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 Guide to Maintenance & Repair of Cement Asbestos Building Siding Materials
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How to repair & maintain asbestos cement siding. This article explains the maintenance, repair, or replacement of cement asbestos shingle siding on buildings. We describe how to remove and replace individual cement asbestos siding sections while keeping the total job small by avoiding breaking the surrounding shingles. We also describe installing new siding materials such as vinyl siding atop or over asbestos-cement shingle siding - a common practice. This article series includes a photo guide and text that can help in identification of asbestos-containing wall siding products like asphalt shingles & asbestos-cement siding shingles.
Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman.
Maintenance & Repair Tips for Asbestos Cement Wall Siding Shingles
We consider asbestos cement wall shingles a durable and fire-resistant roof and an asset to the building provided that the siding is in good condition. But because the material is easily damaged by a heavy-handed worker unfamiliar with the materials involved, asbestos cement siding has to be repaired and maintained with care.
Replacement cementious wall shingle materials are now available that look almost exactly like the original materials, but that do not contain asbestos. That's the product we have used to repair the building shown in the photographs in this article.
Small temporary wall siding repairs to individual shingles can be made using copper or aluminum flashing material -- it can be painted color that looks a lot like the remaining cement asbestos shingles, and this approach minimizes the chances of breaking more shingles during the repair.
How to Remove and Replace Broken Asbestos Cement Wall Shingles
What about replacing the siding? Can you side over the existing asbestos cement siding or does it need to be removed? First let's discuss replacing individual broken sections of fiber cement siding:
It is very difficult to remove individual broken asbestos-cement wall shingles, but working carefully it can be done.
Work by an inexperienced contractor can ruin a cement asbestos shingle wall siding and lead to complete replacement that could have been avoidable.
- Use vise-grips or end-cutting pliers (illustrated in our FAQs below) or a pair of horse-shoe nail clips or similar tool to carefully pull out the nails from the intact, un-damaged cement-asbestos shingles above and around the damaged shingles. Pull nails carefully so as not to break the intact shingles. Do not try to pry up asbestos cement shingles - they are brittle and will break.
- Slide out the damaged asbestos cement wall shingles
- Inspect the wall sheathing for leak or water or insect damage that may need repair
- Install a house-wrap or roofing felt over any exposed wall sheathing, sliding its upper edge under the older materials so that any water that penetrates the wall will be directed out not into the wall cavity.
- Carefully slide the new fiber cement shingles into place. If cement-shingles have to be cut, use the manufacturer's recommended cutting tool, not a power saw that will make a lot of dust.
- Line up the nail holes between the old (upper layer) cement asbestos shingles and the new fiber cement shingles to be secured underneath. They wont' line up, right? OK so use a tiny masonry bit and drill through the existing hole in the old asbestos cement (intact) shingle and through the new fiber cement shingle below.
- Nail the new shingles in place, carefully - don't let your final hammer strokes drive the nail so hard against the fiber cement shingle or asbestos-cement shingle that you break it.
Guide to Siding over asbestos cement siding:
A common remodeling practice is to install new vinyl or aluminum siding over cement asbestos shingle siding as well as over many other older siding materials when the old siding has become damaged, leaky, or cosmetically ugly. A typical procedure is to install furring strips on the existing wall, avoiding breaking the existing siding. The new siding is then secured to the furring strips so that the new wall siding will be smooth and flat.
Additional steps may be needed to build out window and door trim for aesthetic reasons - so that the windows and doors do not appear to "recede" into the walls of the structure.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about how to remove or replace or repair asbestos cement or fiber cement siding
Question: Is there a tool for removing nails in cement asbestos shingle siding?
Is there a specific pry or cutting tool to grab and cut the nails On broken shingles you want to replace? - Catfishlynd 9/20/11
Reply: how to remove individual fiber cement or asbestos cement siding or roof shingles
Catfish
When we had to remove broken fiber cement shingle siding we found that indeed it is difficult to remove one shingle without breaking others - making the job grow horribly. Tools like a slate hook (discussed here under slate roof tools) and most types of wire cutters whose jaws required us to place the tool handle parallel to and flush with the shingle surface to get a bite on the nail head did not work because the thickness of the tool or the need to lift and pry the tool against the shingle surface broke fiber cement siding shingles when we tried sliding it between them.
A hacksaw blade can be used to cut the shingle nails and is so thin it won't break the shingles if you work carefully but it has two serious disadvantages:
- This is a very tedious approach not suitable for removing many fiber cement of cement asbestos shingles
- The cut nail end remains in place in the nail hole of the under-shingle, making it difficult to get a new supporting nail in place.
What we found worked best was to use a pair of end-cutting pliers, called by some folks nippers or a "nail biter" - sold at hardware stores in various sizes.
Buy a tool whose handle and cutting face will be at right angles to the work surface and whose cutting face is flush (with the cutting angle filed just on the inside of the cutting edges. Working CAREFULLY we found we could usually grab the nail head protruding just proud of the fiber cement shingle and pull it straight out.
We use two sizes of end-cutting pliers made by Channellock, like the Channelock 358 8-inch End Cutting Plier tool shown in our photo just above. "Grab the nail head and yank" straight out seemed to work best. |
Watch out: don't pry against the cement asbestos shingle with the nail puller nor other tools or you'll risk breaking the shingle below.
The nail extractor made by Jefferson Tools (shown at left) might also work provided that you do not pry directly against the cement asbestos shingle, OR you are prying only against a siding section that is already damaged and going to be replaced. |
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Questions & answers or comments about the best methods for removing or replacing broken or damaged asbestos cement or fiber cement shingle siding or "china glaze" siding on homes.
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Technical Reviewers & References
Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
- Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print).
- "Handling Asbestos-Containing roofing material - an update", Carl Good, NRCA Associate Executive Director, Professional Roofing, February 1992, p. 38-43
- EPA Guidance for Controlling Asbestos-Containing Materials in buildings, NIAST, National Institute on Abatement Sciences & Technology, [republishing EPA public documents] 1985 ed., Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
- Copy on file as - /hazmat/Asbestos_in_Your_Home_US_EPA.pdf - Asbestos in Your Home - U.S. EPA, Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
- NRCA Roofing and Waterproofing Manual, 4th Ed., available from the National Roofing Contractors' Association.
- "Tips for working with fiber-cement roofing products", Thomas L. Smith, AIA, RRC, Professional Roofing, September 1996
- Bullet Tools 920 Pro Magnum Shear I-20 Electricity Free 20 Inch Flooring and Siding Dust Free Cutter -(sold at Amazon and at other tool distributors) this is a great tool, but $900. http://www.bullettools.com/ Bullet Tools Company, 3390 W. Hayden Ave., Hayden ID 83835 - 800-406-8998 or international: 208-772-0175. sales@bullettools.com
- Malco® TSFC Tubo Shear fiber cement cutting tool (sold at Amazon and at other tool distributors) and also the Malco TSF2A Shear Cutting Tool, a heavy-duty pneumatic shear cutting tool for the same purpose (available at Amazon.com) Malco Products, http://www.malcoproducts.com/ specializes in producing tools for the HVAC trade. Malco Products, Inc. - PO Box 400, 14080 State Highway 55 NW, Annandale, MN 55302-0400
P: 800-328-3530 | F: 320-274-2269
- June 1997 - Window Putty - OSHA case cites contractor for asbestos exposure during removal of window putty http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=1091
- Asbestos Identification and Testing References
- Asbestos Identification, Walter C.McCrone, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL.1987 ISBN 0-904962-11-3. Dr. McCrone literally "wrote the book" on asbestos identification procedures which formed
the basis for current work by asbestos identification laboratories.
- Stanton, .F., et al., National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 506: 143-151
- Pott, F., Staub-Reinhalf Luft 38, 486-490 (1978) cited by McCrone
- Asbestos in Your Home U.S. EPA, Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
- Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print, text and images available at InspectAPedia.com).
- "Handling Asbestos-Containing roofing material - an update", Carl Good, NRCA Associate Executive Director, Professional Roofing, February 1992, p. 38-43
- EPA Guidance for Controlling Asbestos-Containing Materials in buildings, NIAST, National Institute on Abatement Sciences & Technology, [republishing EPA public documents] 1985 ed., Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
- ...
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
 The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
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