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Asphalt sided home in Two Harbors MN (C) Daniel FriedmanAsphalt Shingle & Sheet Siding
History, patterns, materials, inspection, repair, replacement of asphalt siding

Asphalt building siding:

This article provides photographs of asphalt-based siding products and discusses common defects observed in asphalt exterior building siding, such as buckling, splitting, cracks, odors, and questions about the need for a vapor barrier behind asphalt siding and over building sheathing. Included are comments from several recognized building inspection and construction authorities.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

Asphalt Siding Concerns, Defects, Vapor Barriers, Inspection, and Diagnosis

Damaged asphalt siding (C) Daniel FriedmanAsphalt building siding became a popular building renovation alternative to painting weathered or rotted wood clapboard or wood shingle siding as early as the 1930's, becoming popular in the 1940's and the 1950's in North America where it was used both for low-cost housing and for covering the deteriorated exterior walls of older homes.

Asphalt building siding products are typically composed of asphalt shingle-like material: colored mineral granules bonded to an organic or wood-product base with asphalt. Colored mineral granules form a desired pattern such as the faux-brick shown here.

Here we provide identification photos of several types of asphalt-based building siding and we list asphalt-sided building inspection, diagnosis, and repair suggestions.

We discuss asphalt siding damage, defects, and repairs, asphalt siding installation defects and its effect as a vapor barrier on the exterior wall of a building. We also discuss asphalt siding leaks and rot risks.

We include a brief history of the development, patterns, brands and colors of faux brick and faux stone siding, offering clues ab out what is probably underneath it.

We also review the possible asbestos content in this asphalt-impregnated felt product, and finally we address a common question: can I use asphalt roofing shingles as building siding?

Article Contents

Our page top photo shows an asphalt shingle sided home located in Two Harbors, Minnesota. If you click to enlarge the picture you'll see that an apparent asphalt siding repair was made above the second floor windows.

Our Coolidge Hotel photo shows (above-left) shows that the material can also be quite durable if properly installed and weather protected. [Click to enlarge any image]

History of Asphalt Building Siding

Worn asphalt siding on a Pougheepsie New York home  (C) Daniel Friedman 2015Asphalt-impregnated felt material similar to roof shingles or asphalt-impregnated felt bonded to hardboard or to insulating board was discussed as a building siding material in the U.S. as early as 1904 (Terpening 1904).

1840 - Asphalt-impregnated materials had been in use in a variety of forms for hundreds of years and had been in wide use in roofing in North America in an earlier formulation since the 1840s when the predecessor of asphalt shingles and siding was first sold: a mixture of fabrics covered with pine tar and sand.

1903 - hose early products were succeeded in 1903 by shingles cut from rolls of felt (basically thick paper) saturated with asphalt and coated with mineral or ceramic granules to create a durable and sun-resistant surface.

1914 - Asphalt-based siding resembling bricks was described by 1914 (Powell 1914) and further developed by Welty (1924).

1918 - chipped slate coated asphalt roll roofing was proposed for use on the gable ends of a house to replace stucco and to give a half-timbered image (Parker 1918 in Arkansas 2017).

1929 - or earlier: hexagonal shaped mineral-granule coated roof shingles were marketed as a wall covering, possibly promoted in an effort to sell unused roof shingles during the Great Depression when many homeowners put off roofing repairs.

The use of asphalt roofing-like materials as building siding no doubt grew out of the combination of unsold asphalt roofing during the Great Depression in the U.S. and the lack of maintenance on homes during that period that left a need for an economical wall re-covering material.

1930 - Asphalt building siding became a popular building renovation alternative to painting weathered or rotted wood clapboard or wood shingle siding as early as the 1930's, becoming popular in the 1940's

1931 - Both Certain-Teed & Johns-Manville sold asphalt-strip shingle material in a red (or gray or green) brick pattern installed with a 2 1/2" exposure.

Inselbric siding advertisement in a 1940s Life Magazine issue cited & discussed at Inspectapedia.com ... Inselbrick advertisement on a matchbook, for sale at eBay in January 2022 - cited & discussed at InspectApedia.com

Above: Inselbric advertisements from the 1940s (Life Magazine) and 1950s (on a matchbook cover for sale on eBay in 2022).

Later Celotex produced Insulbrick siding, and adding confusion to these product names, Insul-Brick from Westblock Products, produced in the U.S. in the 1980s, is a completely different material - an insulating brick made from perlite, not a siding product.

1932 - InselBric Asphalt Siding - asphalt-siding but did not become widely popular in North America until the 1930's when the Mastic Corporation (South Bend, Indiana) began marketing InselBric in 1932, (also written Inselbrick and mis-spelled as Insulbrick or Insul-Brick) asphalt-based faux-brick siding panels. Inselbric is also described as rolled asphalt siding.

1935 - Inselbric formed 100% of the Mastic Corporation's sales in the form of brick panels. Other asphalt shingle material sold for use as "siding" included hexagons, pyramids, and faux stone, usually in red, green or tan or gray.

1937 - Sears Roebuck catalog included brick-pattern "insulating" wall panels sold in 14" x 43" sections (5 "courses" of bricks). Sears faux-brick siding colors included brown tone, red tone, jade green, and tile red.

Pattern embossed asphalt shingle faux brick siding ca 1940 (C) InspectApedia.com

1940 - improvements in asphalt siding production machinery permitted pressing embossed designs into the granule-covered asphalt siding surface sold under a variety of brands including "Brick Strip" or "BrickTex" exterior siding. (Example above.)

Beginning in 1929 Sears sold brick veneer kit homes in the Honor-Bilt series - see details

at SEARS KIT HOME IDENTIFICATION

But asphalt-based siding from Sears did not appear until eleven years later, in 1940, when Sears introduced a substitute for actual brick veneer: Honor Bilt Brick Roll-Type siding.

This asphalt siding was produced in 32" x 43’ sections, as a new addition to Sears' four brick double lap siding that had first been marketed by the company three years earlier in both roll type and rigid type asphalt siding in brick patterns as a low-cost and durable building renovation material.

1941 - Sears added Honor Bilt Brick Roll Siding in larger 32" x 43" sections.

1943 - Asphalt based random stone pattern siding was developed and sold in a random stone pattern as early as 1943 when Sears produced gray Inselstone (Ashlar stone in some references).

Brick Strip or BrickStrip asphalt based siding advertisement in the Virgina Star in 1947 - cited at InspectApedia.clom

1947 - Asphalt based Brick-Strip siding was sold in this "Stock on Hand" advertisement that appeared in the Virginia Star, Vol. 28 No. 9, on 23 January 1947 (when the author was 5 years old). Brick Strip siding was also used to cover building elements such as columns and pilasters, often used on storefronts as well as residential buildings.

We found reports of re-siding buildings using brick strip, as a generic term, in historic documents such as ten separate buildings described in "Fredericksburg, Virginia Permits to Alter or Repair 1938 to 1946 sorted by Street" - retrieved 2023/11/30 original source: resources.umwhisp.org/Fredericksburg/building_permits/permits to alter_1938-1946.htm

Also see 1931 for our description of insulbrick on this page.

1950's - in North America where it was used both for low-cost housing and for covering the deteriorated exterior walls of older homes.

Deteriorating asphalt sided home Poughkeepsie NY in 2022 (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Above: the same asphalt sided InsulBrick home as shown above, in Poughkeepsie, New York, inspected again in 2022. Once openings appear in any building siding material the deterioration of the building accelerates.

1954 - Sears added Ranch Stone, an asphalt shingle siding pattern resembling stone. Colored random stone pattern siding like that shown just above (Poughkeepsie, NY) was sold beginning in 1954, sold as Ranch Stone patterned asphalt siding.

Sears Random Stone asphalt-based siding ca 1966 (C) InspectApedia.com

1966 - Sears Roebuck added Random Stone asphalt-based siding (one panel shown above), a stone siding pattern with "wire cut bricks" inserted into the pattern.

Asphalt siding material was made in two common versions, one much like asphalt roof shingles but in larger sheets (right-side of the building photo near the top of this article) and the other was comprised of an asphalt coating laminated to hardboard siding material or laminated to a softer wood-based insulating board panel, often sold as "InselBrick" or "InselStone" siding depending on the manufacturer and pattern.

Sears Random Stone siding used the fiberboard-backed design rather than thin asphalt-impregnated felt.

Commonly made to look like brick (faux brick), asphalt building siding also appears in faux-stone versions (not to be mistaken for "perma stone" which has been sold since the 1960's as an exterior wall covering) and even in a wood-shingle lookalike, as well as a utilitarian covering that was unabashedly plain asphalt sheeting.

Asphalt shingle siding on an abandoned New York Home (C) Daniel Friedman &  Barbara Whan

Above: Barbara Joy Whan helped us find this building with 2'x4' sections of asphalt shingle siding photographed by the author (DF) in upstate New York in 1995.

PermaStone & Aluminum Siding Replaced Asphalt-Shingle-based siding

The development of the aluminum siding industry (introduced in the 1940's) and later the vinyl siding industry after World War II meant that fewer buildings of that later era were covered with asphalt shingle or slab material and by the 1960s aluminum siding pretty-much ended the asphalt-shingle-based siding industry.

Below: don't confuse other faux stone siding such as "Permastone" with asphalt based siding.

Faux stone asphalt backed siding on a Poughkeepsie New York  home (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

This house is described separately

at PERMA-STONE EXTERIORS

Asphalt Sheet Siding Properties & Pictures

PHOTO of asphalt siding on the Coolidge Hotel, White River Junction Vermont

The example of asphalt sheet siding in a red brick pattern shown in our photo above is from the Coolidge Hotel, White River Junction, VT.

The random stone asphalt building siding shown just below is based on a hardboard substrate and is quite rigid when installed.

Worn asphalt siding on a Pougheepsie New York home  (C) Daniel Friedman 2015

It would be rare to find asphalt-based exterior siding material as original wall cladding on a building; usually it was applied over wood clapboards which in turn were badly in need of paint or repair.

The asphalt-sided home shown just above, located in Poughkeepsie, New York, illustrates the usual wear pattern: the faux-stone pattern asphalt panels weather at their edges where leaks ultimately begin.

At above right at the center of the photo at the bottom of the asphalt-panel siding you can see the original clapboard siding on this home. The house was probably built before 1900.

Worn asphalt siding on a Pougheepsie New York home  (C) Daniel Friedman 2015

Above you can see more details of wear, actual loss of hardboard-backed asphalt siding panels, attempts at repair by nailing up a plywood panel, and also rotted wood siding.

Watch out: Don't mistake mineral-granule-covered roll roofing that may have been nailed-up on a building wall for an asphalt siding product. Roofing products were not usually designed for use on a vertical surface and are likely to be found falling off unless extra nails were used.

You can easily spot roll roofing on a building because of its length - you will find long horizontal runs, perhaps 15 feet or more (rarely vertical) without seams.

As we show in our ASPHALT SIDING DEFECT CHECKLIST photographs (below), leaks into this exterior wall covering or mechanical damage to it can expose the hardboard or wood-product substrate to weathering and disintegration.

Damaged asphalt siding (C) Daniel Friedman

Just below we provide photographs of a thin asphalt exterior wall covering found on a building in Hudson, NY. This asphalt wall shingle product appeared to have no mineral granule coating whatsoever.

Notice that the stunning number of roofing nails used to affix this exterior asphalt cladding did not make much difference in how the wall covering endured.

Damaged asphalt siding (C) Daniel Friedman

Asphalt Shingle Siding Backer Ingredients

Asphalt & fiberboard shingle siding on an addition to a now-collapsed log cabin on Michigan Rte 28 (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Above and below: Fiberboard backer forms the base for the mineral-coated asphalt-based siding on this addition to a now-collapsed cabin on Michigan's Upper Peninsula photographed in November, 2023.

Woodpecker damaged asphalt-fiberboard shingle siding on a collapsed Michigan UP building on Rte 28 (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

We thinkt that a woodpecker made the many holes in this asphalt shingle siding.

Below is a close-up of a fragment of the siding shown just above.

Woodpecker damaged asphalt-fiberboard shingle siding on a collapsed Michigan UP building on Rte 28 (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

More details about the structure above are

at DIAMOND WEDGE CUT LOG CABIN

Below: a close view of MDF fiberboard that was often sued as a backer for asphalt based, mineral granule-coated shingle siding.

Wood fiber backed asphalt shingle siding (C) InspectApedia.com Tim

The photo above shows a wood-fiber based backer board supporting asphalt-shingle siding. This photo was included in a question by reader Tim who asked if this was cement asbestos siding - it is not. His question and our reply are

at ASBESTOS CEMENT SIDING FAQs .

Below is a different type of asphalt building siding installed - or rather falling off of - a building in Two Harbors Minnesota.

Asphalt siding / shingle siding, asphalt-impregnatedfiberboard backer (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com ...

Below: our close-up photo shows an asphalt-impregnated backer board attached to the green asphalt shingle siding on this garage.

Asphalt siding / shingle siding, asphalt-impregnatedfiberboard backer (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Asphalt Siding Defect Checklist

The two asphalt sheet siding photographs (below) show two defects often found on older buildings: falling siding where nails have been removed or lost (below left) and mechanical damage or tears in the siding (below-right).

The asphalt siding product shown at below right (produced on an all asphalt substrate similar to asphalt roof shingles) is different from the product at left (produced on a hardboard substrate). A closeup photograph of the hardboard substrate of this asphalt siding is shown at below-right.

Damaged asphalt siding (C) Daniel Friedman ... Damaged asphalt siding (C) Daniel Friedman

Asphalt sheet siding - paper substrate is shown in the photographs just below. You can see that this material may lose its granule coating to expose the asphalt-impregnated felt or paper base.

Damaged asphalt siding (C) Daniel Friedman ... Damaged asphalt siding (C) Daniel Friedman

Our photo below shows that this hardboard-based asphalt building siding was installed over wood lath. We pose that the original building wall had been covered by stucco.

Damaged asphalt siding (C) Daniel Friedman

Asphalt Siding Repairs?

Asphalt-asbestos suspect shingle siding (C) InspectApedia.com Marina

Loose asphalt wall siding that is otherwise in acceptable condition can be repaired by re-nailing it to the building.

Do not leave openings in the building cladding that permit leaks and water entry (such as shown in our photographs above) as you will be inviting a rot, wood destroying insect, or mold problem in the structure.

If money is short, a stopgap repair can be made by patching over with roll roofing or even a few roof shingles (and extra nails) as someone appears to have done in our photograph (left).

If large areas of the asphalt building siding are worn-through, the proper repair is to completely remove the material from the structure, inspect for and repair any structural damage, followed by installation of a new exterior wall covering.

 

 

Can I Still Buy Replacement Asphalt-Based Exterior Siding?

Question:

Can you tell me where to buy faux asphalt brick siding? I live in New York. - N. verizon.net

Reply:

We have not found any of the U.S. asphalt product manufacturers such as GAF, Certainteed, Oldcastle who currently produce replacement copies of original asphalt-based building siding such as the brick-pattern you asked about.

The asphalt-based brick pattern exterior siding products found on some older buildings were generally produced by the same companies who produced asphalt-based roofing shingles.

Asphalt-based [roof shingle material on an organic (paper mat) or asphalt on hardboard] siding products were later supplanted by cement-asbestos siding-shingles, then aluminum siding and steel siding, then currently by vinyl siding.

We are doubtful you would find a current supplier of new asphalt siding products today, but I'll continue to look for such a source.

CONTACT us if you find a modern source, use, and building-code approval for asphalt-based faux-brick or similar pattern exterior siding.

Can I Use Roof Shingles for Exterior Siding?

We do not recommend using roof shingles for exterior siding, but if you are going to attempt that anyway, be sure that you follow the appropriate vertical and near-vertical nailing instructions for the roof shingles. Otherwise you'll find them falling off of the building.

See SIDING ASPHALT ROOF SHINGLES on WALLS for details.

Does Old Asphalt Building Siding Contain Asbestos

Damaged asphalt siding (C) Daniel FriedmanReader question: I was just wondering if the Brick looking asphalt siding ever contained any asbestos or hazardous material.

Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.

I need to remove some of this product but will use a knife to cut it into pieces and bag it appropriately. Also i am having a room demo that is 20x38 and the drywall joint compound is suspected to have chrysotile asbestos contained.

I have taken appropriate measures and have sealed of the area with 6mil poly and taped the joints.

Should this upon removal be sprayed with water or are the asbestos crystals encapsulated in joint compound. Have you come across this situation. Thank-You. D.T., Canada

(July 21, 2012) Kent W. Roeser said:

I have asphalt faux brick Finnish shingles on the back of my house how can I tell if they are asbestos? The house was built in 1920 and the addition was later on. The owner said they were asbestos but with the seizures his memory is not there.

Reply: Maybe. Some does.

A competent onsite inspection by an expert might confirm the age and type of this particular asphalt-siding product, and also, based on the probable building age, it is certainly possible that other asbestos-containing materials are present. That said, here are some things to consider:

In general I think you are referring to an asphalt product that is made essentially of the same material as asphalt roof shingles, though some versions applied bituminous and asphalt and mineral granules to a hardboard base rather than a paper ("organic") base.

Some asphalt roof shingle products, and therefore quite possibly some asphalt siding products, did indeed contain asbestos fibers in their substrate or coating.

Roof shingles, even if the material contained asbestos (which it might) are rarely the only nor even the principal source of problem-levels of asbestos fibers in a building and I suspect the same is true of asphalt-based building siding. That's because the asbestos fibers are encapsulated in asphalt or similar non-friable bases.

There might be a concern if building demolition is underway and the removal of old siding created dust - especially if power tools such as power saws or grinders were used.

Watch out: if that's going on with your building it would be prudent to use appropriate dust control measures and to minimize the break-up of the material, and especially, to avoid using power saws. And there may be provincial or local municipal regulations that govern the demolition and removal of these materials.

Kent some old asphalt roofing and siding materials contained asbestos but to know for sure you'd need to send a small sample to a certified asbestos testing lab. If you can send me some photos I can comment further.

Research on the History of Asphalt Siding Products

Terpening siding patent 1904 (C) InspectApedia.com

Inselbric siding on the Barnes house in Virginia - Milner cited at InspectApedia.com

1945 Inselbric bungalow advertisement, Indanapolis Times  - cited & discussed at InspectApedia.com

Above: Advertisement for an Inselbric sided four-year-old bungalow, Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, 12 December 1945, courtesy of Hoosier State Chronicles archives.

Powell asphalt siding patent 1914 at InspectApedia.com

 




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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2023-02-22 by InspectApedia Editor - asphalt building siding needs proper repair

@Brent,

If large areas of the asphalt building siding are worn through, as is evident in your photos, the proper repair is to completely remove the material from the structure, inspect for and repair any structural damage, followed by installation of a new exterior wall covering.

With the missing siding areas, be sure to look for any water damage or entry that may indicate further inspection needed with potential repairs before residing occurs. Unaddressed, it could invite rot, insects, or mold.


As far as the asbestos question, please see the section above on this page titled:

Does Old Asphalt Building Siding Contain Asbestos

where you'll see our response to a reader with a similar question.

Basically, it would be prudent to use appropriate dust control measures and to minimize the break-up of the material, and especially, to avoid using power saws. And there may be provincial or local municipal regulations that govern the demolition and removal of these materials.

Costs will vary by size of job, location, available contractors, and replacement material chosen. We recommend getting at least two, maybe three, estimates for the job to give you a realistic answer.

On 2023-02-22 by Brent

Niagara Falls, NY -- any idea of special care I need to take when pulling this old siding off? I would love to be able to repair, but enough pieces are missing on this side of the house and I don't think you can find inselbric anymore. I don't know what product this is, but can you tell if there is asbestos? How expensive is this to replace given hazards?

Damaged asphalt siding in Niagara Falls, NY (C) InspectApedia.com Brent ... Damaged asphalt siding in Niagara Falls, NY (C) InspectApedia.com Brent

On 2023-02-12 by InspectApedia Editor

@Lorrie,

Thank you for the additional photo. Yes, we can see the layers of different siding that the house has endured.

On 2023-02-12 by Lorrie

@InspectApedia Publisher,

brick pattern asphalt siding in Waterford, MI (C) InspectApedia.com Lorrie

On 2023-01-22 by InspectApedia Publisher - brick pattern asphalt siding

@Lorrie,

Yes, that looks like a brick pattern asphalt siding. Can you give us a photo of the building exterior from which you collected this sample?

What's under the asphalt siding? Wood clapboards?

On 2023-01-21 by Lorrie

Asphalt siding? On our lake home in Waterford MI built 1936. Discovered under the vinyl siding and a thin foam board. See pic.

brick pattern asphalt siding in Waterford, MI (C) InspectApedia.com Lorrie

On 2022-09-26 by InspectApedia (mod)

@Cindy coppins,

Several people have asked if asphalt siding is still sold -

To the best of our knowledge, the answer is and has been NO for some time.

Try again to post a photo using the Add Image button.

On 2022-09-26 by Cindy coppins

I'm wondering if this still can be bought and where you can get it

On 2022-09-11 by InspectApedia-911 (mod) - sources for replacement sections of asphalt-based shingle siding

@Anonymous by private email,

Thanks for the question about sources for replacement sections of asphalt-based shingle siding.

Above on this page under the heading

"Can I Still Buy Replacement Asphalt-Based Exterior Siding?"

we answer that question.

If we find or any readers provide new information on a source for replacement asphalt-shingle siding we'll be sure to include it here.

On 2022-09-11 by Anonymous by private email

Funkymusic14 showed a photo of light gray asphalt siding, We have a house with that identical siding material.

Do you know of any place that might have replacement panels.

The size of each panel is approx. 1’ x 3’.x 1/2” thick with vertical striations. -

On 2022-07-01 by InspectApedia-911 (mod)

@Linda,

Yes

On 2022-06-30 by Linda

Can I spray paint ober this type siding ?

On 2022-06-06 by InspectApedia-911 (mod)

@Mike Crane,

It would be helpful to see some photos of the situation, both up close and from a bit more distance in order to get some perspective. You can post one image for comment but of course as many comments and therefore images as you like.

On 2022-06-06 by Mike Crane

In 2017 we had a new 3D Timberline architectural roof installed and about a year or two later the tar began to splash back onto the side of my stucco siding around the splash guards and dormers. Initially we thought it was just mold but quickly found out it wasn’t.

We had someone come out look at the problem and that’s when we found out it was tar splash back from the roof. Every time it rains it splashes even more onto the stucco. We’ve tried pressure washing and some of the expensive cleaning products on the market but nothing works.

Im faced with having to purchase a new expensive paint job. My home is roughly 4900 square feet under roof. I need to know what can be done so that this doesn’t happen again. I believe we have a defective shingle and am looking into any other claims out there with same problem.

Please provide any information you can to help me with resolving this problem. Thank you

On 2021-06-02 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - Is exterior asphalt siding used indoors safe?

@Rebecca Dietz,

It's not common to see an exterior siding material used indoors, but certainly within the scope of what people might think of to do in their building.

You could spray-paint the surfaces with a suitable sealant, followed by a finish coating.

At ASBESTOS ENCAPSULANTS & SEALERS - you will find some products that can be applied over asphalt materials like asphalt mastic and that would doubtless work on your asphalt-impregnated felt or fiberboard-backed siding used indoors.

Watch out: I like the look but I would want to

1. ask the local fire inspector if she considers this a fire-safe installation before doing any other renovations like painting or covering-over these walls

2. consider laminating a layer of drywall over all of the surfaces if you no longer want to look at asphalt siding; the advantages include a more-paintable surface, a fire safety improvement, and yet if someone comes along after us who wants to go back to a 1930's look, you've preserved that bit of the home's history. (It's easy to remove drywall and just about impossible to remove paint on asphalt siding)

I should make clear that asphalt siding exposed as a finish wall surface indoors may also violate local fire and safety codes.

On 2021-06-02 by Rebecca Dietz

Interlocking Asphalt-Saturated Wood Fiber Panels:

I believe this material was installed on the interior of my house, in the living room. Images attached for reference.

My house was built in 1930 in San Antonio, TX. Was this a common practice to use the panels on interiors? Do you know if it is safe for interior use from asbestos or other harmful ingredients ?

I have considered painting over it but suspect the paint would fleck off over time as the ceramic granules embedded in the asphalt come loose. Any suggestions?

Thank you for your very interesting article on historic building materials!

1930s San Antonio TX Indoor Asphalt Siding (C) Inspectapedia Rebecca

1930s San Antonio TX Indoor Asphalt Siding (C) Inspectapedia Rebecca

On 2021-11-18 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator

@Ron,

"Can" may be a bit broad;

I'd say that a better installation would use housewrap and furring strips to get a better wall, and you might need to build out window and door trim.

On 2021-11-18 by Ron

Can you install vinyl siding directly over vintage asphalt brick wall siding.?

On 2021-09-16 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator

@funkymusic14,

That looks like an asphalt-based siding product like those described on the page above .

On 2021-09-15 by funkymusic14

Can anyone help me identify this siding?

Asphalt Siding (C) Inspecctapedia Funkymusic14

On 2021-04-06 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - best way to deal with Inselbrick siding?

@Petra Reinert,

Typically we strap over existing siding when the walls are very uneven and we wouldn't have a good nail base.

A problem with strapping over one or two times and installing new siding is that is your build out the wall you will find of the windows and doors receive as sunken into the building so you will want to build out the trim around all of those openings.

But of course there is the advantage of adding insulation to your building exterior

On 2021-04-06 by Petra Reinert

I was wondering what would be the best to deal with Inselbrick on the house we recently purchased.

Should we strap overtop and then put hardboard insulation then strap again and then put siding, or is it preferable just to strap it and put siding directly overtop.

Inselbrick Siding (C) Inspectapedia Petra

On 2020-12-19 by (mod) - possible asbestos in Swedish asphalt-based siding

Thank you for the photos and question, Elvis.

Asphalt-based siding mounted on fiberboard was a widely-manufactured and distributed product for many years; to know absolutely whether or not your siding contains asbestos you'd need, of course, to have it tested or at least to know whose product it was.

In general, the wood-based fiberboard backer is not an asbestos product, but asbestos was often found in the asphalt-impregnated paper or felt backer that forms the base for the coloured mineral granules that form the brick "surface".

The material isn't highly friable and may not produce a measurable asbestos hazard until it's disturbed by grinding, chopping, sawing, demolition.

The research below may be helpful in making a further guess about the use of asbestos in asphalt products in Sweden.

Asbestos in Asphalt Products in Sweden

On 2020-12-19 by elvisdx

Thank you for the information on this site, it is very useful.

The photos [above] I attached to this comment are of yellow faux brick siding on a house in Sweden.

The tiles are 5x5 "bricks".

It looks very much like the InselBric siding you describe on this page.

I do not know who manufactured them or what the brand name was in Sweden.

I have not found any records of InselBric in Sweden. I have seen several smaller houses in the Swedish countryside with this yellow or red faux brick siding.

My question is, based on the photos, do you think this siding is based on wood-fiber or asbestos?

On 2020-08-20 by sue

My house was wrapped in rolled roofing, what do you think, it currently has cedar siding over it

On 2020-08-20 by sue

my dad installed looks like roof shingles for siding on our house, around 1970, is this better than vinyl or other material.. is it acceptable to use?

On 2020-04-23 - by (mod) -

Apologies, Ron, I'm not familiar with "rolled asbestos siding" - at least not by that term. Pretty much all asbestos-cement board-like products were produced in a rolling mill such as that described by Mattison's 1911 patent.

And rollers imprinted a pattern on the siding.

But the popular or familiar name (to me) is asbestos-cement siding - on older buildings, usually in a shingle form, not in long boards until the 1950s (See Read 1958 cited in our Asbestos Cement Siding page)

Besides the asphalt-based siding described above on this page, take a look at

ASBESTOS CEMENT SIDING

and its modern replacement

SIDING, FIBER CEMENT - newer non-asbestos cement-based siding

So to be sure we're on the same "page", What are we talking about? A hard, rigid cementious shingle or board product or a more-flexible asphalt-based siding product?

On 2020-04-23 by Ron Marshall

Try again; My grandfather had rolled asbestos siding on building fifty years. What similar product can be obtained today that is effective?

On 2020-04-23 - by (mod) -

There are no modern asphalt siding products that I've seen anywhere, nor would I recommend those, though some people nail roofing shingles onto building walls (they're likely to fail).

Modern Fiber cement shingles (not the old asbestos-fiber-cement shingles) look a lot like Marina's product below, and are very durable.

On 2020-04-23 by Ron Marshall

My grandfather had asbestos didn't on building fifty years. What is made today that can be used conveintly?

On 2020-02-19 by (mod) - asphalt-shingle siding on a 1940 Illinois home

Yes, Marina, that's an asphalt-based shingle siding. Some asphalt-impregnated (paper-based) siding materials contain asbestos.


On 2020-02-19 by Marina

Just wondering if this siding may have asbestos. The home was built in 1940 in IL [Photo above]


...

Continue reading at ASPHALT ROOF SHINGLES on WALLS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see ASPHALT SIDING FAQs questions & answers about asphalt based siding products that were posted originally at this page.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

Suggested citation for this web page

SIDING ASPHALT SHINGLE or SHEET at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING SIDING

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