Asbestos can found in a many of the common materials used in the building trade. Some of these materials should only be worked on by a licensed contractor.
Common materials
- Loose asbestos in ceiling or floor cavity
This was used to insulate industrial and domestic premises so can be found in between cavity walls, under floorboards and in loft spaces. It is usually a loose, fluffy insulation material (similar to candyfloss), which may be blue-grey or whitish in colour.
- Lagging
Mostly found in or on heating systems such as around boilers or calorifiers and around pipework. This type of asbestos has many different appearances but is mostly a fibrous material which flakes and powders easily.
- Sprayed coatings on ceilings, walls and beams/columns
Insulation on the underside of roofs and sometimes sides of buildings and warehouses. Also used as fire protection on steel and reinforced concrete beams/columns and on underside of floors. It is usually white or grey in colour with a rough surface, although they may have been painted.
- Asbestos insulating board
It can be found in normal building items such as wall panels boards, ceiling tiles and plasterboard. It is difficult to tell the difference between asbestos insulating board items and non-asbestos materials.
- Floortiles, textiles and composites
These can be found in fuse boxes behind the actual fuse. Old fire blankets and heat resistant gloves can also be made out of asbestos textiles. Asbestos composites can be toilet cisterns and seats, window sills, and bath panels. These asbestos-containing materials are not very distinctive from what is used now. To make sure HSE recommend you ask the owners about how long they’ve had certain things or look for a trade name.
- Textured coatings
Textured coatings were used to produce decorative finishes on ceilings and walls. In the past, they have had various trade names such as ‘Artex’. It is dependent on the particular decorative finish required ie peaks or patterns. They are hard and were originally white in colour but have often been painted over.
- Asbestos cement products
Asbestos cement is mainly a mixture of chrysotile (white asbestos) and cement, moulded and compressed to produce a range of asbestos cement products. You can find asbestos cement in many places inside and outside buildings.
- Roofing felt
Asbestos roofing felt was often used for garage roofs, outbuildings etc.
- Rope seals and gaskets
Asbestos rope seals and gaskets can be found in gas or electric heating appliances.
How Amianto Services can help you
The important thing is to not panic, we are here to help. Our highly trained specialists will start by gathering information about the building or property in question, surveying the property to identify where asbestos could be found and monitoring the potential risk.
We operate with complete transparency, ensuring we conduct our work in a way that promises our staff and customers are safe.
If you are concerned about asbestos, or have an upcoming project to discuss, contact our team of experts today via our online form, on 0151 529 7111, or email info@amiantoservices.co.uk.