Asbestos... how lethal is it

[petemcr 10]

I've managed to obtain a garage near to my house to store my VR6 in and get her sorted, which is really handy because it is within walking distance of my house, however the guy explained it's got an asbestos roof, which did put me off a bit because of the dangers you surrounding it but for the price and the proximity I just decided to get it.

 

I'm sure someone on here might have come across asbestos before, or hoping someone has and knows the dangers about it, everyone keeps saying "it's fine as long as you don't disturb it", thing is it turns out it's about 90% asbestos... should I start wearing some of the filtered masks from now on when working in there? or is that going over the top and is it just a case of as long as I don't drill in to it it will be fine

 

any info on it would be handy, just as long as it's not "you shouldn't have got it and just gone out and got another" like there's a large abundance of garages around, because it has taken me a good year to even find this one in my area

 

Here is a pic of said garage, isn't the best there is, me and a friend are thinking about getting some thin wood and going around and putting a skin of it up on the inside to help lower the chances of knocking the asbestos

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]75624[/ATTACH]

 

cheers

Edited September 10, 2013 by petemcr

[EJ Taylor 22]

the link doesn't work mate... can you try get a photo up... Im a flat roofing surveyor

[Jim 1]

I believe the only issues with asbestos come when you disturb it, subsequently getting dust out of it. You should be fine working in the garage provided you don't start smashing holes in the roof! :)

[EJ Taylor 22]

All dependant on what type of asbestos it is....

[robrado974 1]

As said as long as you don't disturb it , you should be fine .

[VR6 South 0]

As said as long as you don't disturb it , you should be fine .

 

Also as long as the asbestos containing material is not disturbed, in a good state of repair ie undamaged and not friable (potentially or signs of being crumbly) there should be no real issues. The chances are that you have already been in areas and buildings where asbestos is present - older buildings, barns. artex, lino floor tiles and a lot of schools also. The key thing is that you are not put in the position where you may potentailly inhale airborne asbestos fibres. I speak from experince being a Safety Practitioner who sadly lost a very close relative to mesothelioma very recently. The HSE web site will tell you exactly what you need to know :)

[Jim 1]

It's what killed Steve McQueen! :|

[Wullie 1]

Lots of info here http://www.aic.org.uk/asbestos_cement.htm

[davidwort 0]

don't go standing on it, that can be pretty lethal

[Jim 1]

Here's a question - it says it should be inspected regularly. My lockup garage has, I believe, an asbestos roof. I don't think in the last... 11 years of having it, the letting agents have been out to inspect it. Should I be kicking their butts and making them come check it over?

[seanl82 23]

It may be worth it if you think there are any problems Jim, but knowing Letting Agents like I do, its highly unlikely they'd give a toss or volunteer their time to it unless it involved them receiving something in return, or if there were clear problems that may result in Legal Action against them. Your eye is probably better than some overpaid, underworked muppet that pretends to know something about property anyway.

[petemcr 10]

cheers for all the info guys, it's funny because I was talking to my barber while getting my hair cut about it and he pointed to one of the light fixtures, it had a new style lamp clipped in to what looked like an old bracket which he explained, turns out the roof is asbestos and they couldn't remove the old bracket when the light went so they had to put a new one in and clip it in. By the looks of it he has had the roof painted, which I assume is to stop any dust particles etc... so I may do the same, or just put a skinned layer of wood around the inside of it, just attache it to the wooden beams... should make it look more tidy inside as well

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]75625[/ATTACH]

 

2nd attempt to attache a pic of the garage, not the best because I had to do it at night

[VR6 South 0]

You could always tack some damp proof membrane around the area in concern if it worries you. It will help to stop water getting in as well if there any issues with leaks.

[petemcr 10]

You could always tack some damp proof membrane around the area in concern if it worries you. It will help to stop water getting in as well if there any issues with leaks.

 

Not a bad idea, I might see if I can source some wood cheap, if not I might go down this route, would help keep the car nice and dry as well

[petemcr 10]

the link doesn't work mate... can you try get a photo up... Im a flat roofing surveyor

 

Here are some pics of the interior

 

 

Am I working in some kind of death trap? Or just being soft

[seanl82 23]

Are the walls Asbestos too? The wooden supports look relatively strong from what I can see, but there are some gaping holes there so I don't think that'll last too long! I'd be very dubious about working in there like that tbh. A chipboard or plywood inner skin would help but not sure for how long. If those supports decay and break, both you and the car are in a situation I'd not like to be in! Keep looking for another garage if I were you mate.

[VR6 South 0]

Here are some pics of the interior

 

 

Am I working in some kind of death trap? Or just being soft

 

Not the best garage I have seen by far. My advice would be to find another garage to keep both yourself and the Corrado out of harms way. The owner or landlord should ensure that any building which they lease is safe to occupy, pretty much in the same way as gas certificates are required for all leased premises. I would be very surpised if they have the garage insured to lease in it's current condition.

[petemcr 10]

Yea, it's not the best but as I said, not really a large amount of garages in the area to pick and choose, I've been looking out for one for a while. The thing is with this apparently it's this guys land and he rented it out to someone who had the garage put up, she's moved now so he is left with the garage, so in theory all I'm renting is the land, I don't think he really cares what I do there so I'm wondering if it would be best to get out someone who can remove the asbestos and I get some wooden sides put up and then have the roof removed

[Micky fletch 10]

its a cracking picture buddy:cool:

[petemcr 10]

Well, I've just been on the phone to an asbestos industrial surveyor who go out to sites where the premises contain high amounts of asbestos and he has sort of put it in to perspective for me, as soon as I explained it was a garage that was built he pretty much described how it looked and that it may have some damaged from weather etc... and was pretty much spot on with what it is, apparently what they used was cement mixed with asbestos, which is why it's thick like plywood and contains 18% asbestos, he told me which kind it was but it's pretty much white asbestos. He said even if they surveyed it and found it did have asbestos that I'm not really in need to worry, if you broke a fresh piece of even now you'd be pretty unlucky apparently to release any fibers because of the low content of it.

 

He just told me what I need to do, I'm going to remove a very small section of it where it has been broke before and send it in so they can check what type of asbestos it is, but he said even when the confirm if it is there's not much that can be done and he said it would be fine to use it, you have to apparently get this stuff and run it through a grinder just to be able to release the fibers

 

They're pretty reputable, so I'm going to send in a piece to him and let wait for info on it, but I'm not half as worried as I was before.

 

http://www.asbestos-surveys-uk.co.uk/

[petemcr 10]

its a cracking picture buddy:cool:

 

Ta, here's one I did of my daily, getting to be pretty handy with the DSLR

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]75627[/ATTACH]

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Bloody hell, I'd be ripping that down (in a hazardous waste suit / respirator obviously) based purely on it's flimsiness and lack of weather sealing :lol:

 

I could be wrong, but wasn't it repeated exposure to asbestos dust that caused the health problems?

 

Brake pads used to be made of asbestos (and bloody brilliant they were too) which meant lots of dust potentially drawn into car cabins, but it was never exposed as an issue in passenger cars and buses?

[petemcr 10]

As long as it's the cement with low concentration of asbestos used then it will have to do for now, just had another look and there are 0 garages to rent near to me.