you are decontaminating yourself.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fiber, and inhaling fibers increases the risk of developing certain types of diseases. Saying that it only takes inhaling a single asbestos fiber is both true and exaggerated. Cancer starts in a single cell, whose genetic material has been damaged. If you hadn't inhaled that specific asbestos fiber that damaged that particular cell, you wouldn't have gotten sick. Getting sunburned increases the risk of skin cancer, but one can get skin cancer without ever having been sunburned, and one can get sunburned many times throughout a lifetime and still never get skin cancer. The same applies to asbestos. Inhaling asbestos fibers increases the risk of disease; the more asbestos you inhale, the greater the risk increase (but no guarantee of getting sick). I think it's reasonable to protect oneself from carcinogens of all kinds, but many others don't seem to mind exposing themselves to cigarette smoke, alcohol, sun, exhaust fumes, etc.

To TS: if you can afford to replace the roof and decontaminate, buy the house if it checks out otherwise.

 

[avdpos]

Count on the high risk that you may have to tear down the roof yourself at some point later. The risk of you doing it yourself once is extremely low - but craftsmen who risk this every day need significantly greater safety considerations. So if you can tear it down yourself later, it will be much cheaper and easier to find a craftsman willing to do the job (the latter is probably the most important).

 

[FGLIN]

This paranoia about asbestos! People smoke, live in cities and breathe exhaust fumes, rubber, and asphalt particles without a problem. But a single asbestos particle is a death sentence. Think back when the brakes on cars, trains, subways were made of asbestos and it was prevalent in the air. Did people die like flies?

Have respect for asbestos, but it's not unmanageable. An idea could be to coat the roof with some dust binder, linseed oil, or cheap paint to bind weathered fibers, at least on the top side where it weathers most. Talk to a building supply store or paint shop. Don't use a simple face mask, but buy a half-mask or full-mask approved for asbestos, and preferably wear old clothes that can then be put in a bag and thrown away. It has actually been observed that not only the workers in the Eternit factory in Lomma but also their wives, who for many years washed their heavily dusty clothes, have shown an increased incidence of pleural cancer.

 

[hakan_o]

Had the roof replaced a couple of years ago. It was concrete tiles with asbestos in them.

You can take down the roof yourself. It will be cheaper. There are no specific restrictions for private individuals other than when you have to dispose of it at the dump. Well wrapped, etc.
If a construction company is to take down the roof, it is immediately subject to a lot of restrictions and rules, and replacing the roof becomes very much more expensive.

 

[Jonasdzm]

Hi, after many years of searching, I've found a house I really like. I don't know much about houses right now, but I'm trying to learn.

The house has an asbestos cement roof, and after a quick google search, I found out that it was asbestos? I have two small children, so I'm a bit cautious. Built in the 60s. Should I avoid buying the house? Do I need to replace it? Can I leave it as is? Is it easy to clean?

Can you investigate to ensure it doesn't need to be replaced immediately?

I would buy the house if it were my dream house and if there were no serious flaws.

Our house wasn't perfect either, but it was a good price in a nice location, and it had living areas of 250m², the rest can be fixed later.

 

[ARJU]

Unfortunately, knowledge about asbestos is basically nonexistent in our elongated country. It is a fact that asbestos is a common substance in houses built before '82. That doesn't mean it's impossible to decontaminate! It's easy to take a tape sample and send it in for analysis to know if it's asbestos or not.
Unfortunately, it's a fact that just one fiber could be enough, but far from everyone is that unlucky! But it's a reason to be careful if you're doing the decontamination yourself.

Selective facts presented in a misleading way.

It is a fact that you can be hit by a truck and die the first time you cross the street!

 

[Dr Benz]

The risk with the roof is negligible. However, one should know how to handle it when the need arises.

Buy the neighboring house so you'll live next to the eternit instead.
Or how far from an eternit roof should one live?
If you have a tailwind, you can live a bit further away. But it's troublesome if the wind changes one day...!

But as many say, the eternit has probably been there for 50 years plus. And the question is how the potential felt underneath looks.

So buy if everything else feels right. But calculate with a roof replacement precisely because of age.

 

[Christer G.V.]

Hi,
I wouldn't have bought the house. You can be sure that asbestos is present in many more places in the house than just the roof. Before the dangers of asbestos were known, it was considered a super material and was used in many places. Common around water pipes, electrical wires, behind electrical cabinets, in black floor adhesive, in window putty, in floor tiles, as reinforcement in plaster, as fire protection in stoves, and more.
Personally, I wouldn't expose my children to the risk of getting cancer in 20 years (it only takes a single asbestos fiber in the wrong place to develop cancer).
I really hope you find another house you like! Go for something built after '82 when asbestos was banned
Or build new, that's what we did when we got tired of looking...

Source on that? Asbestos is included in many different materials. It is completely harmless if you do not process the material. Scaremongering is not serious! Leave the roof as it is and lay new on top. Google and check how to do it.

 

[heimlaga]

As a builder, I believe that people who lay new roofs or facades on top of old asbestos-cement should be required to do all the work and any future repairs themselves without protective equipment and pay for their own medical expenses.

The only sensible thing is to tear it off in a clean manner and replace it with other material. Otherwise, some poor soul will have to drill thousands of holes through the asbestos mess to attach the new material on top, and then other poor souls will have to tear into it without any reasonable chance of protecting themselves during every renovation and repair as long as the house stands. After which, the demolition workers will have to dig into the asbestos mess that cannot be decontaminated at a reasonable cost because it is built-in behind other materials.

 

[jcalfred]

I think I know which house it is. Extremely good location. I would probably want to have some money left to replace the roof and maybe plaster the house for aesthetics. Feels like good investments in the long run in that area.

 

[Taxture]

I think there is a very high risk that the children will die within 100 years or so