What Does Old Asbestos Siding Look Like

The front may have a grainy sandy texture.

What does old asbestos siding look like.

The original shingles of both asbestos cement and fiber cement usually come from the factory painted white on one side. The vermiculate look like popcorn and many of you might remember your old high school science lab with this material. The front appears with a grainy sandy like texture. It is usually brittle and the back may be black and have the appearance of tar paper.

The use of a pressure washer for maintenance can crack the siding and lead to moisture intrusion if the pressure setting is high enough. It was commonly used in a range of materials from brake pads to roofing materials. Asbestos cement siding is very brittle and can be easily chipped cracked or broken. Chrysotile was the most widely used asbestos and is commonly referred to as white asbestos.

Asbestos cement can be dangerous if pulverized by sawing sanding breaking etc. Asbestos ceilings can be found in many forms which include asbestos fibre cement sheet fibro vermiculite spray applied ceilings. Asbestos ceiling tiles are also comonly used. These shingles are generally 12 by 24 inches and the bottom tends to have a wave like pattern though that is not always the case.

Owners often painted cement asbestos shingle siding to make it look fresh or if it was weathered and fuzzy to preserve it. These products use asbestos with a binder of portland cement. Layers of paint or finish coatings. The siding may also contain asbestos if it is old with a wood grain texture to resemble cedar.

Asbestos roofing mastics often contained asbestos fibers and asbestos was a major ingredient in cement asbestos slate look alike products or roof tiles or cement asbestos roof shingles. Asbestos siding usually looks a lot like roof shingles. Look for siding that looks like roof shingles. Unfortunately asbestos siding was originally designed to mimic many different types of materials.

Amosite is also known as brown asbestos. Asbestos siding was manufactured to resemble many materials so it won t always look the same. Testing your siding for asbestos if your siding fits either of these descriptions you should consider having it tested.