Asbestos removal quote 10k+!

[agentscully]

In need of some advice.

My mums been quoted over 10k to have asbestos removed and disposed of from AIB soffits. This is a small 3 bed detached house.

The window company discovered the asbestos whilst fitting the upstairs windows. They’ve now stopped work (over 3 weeks ango) until the asbestos has been dealt with and they’ve come back with this quote.

I think they’re taking advantage but I have no clue about asbestos.

Any advice or experience?

Thank you

Hi OP,

Our 3 bed terraced house in London had an entirely asbestos roof - the entire thing had to be removed.

We used a fab company called All Asbestos, they removed and disposed of all roof tiles for £3.5k and provided the required documentation. I’d give them a call, they were incredibly helpful over the phone and provided a lot of advice.

P.S I assume you had an asbestos identity test done to confirm it is asbestos and which type!

@SELondonLurker thanks for the response. They’ve haven’t supplied proof of asbestos yet and we’ve also asked for a breakdown of the quote but they’ve just resent the quote.

It’s difficult as it’s causing my mum stress so she just wants to pay and get her windows finished but it makes me feel sick at the cost on top of the actual windows.

I’m definitely going to make some calls.

When asbestos came up on our homebuyers survey, I was ready to walk away! So glad we didn’t as in all honesty it really wasn’t a big deal or that expensive to deal with (in the grand scheme of how expensive house issues can be).

Can I suggest the following to your mum:

1. Tell her to stop worrying and explain that asbestos is safe as long as it isn’t being broken apart. So in that sense, the window installers are right to have stopped, but they will be able to start again soon if she gets it sorted!
2. Book an asbestos check - we used a firm called Salvum and had a sampling check. The process of calling them, to getting the results back on the test was maybe two weeks maximum. This test is a must - she shouldn’t accept any ‘proof’ from the window fitters
3. If the test comes back negative, send over to the window fitters and tell them to crack on
4. If the test comes back positive, contact All Asbestos (I’ve just seen on their website that they also do testing as well actually….) and get a quote to compare to your current £10k job
5. Contact local builders (any you know and trust?!) or other window companies to find out the cost for the replacement of the soffits.

just take it step by step! If she contacted a testing company tomorrow she, she could have all contaminated materials removed and replaced in less than a month!

I thought I had asbestos soffits - suspected in survey years ago. Recently became concerned about them, a builder visiting for another reason looked at them and was sure they were asbestos. Got a reputable asbestos surveyor round - didn't even have to send anything away for analysis. It was not asbestos, but it looked very much like it. I had sent a photo of the soffits to the surveyor and he could not tell either way from the pic but when looking at in in person he knew it wasn't.

The point is, I would not trust a window company to know whether it was asbestos or not.

Why do the sofits need removing to get the windows finished?
Obviously get another quote.

DS is getting many bits of asbestos removed from his house & has been quoted a lot less for different parts of the removal that seem, to me, to require more effort than remove + replace the soffits (his asbestos-laden soffits are being left alone).

@Serena73 Thanks for the response. I’m definitely going to push for proof before we go ahead with anything, it’s just a bit tricky as it’s not my house so i’m not having to deal with it.

@lljkk The windows look as though they touch the soffits, the window fitters cracked them when they were in the process of taking the windows out. I know they would have been fine if they were left alone.

I guess i just wanted to make sure my feelings about it were right. I’ll have to contact some companies on my mums behalf .

If it's tested and it is asbestos I would get some quotes from a proper asbestos contractor not the window company. We paid £2k to have AIBs removed from our outbuilding, it was area 2m x 15m

That seems like way too much. Asbestos removal isn't cheap, and nor should it be, but 10k for soffits is too much. It also doesn't necessarily need to be removed, it can be encapsulated which covers it up so it is safe to build over it.

It’s probably fibre cement board ( that looks like asbestos) and was widely used in soffits in the past. They are just trying to fleece your mum . 10 grand is taking the piss. Tell them you paid them to change the windows not the soffits and any damage to them is their problem and up to them to fix it.

Hi OP.nJust wondering if the asbestos was confirmed and also what a soffit is. Is it the white surround bit under the roof? Thanks!