Is this asbestos siding?
 

Hello. I'm in Japan and I'm Japanese. I built a 2x6 house in 1995 and
installed siding made in USA. By some reason, I'm not able to contact
the contractor who built my house anymore, and I have no clue to find
out whether the siding is made of asbestos or not. I heard asbestos has
been already banned in the US since some years ago, but I have no clue
about if the siding manufactured before year 1995 contains asbestos or
not.

Here is the picture of the siding:
http://spilaris.atspace.com/siding.htm

It's approximately 9mm(0.35 inches) thick and approximately 150mm(5.9
inches) wide, but each shingle is overlapping so I don't know the real
width of the original product. I suppose the length of overlapped part
is probably some 2 inches. I suppose the siding was manufactured a few
months or a few years before 1995 since they were new.

The sidings were shipped from a building material dealer in Seattle in
1995.

I really appreciate if someone could inform me if the siding of my
house contains asbestos or not.

Incidentally, in case the siding contains asbestos, should I remove
them? Or if I paint on them thick, could I avoid the particles of
asbestos flying in the air effectively? Is removing of the siding the
only method to avoid them flying in the air? Or is there any other
method to avoid them flying in the air?

Thanks in advance.

nobody wrote:
wrote:

Incidentally, in case the siding contains asbestos, should I remove
them? Or if I paint on them thick, could I avoid the particles of
asbestos flying in the air effectively? Is removing of the siding the
only method to avoid them flying in the air? Or is there any other
method to avoid them flying in the air?

.

Your siding appears to be what we call Hardiboard, here in
the USA. It is not asbestos, but is a fiber reinforced
cement product that will really stand the test of time.
Just keep it painted to maintain its looks. The asbestos
containing siding that was once manufactured and sold here
in the USA is OK to leave on a house, so long as it is not
broken or drilled. The asbestos that you should fear is
airborne, such as dust from drilling or sawing.

Thank you so much indeed. I've been worrying about this issue for weeks
and I heave a sigh of relief now. I will keep painting on it.

Again, thanks so much.

My opinions only.

--
Thanks to spammers
Most of us now use false
ID's to cut down on unsolicited
Email.

Duane Bozarth wrote:
wrote:
...
Thank you so much indeed. I've been worrying about this issue for weeks
and I heave a sigh of relief now. I will keep painting on it.

Again, thanks so much.

And again, even if it were asbestos siding it's not a hazard in that
form...

I suppose it's not a hazard in that form, but once I started to mind
it, I felt so uneasy, and worried about it for weeks. I was going to
make an extra room in attic, and was going to install a new window. To
install it, I have to saw the siding with spreading all those particles
in the air to open a hole in the wall. If it's asbestos, my neighbors
would upset about it.

I suppose it's not a hazard in that form, but once I started to mind
it, I felt so uneasy, and worried about it for weeks. I was going to
make an extra room in attic, and was going to install a new window. To
install it, I have to saw the siding with spreading all those particles
in the air to open a hole in the wall. If it's asbestos, my neighbors
would upset about it.


Well, except that's not what you'd do.. You'd want to simply REMOVE
any asbestos shingles/tiles that overlap the area in question,
THEN cut the hole, and fill in the intervening space with
concrete/fiberglass replacements that you CAN cut.

--Goedjn

Judging from that discoloration around the window, it looks like it
might be LP siding, not HardiPlank. Around 1995, in the Seattle area,
you would have been much more likely to have someone sell you LP versus
HardiPlank. All the mushrooms growing out of the LP - and the
resulting class action lawsuits - are one of the reasons HardiPlank has
become so popular in the Northwest.

If it feels almost as hard as cement, it's probably Hardi. If it
feels like you could almost push a nail through it with your bare
hands, it's probably LP. Either way, it almost certainly contains no
asbestos. If you do have LP (or some other pressboard product) make
really sure to maintain the flashing, caulking, and paint. The stuff
can't take much exposure to water.

Richard Johnson PE
Camano Island, WA
(An hour north of Seattle)

P.S. Everything expressed here is opinion only...

I've got asbestos tiles at my work and at home. It doesn't worry me one
bit. As long as your not chewing on your siding you should be fine even
if it does have asbestos. Asbestos is a good for subdueing fires. It was
banned in 1978. If it is asbestos just where a mask when drilling holes
in it and keep it painted. You shouldn't have any problems.


--
superflysmith
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superflysmith wrote:
I've got asbestos tiles at my work and at home. It doesn't worry me
one bit. As long as your not chewing on your siding you should be
fine even if it does have asbestos. Asbestos is a good for subdueing
fires. It was banned in 1978. If it is asbestos just where a mask
when drilling holes in it and keep it painted. You shouldn't have any
problems.

The first of the WTC tower's hit lasted longer than the second tower.

The first tower used asbestos as a fire-retardant. The second used an "as
good as" replacement.

I have an old house and all the siding is asbestos. I've had to cut some soffit vents
in the top row of the siding, just under the eaves...I've very carefully removed some
siding, one piece at a time (12" x 24" pieces), and put it in a garbage can full of
water and sawed (underwater) off 2" sections. I think that's pretty safe. I don't like
dealing with this stuff, but I haven't found a replacement non asbestos siding that
matches up with it (so I can replace pieces one at a time as they crack or break, or
need to be cut).

The asbestos siding cracks very easily when you try to remove it, it seems to be very
brittle, hard but brittle. I try to keep it wet when I have to remove it. The only
good thing about it is that the house is in a southern california brush fire area so
that gives some measure of comfort.

John




wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello. I'm in Japan and I'm Japanese. I built a 2x6 house in 1995 and
installed siding made in USA. By some reason, I'm not able to contact
the contractor who built my house anymore, and I have no clue to find
out whether the siding is made of asbestos or not. I heard asbestos has
been already banned in the US since some years ago, but I have no clue
about if the siding manufactured before year 1995 contains asbestos or
not.

Here is the picture of the siding:
http://spilaris.atspace.com/siding.htm

It's approximately 9mm(0.35 inches) thick and approximately 150mm(5.9
inches) wide, but each shingle is overlapping so I don't know the real
width of the original product. I suppose the length of overlapped part
is probably some 2 inches. I suppose the siding was manufactured a few
months or a few years before 1995 since they were new.

The sidings were shipped from a building material dealer in Seattle in
1995.

I really appreciate if someone could inform me if the siding of my
house contains asbestos or not.

Incidentally, in case the siding contains asbestos, should I remove
them? Or if I paint on them thick, could I avoid the particles of
asbestos flying in the air effectively? Is removing of the siding the
only method to avoid them flying in the air? Or is there any other
method to avoid them flying in the air?

Thanks in advance.

Rich-out-West wrote:
Judging from that discoloration around the window, it looks like it
might be LP siding, not HardiPlank. Around 1995, in the Seattle area,
you would have been much more likely to have someone sell you LP versus
HardiPlank. All the mushrooms growing out of the LP - and the
resulting class action lawsuits - are one of the reasons HardiPlank has
become so popular in the Northwest.

If it feels almost as hard as cement, it's probably Hardi. If it
feels like you could almost push a nail through it with your bare
hands, it's probably LP. Either way, it almost certainly contains no

It's very hard. It's even tough to screw on it without drilling it
first so I think it's the Hardi stuff.


asbestos. If you do have LP (or some other pressboard product) make
really sure to maintain the flashing, caulking, and paint. The stuff
can't take much exposure to water.

Richard Johnson PE
Camano Island, WA
(An hour north of Seattle)

P.S. Everything expressed here is opinion only...