Asbestos Cement Shingle Siding FAQs
Q&A on asbestos-cement wall siding

This article series provides a photo guide and text for the identification of asbestos-containing wall siding products like asphalt shingles & asbestos-cement siding shingles.

Cement-asbestos Wall Shingles or Siding Questions & Answers

These questions and answers about asbestos cement siding or fiber cement siding were posted originally

at ASBESTOS CEMENT SIDING - home; be sure to see that article.

[Click to enlarge any image]

On 2020-06-25 - by (mod) -

I would treat the material was presumed to contain asbestos and consider the same recommendations that you are or I would have a sample tested. From the edge of the building that's unlikely that it's something other than a cement asbestos material

On 2020-06-22 by Romeos

We have a building that my father in law built in 1968. The siding shingles are hard and came already painted. My father in law claims they are made from crushed shells and do not contain asbestos.

We have a few places where a shingle has been damaged and were planning on repainting. ( except for these couple of damaged shingles- nothing really needs painting) I can not find any product that is made from shells and am wondering if my father in law is incorrect.

If these shingles do contain asbestos- I assume we should not power wash or scrub- so I am not sure if paint will adhere well! Thoughts, answers, advice!?

On 2020-06-15 - by (mod) -

Paul

Today one would not choose nor find asphalt shingle siding, but 1 or 2 generations back it was a low cost, quick, easy to install siding offering an option for homes in need of an expensive paint job. The aluminium siding of its era.

On 2020-06-15 by Barb

@Paul Schmitz,
Why do you want a house with this type of shingle siding? Just curious.

On 2020-04-12 - by (mod) -

Lillian

I would measure the fiber cement shake siding you're trying to match, then you can find a match among current fiber cement products.

On 2020-04-12 by Lillian Burdorf

I have a quick question. I am having my roof repaired and a portion if it has to be built up so it wont leak again. I live in a house built in 1910. We are looking for a type of siding to just do the area after the roof is built up. The problem is the siding on it is shake in pretty decent shape and looking for something that will match in thickness looking for ideas.

On 2020-03-31 - by (mod) -

You can do that, Paul; you may end up having to build out all of the window, door, and corner trim.

On 2020-03-30 by Paul Schmitz

I would like to buy a old house that has asphalt cement siding, I would like to cover completely, and seal this with out removing the siding.
Thank you
Paul Schmitz

On 2020-04-23 - by (mod) - did asbestos cement siding contain lead?

Generally, in its basic composition, no,

But possibly yes in colored, pigmented, or painted asbestos cement siding lead eoukd be an ingredient.

On 2020-04-23 by Jason

did asbestos cement siding contain lead?

On 2019-10-07 - by (mod) -

Erica

It will help me be more clear if you can attach a photo of the siding that is of concern to you.

In general, asphalt based building siding or "asphalt shingle" siding is a completely different product from asbestos cement shingles discussed here at ASBESTOS CEMENT SIDING https://inspectapedia.com/exterior/Asbestos_Cement_Siding.php

Similar in composition and nature to the older asbestos-cement shingles discussed on this page are newer fiber cement shingles discussed

at SIDING, FIBER CEMENT

Those products look just about exactly alike to the naked eye.

So to guess at whether a cement type siding or roof shingle contains asbestos you would need to know the age of the siding - or at the very least, when it was installed, and from that to guess at whether it was manufactured after asbestos was no longer in use - dates and details discussed in this article series.

For example if your building was constructed in 1990 and is in North America there's pretty much no reasonable chance that it'd use asbestos-cement shingles on its walls or roof.

If your building was built in 1920, perhaps originally with wood clapboard exterior walls and those walls were re-covered with a cement shingle product in the 1950s or 1960s, there's a very good chance - it's most-likely in fact - that that siding is an asbestos cement product.

But your question asked about comparing what I properly call asbestos-CEMENT or fiber-CEMENT shingles and asphalt shingle materials.

Asphalt shingle siding looks nothing like asbestos-cement or fiber cement shingles.

Those products are described at SIDING ASPHALT SHINGLE or SHEET of which I will include a typical photo below

On 2019-10-07 by Erica Walch

Do you have any tips to ascertain whether siding shingles are asbestos vs asphalt fibers?
Thanks!

On 2019-02-15 - by (mod) -

Allan

Sure, any cemetious material including fiber cement siding or asbestos cement siding will gain heat when exposed to direct sunlight.

On 2019-02-15 by allan little

does it collect heat in direct sun?

On 2018-10-22 - by (mod) - Slate is a stone naterial, not asbestos.

Kaylene,

Slate is a stone naterial, not asbestos.

Please post a photo or two so that we can have a look

On 2018-10-22 by Kaylene

I bought a house few months ago that is 99 years old. They had added a room on and I took the wall out and it had the old slate siding under the drywall. Does that wall contain asbestos

On 2018-10-20 by (mod) - is this asbestos-cement siding?

Sarah,

I cannot tell by looking if your fiber cement siding photo (shown here) is asbestos-cement or one of its successors without asbestos, as they look exactly alike.

If you know the age of the house, that would probably answer the question. That point is discussed in the article above.

Your siding looks in excellent condition. Safest, most-economical, and recommended by experts is to leave it alone, avoid creating a problem by grinding, chopping, sawing, etc. Often on older homes I would paint this siding to seal and protect its surface.

On 2018-10-20 by Sara

I have been told that the addition on my house is asbestos siding. I have removed a panel to check if there is any code. Found 6f29 on back. Can they tell y just looking at the siding that it has asbestos? Here is a pic. Any info would help.

IMAGE LOST by older version of Clark Van Oyen’s useful Comments code - now fixed. Please re-post the image if you can. Sorry. Mod.

On 2018-05-11 by (mod) - my house has "shingle siding" - is this asbestos?

Please please take a look at the following article, tell me if that's the siding material that you have and perhaps attach some photos of the siding material besides your excellent close up

SIDING ASPHALT SHINGLE or SHEET

On 2018-05-10 by Tim

I have a home that I just bought. The house is sided with shingle siding.

A few corners are broken, so I looked at it and it is wood (like particle board ) with a black (tar like) layer holding the sand like material on to the siding, Just like a normal roof shingle on the face side.

I am not sure the year the siding was installed. What would the chances that it would have asbestos in it. Thank you in advance.

On 2018-04-23 by (mod) - you can install vinyl siding over cement asbestos shingles but ...

Yes, you can install vinyl siding over cement asbestos shingles, but there are some snafus to watch out for such as breaking the siding causing a Dusty mess or having to build out your window and door trim.

Often the installer will put up building paper and furring strips and siding and then build out the trim.

On 2018-04-19 by Bob

Can you go over asbestos siding with vinyl siding

On 2018-02-25 by Vickie - power washing asbestos cement siding

It’s been a few years since we did all the work.

These are my best recollections that we washed without much change besides the House looking brighter when done, that we drilled many times through the siding, and we may have cut some small pieces when we installed a new door.

Ignorance is bliss, but now I know we really should have left the stuff alone and wish we had. I hope you are right about the seatbelt and cigarettes.

On 2018-02-25 by (mod) -

Sounds like a higher priority would be to remember to fasten your seatbelt in the car and avoid smoking tobacco.

On 2018-02-24 by Vickie

We didn’t see any debris from power washing. Nothing seemed to come off at all. I did see some dust when we drilled through to mount the shutters but it seemed to whip away in the wind.

On 2018-02-24 by (mod) - We power washed our siding that I now know was asbestos with a cheap power washer.

Vickie

I apologize but I really can't guess accurately at the level of risk of asbestos exposure from just the information in your note.

It's probably reasonable to say that if you can see any quantity of dust and debris on the ground then you removed a lot of loose material and most likely that should be cleaned up.

See details at ASBESTOS SIDING POWER WASHING

On 2018-02-24 by Vickie

We power washed our siding that I now know was asbestos with a cheap power washer.

The siding was in good shape and painted. We also installed shutters on this same house, probably ending up drilling 50 holes through the siding not having a clue we had drilled through asbestos containing siding. What do you think my level of risk is giving these activities?

On 2018-01-06 by (mod) -

Let,

I can't say for sure as I'm not sure what material is installed. Yes siding could contain. Asbestos.

Use the picture frame next to the Comment button to attach some sharp photos of your siding to comments.

On 2018-01-06 by Kat

My home was constructed by WPA in 1941 by the addition of two rooms to an older barn that was moved from government acquired farm land near my city, purchased for the purpose of a military ordinance plant.

The barn section has brick-look asphalt siding on it which was covered up by the addition. How likely is it that this brick look asphalt siding has aspestos in it?

On 2017-08-22

by (mod) - Is Masonite the same as asbestos siding

No, Richard.

Generally Masonite siding is a wood fiber-based "hardboard" product - sold as exterior siding and as hardboard used in a variety of indoor applications as well.
See SIDING HARDBOARD https://inspectapedia.com/exterior/Hardboard_Siding_Guide.php

Asbestos siding (which does not actually exist as simple or pure asbestos) is a cementious product, which is why I like to call it Cement-Asbestos or Asbestos cement siding. It's a mixture of portland cement and asbestos used as both filler and fibers for strength.

That's discussed beginning at ASBESTOS CEMENT SIDING - home

What can be confusing is that there are modern "fiber cement" products that still have portland cement as a base ingredient but that have substituted other fibers, such as fiberglass or wood into the mix where asbestos used to be used. I prefer to call those "fiber cement" siding products (also sold in a variety of forms and sizes such as clapboards and 4x8 sheets)

See SIDING, FIBER CEMENT https://inspectapedia.com/BestPractices/Fiber_Cement_Siding.php

On 2017-08-22 by Richard plese

Is Masonite the same as asbestos siding

On 2016-09-16 by (mod) -

Yes

On 2016-09-16 by Denise

Denise (no email)
COMMENT: Did they use these as Bestos tiles in siding in 1952?

On 2016-08-06 15:15:24.453379 by (mod) -

This sounds to me like an inept listing; beware that standard practice for listing agents is to explicitly state that the lister is not liable for errors in the listing information.

That caveat given means you need your own independent home inspection performed by someone working in your interest not that of other parties to the sale.

That second caveat given, I cannot say where asbestos is or is not found in an unknown home in an uknown location;

Asbestos was used in thousands of products, many of which were included in home construction such as pipe insulation, boiler insulation, cement-asbestos siding, possibly cement-asbestos faux brick or stone veneers, cement asbestos shingles, transite asbestos piping, vinyl asbestos tile or sheet flooring.

Many of those materials are relatively harmless as they are cemetious: not friable, not easily made airborne, and safer left alone, in place, or in some cases covered-over.

See ASBESTOS LIST of PRODUCTS (Found by searching InspectApedia for LIST OF ASBESTOS PRODUCTS) for a comprehensive list of where asbestos is often located in buildings or building products.

On 2016-08-05 by Lisa Anderson

Hello. I am considering purchasing a home built in 1968. On the MLS listing under "exterior" it says "asbestos".

But under "siding", it says "brick and stone"; which it clearly is. Where is the asbestos located? and is this a health hazard to a baby/child? Thank you!

On 2016-06-01 5 by (mod) - want to know if u can tell me if its good chance its cement siding

Likely yes

On 2016-05-31 by Dave

Taking cement board off wall that sayvstonewall on back off them I think. House built in 1962 or so want to know if u can tell me if its good chance its cement siding

Question: I have some cement-asbestos siding from 1972; it's cracked. Is it safe to remove?

I have siding from 1972. Some are cracked and I have replacements. Is it a risk to remove the old ones? - Joe 6/28/11

Reply:

Cement asbestos siding from 1972 could release substantial asbestos fibers during demolition, especially depending on how it is removed. Breaking up into small pieces, running power tools, etc. make the problem worse.

Question: Should we be worried about buying a house with asbestos-cement siding? Can we cover it up?

we are looking at a house that has concrete asbestos siding on part of the house, should we be concerned about it, or can we cover them with vinyl without the removing the old ones. please reply - Jerry Massie 7/25/11

Reply:

Jerry you'll want to avoid demolition, using power tools like saws, or something that creates a lot of dust. You can paint cement asbestos siding to bring the potential surface fiber release down close to zero, or you can side over it, taking care not to generate a lot of broken scraps in that process.

Functionally you don't have to remove the old material, though for aesthetic reasons, adding layers of siding to a building can look funny at windows and doors unless you also build out the window and door trim - that's what I'd do.

Question: I have to drill holes through cement asbestos shingles

I’m an amateur remodeling the third floor of our 1890s house. To create roof ventilation, required by code, I may have to drill 2-inch vent holes through the exterior wall in between each pair of rafters.

This would mean drilling through the top row of shingles, which look like cement asbestos shingles. Should I try to remove the top row of shingles instead? (It’s a long way up the ladder.) Or is it unrealistic for a do-it-yourselfer to deal with this problem? My budget is extremely tight. - Paul 7/28/11

Reply:

Paul

Be careful when asking for advice, especially from strangers or consultants. It's always safer for others to spend more of your money to reduce their risk.

That caveat made, and with the emphasis that what follows is mere unsubstantiated OPINION, you might consider following the same procedure to drill two holes through possibly-cement-asbestos-siding shingles as you would if you were obtaining a sample to send to a lab - control the dust - that's the key. Wetting the surfaces, using slow speed cutting, cleaning up all of the dust and crud, can minimize the hazard. Wear a HEPA dust mask.

Don't leave a dusty mess.

My OPINION in conclusion is that the risk of an injury from climbing up to a great height on a ladder to try to remove two sections of suspected-cement-asbestos-shingle-siding is greater than the hazard from careful cutting two holes through the material. (Normally we avoid power tools because we want to minimize dust).

Finally, unless you're experienced, the chances that you can remove just two shingles of this material without breaking their neighbors, are low.

Keep us posted, send some photos.

Reader follow-up:

Many thanks. I will start by drilling one hole to see how it goes.

It may be difficult to control the dust because the 2-inch-round drill bit will have to go through the wood cladding (about 3/4 inches thick) first, and then through the shingle. I'll definitely follow your recommendations as best as I can.

I am concerned, however, that the drilled-out hole and the dust will fall to the ground, 30 feet below. I will try to post some pictures in the next couple of days. Again, I appreciate the thoughtful advice very much.

Comment:

Paul, try also hooking up a HEPA vacuum and use that to collect what dust you can from inside as you drill. Frankly I suspect that the escaped dust from the siding will be below the ability of most tests to detect after this project is over.

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

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.

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 pliers made by Channellock, like the Channelock 358 8-inch End Cutting Pliers tool

"Grab the nail head and yank" straight out seemed to work best but for full details on how to do this job please see Remove & Replace Asbestos Cement Shingles

Question: reader warns about amateur cement-asbestos shingle siding or roofing removal

Watch out: To all those reading this comment feed, know that most of what these people are saying is incorrect. If you are a contractor know that 29 CFR 1926.1101 OSHA asbestos standards apply and you need to remove the material properly. A dust mask (N95) will not protect you or your employees.

Contact an asbestos abatement company to remove the asbestos and DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE MATERIAL YOURSELF. Your just asking for mesothelioma (lung cancer) if you do. - Inspector 5/11/12

Reply: be careful, understand voluntary asbestos standards, be reasonable

Thanks Inspector. We agree that there are both health and legal hazards in removing asbestos-containing materials, even cementious ones. In our experience there are often local regulations or ordinances that describe the level of site and dust control required when demolishing cement-asbestos materials (roof shingles or siding usually) outdoors.

But it's also fair to point out that the standard you cite is "...a non-mandatory appendix to the asbestos standards for construction and for shipyards." Details about asbestos removal and handling regulations including the actual standards and recommendations are at OSHA REGULATIONS, ASBESTOS ROOFING, SIDING

In our OPINION, even non-mandatory standards involving health and safety ought to be followed, though it is reasonable to guess that some adjustments may be needed for the variation in individual cases and environments.

For example, we seriously doubt that a homeowner or even a small contractor is going to set up a tent, containment, negative air, air monitoring and testing, and expert trained supervision simply to pull two nails and replace one cracked asbestos-cement wall shingle with a new fiber-cement shingle that fits into the same space.