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Asbestos roof or not?


nijntje
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Hello!

We have an offer accepted on a farm with several buildings, one house dates from 1660 or something and has a roof that we think is asbestos. However, we have the test results back and it does not mention asbestos roof for this house. I wonder if it has been checked (at the day of the tests there was still some snow on the roofs!). I have send an email to the company that did the tests but no answer. Can someone tell if this is asbestos or not?  http://i49.tinypic.com/30wt2tc.jpg

Thanks!

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Almost certainly eternit type composite. It will have a grey dimpled underside and will in all likelyhood contain an element of asbestos. The later slipped in tiles possibly not. It doesn't look like natual slate. Incidentally the mousse / moss likes growing on these roofs.
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I saw a lot of these diamond-shaped tiles on roofs in Normandy.

It' not a natural slate and might have some asbestos content but, of course, there's no way of knowing without a proper test in a lab.

In fact, there was a house we nearly bought but shied from because it had just such a roof.  Not, I hasten to add, because we were worried about the roof as such but about the cost of replacing it as it wasn't in a very good state.

We knew nothing about the costs of roof replacement in those early days and we had to be careful to stick to our budget.

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The first time I saw that type of slate was when someone was telling me about how expensive it would be to demolish that part of their building because of the asbestos roof.  Down our way most roofs are terra cotta so whenever I see those slates now I think ASBO.

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Even in our ignorant state, we suspected replacement might be expensive. 

And it was a beautiful house but our head ruled our heart and it was probably just as well because, in the time that we had to wait for another suitable house, our house back in the UK went up tens of thousands of pounds in value.

In the end, we were able to buy well below budget.

Now you have posted, broy, I think we were doubly lucky![:D]

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[quote user="broy"]Mind you, unless I was going to demolish it or reroof it I wouldn't mind.
[/quote]

Agreed, broy, if left undisturbed, there isn't a problem.  However, if the state of the roof is ropey and replacement could be fairly imminent, then you'd clearly have to take costs into account, n'est ce pas?

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Dont be put off by your soi disant asbestos roof, most of the properties in my area use this roofing material.

Ardoise quarante quarante en tole fibro last for years so you would only be looking to change them if you need to re-roof totally for other reasons.

Unlike tole onduléé they can easily and safely be removed with minimum disturbance, and you dont need to smash them to pieces to bag them up safely.

Yes I know that most dechetteries unless you are one of the lucky comunes wont accept them but there are other avenues for disposal rather than calling in the men in white suits, a quick advert in Leboncoin will soon have them whisked off your hands by a bricoleur extending his property or even a farmer wanting to consolidate a muddy track, most of the boggy areas of randonée parcours around me which are maintained by the commune are surfaced with this material and very good it is too.

Failing that you can dispose of it for free if properly bagged at many UK council tips.

FWIW newer ardoise and toles en fibrocement have a vein of colour (bleue I think) running through the middle to show that they are asbestos free, I wonedered how they recycled all that blue asbestos [;-)]

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I wouldn't recommend using anything containing asbestos fibres as road or path making material which will get crushed and potentially release fibres to atmosphere.

These tiles are easily removed and replaced with the later non asbestos type the back roof slop to my house has already been done due to storm damage in the eighties.

I shall strip the roof ultimately and sheet it I will then ask the local builders merchant to take the bagged removed material away to the tip when he delivers the new.

And yes he is licensed to do so and yes there will be a fee of a couple of hundred euros

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[quote user="BIG MAC"]

I wouldn't recommend using anything containing asbestos fibres as road or path making material which will get crushed and potentially release fibres to atmosphere.

[/quote]

Moi non plus. I was shocked when I saw it but no-one else appeared concerned, it was however remarkably good for the job.

When I was trying to find where to take my asbestos rofig sheet the guy who runs the dechetterie taht refused me suggested that I tip it on a country path, not wishing to do this I asked my Maire, dig a hole was his response.

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Thanks everyone for the replies!

I have contacted the company who did the test, he told me he checked the roof and it was NOT asbestos.

The immobilier also doubble checked with the owners and was also told it is the regular slate and not the asbestos slates that are used! The roof has been redone not so long ago...so that is really good news because we were almost certain it was asbestos! I guess you never know :)

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