How To Spot Asbestos Roof Slates

While an expert lab test using polarized light microscopy may be needed to identify the specific type of asbestos fiber or to identify the presence of asbestos in air or dust samples many asbestos containing building products not only are obvious and easy to recognize but since there were not other look alike products that were not asbestos a visual identification of this material can be virtually a certainty in many cases.

How to spot asbestos roof slates.

Find an inconspicuous area in the roofing and mark a square inch of tile. Finding these marks can be a problem. The asbestos fibers inside slates can only be released when they are broken and this roofing material does not necessarily require removal although many people choose to do it. The cost of testing a small sample is reasonable.

Here you can find instructions for installing a slate roof repairing and restoring slate roofs and repairing asbestos roofs and ceramic tile roofs. Take the sample to an asbestos testing laboratory. Buildings made between the 1940s and the 1980s are very likely to have used asbestos materials. Determine when the shingles were installed on your roof.

Cut the tile carefully and place it in a plastic container. The date of the building or material can also tell you a lot about asbestos risk. If the tile has less than 1 percent asbestos then the results are negative. If they look old they might have asbestos fibers in them.

Their color ranges between grey light green peachy orange and even purple. Their width can range from 12 to 48 inches and are very simple to identify since asbestos fibers can be seen on the grained sections of the material. If you don t know the age of the shingles inspect them for wear. Slate roof central various photos of asbestos roofs slate roof central is your center hub for all things related to natural quarried slate roofing.

Check the manufacturer and product name on the insulation label and do a web search to find out if it contains asbestos.