Asbestos garage roof

[TealSwan]

Hi just wondering if estate agents are supposed to make you aware of the garage roof been asbestos.

No your survey should highlight it.

It requires a test to confirm it, so that's on you as the buyer to arrange with a proper company.

Most house buying surveys also won't test for it because you'd need to get permission from the home owner to undertaken destructive / intrusive testing. As such you'd be part of the process to plan and execute it.

Your EA has no way to prove asbestos or otherwise, it's for you to ask.

I just thought EA are supposed to disclose it that's all.

Cheers gonna find my papers and have a look

I was a first time buyer cash payment.

Not relevant. Asbestos is likely to be present in any UK home built before 1999 - it was only banned in November 1999.

Garage roofs made from cement sheets are commonly mixed with chrysotile asbestos, which is the lesser of the evils, and which you can remove yourself without a licence, but you'll want to take physical precautions. Or pay a builder to do the same.

If you're talking about boards inside / the ceiling of the garage these are likely to contain amosite asbestos (known as asbestos insulating board or AI) which is much nastier and if it'll take more than around 2hrs to remove it, you'll have to use a licensed contractor to undertake that work for you.

In short, asbestos is rife in the UK. If it's in good condition and you're not disturbing it, it's not a threat to you. If it's in nbad condition or you start putting holes in not, that's a problem.

Hi OP, our previous home had an asbestos roof.
When conducting our survey, our surveyor said he suspected it was asbestos but we would need a specialist test done to confirm - we did, it was, we negotiated a reduction.

I never would have known it was asbestos unless being told though, it looked like a bog standard normal roof. The seller says they also didn’t realise as it didn’t come up when they bought - they could be lying, who knows, but I don’t think there was any part of the legal process that would have required them to disclose asbestos either tbh. Maybe I’m wrong. But regardless, it’s definitely not the EAs responsibility.

Just don’t lick it.

According to my builder, removal is easy, the issue is disposing of the roofing sheets in accordance with the local council's requirements.

In the end, we left ours where they were.

Will try not to 😉

It's simple to remove, and there are places specifically for taking asbestos you do remove yourself.

We've remove 2 during renovations, as long as you are careful or get the right trades in it's not a big problem, but if you are planning on selling I'd replace if you are staying it's fine.

Also 100% don't lick it 🤣🤣

Just to clarify, licking it would be far less harmful to your health than inhaling the fibres...

No I'm staying only been in my home just over 7 years.

The EA has absolutely no responsibility to disclose it. Just have they have no responsibility to disclose any other potential issues. That’s what a survey is for.

As other posters have said, asbestos used in garage roofs is the least harmful type. With the right precautions you can remove it yourself and dispose of it at selected council tips.

Surely you still had a survey done though?!

Yes I did I've looked through all my paperwork and no where does it mention garage roof been asbestos.

No, that’s your surveyor’s responsibility.

Someone upthread mentioned removing it yourself. I don’t think that’s legal. Pretty sure you need to have a licence to remove asbestos.

@MrsSkylerWhite

Whether or not you need a licence or not depends on the specific type of asbestos. It isn’t all the same. Some is more dangerous than others.

The type used in roofing sheets is the not so dangerous type and can be removed without a licence.

Did you get the very basic survey? A Level 2 should have picked it up. It did on our garage roof.

When we moved in 30 years ago it was on the survey - we had a homebuyers which is now level 2.

20 years later we reroofed the house. Knowing it was asbestos tiles we had a specialist builder quote. He took a sample to a place that tested it. That then allowed him to understand the tyoe and grade and to quote for the necessary work to remove and dispose. He did it all and the only thing I recall was the special lorry that took away the packed tiles went to a weighbridge to get the weight for costing the disposal. It then went to a specialist disposal company.

Oh and as we are in a conservation area we needed planning permission to reroof as we were not replacing like with like (obviously!). No issues with getting the permission granted but an extra cost and delay.

It absolutely is completely legal. People often panic when fhey hear the word asbestos. However in reality there are different forms of asbestos, some more nasty than others. The type used in corrugated roofing sheets is one of the least dangerous forms. If you take the right precautions you can remove it yourself. Certain council tips will accept it so long as you have wrapped it in plastic sheets and sealed with tape.

That’s something you need to take up with your surveyor then. They should have picked up on it.

If it's just chrysotile in small volume then no you don't.

I'm an ex HSE Inspector, I enforced the law on this for a living for many years. And inspected licenses asbestos companies, and assessed companies for being issued a licence.

Our estate agent is so frustrated by our buyer, who is panicking over a house built in 1931, with an extension built in 1975 and a garage built in 1969 with an asbestos roof that she said she'd unscrew the asbestos roofing herself and take it down to the tip. I am almost tempted to tell her to go ahead...