Asbestos Cement Siding

After all it was an affordable option that offered homeowners resistance to heat insects and rot while also being easy to paint.

Asbestos cement siding.

Asbestos siding was first introduced into the us in the early 1900 s by austrian engineer ludwid hatschek. The resulting product was very durable fire resistant and absorbed paint well. Weatherside fiber cement siding is the one and weatherside fiber cement siding is the one and only solution for replacing or repairing old asbestos siding shingles. Asbestos siding was made by adding asbestos a naturally occurring mineral to portland cement.

Exposure to and breathing asbestos fibers can result in lung problems and cancer. That cement was then pressed into siding shingles that came in a wide variety of sizes profiles and textures. The epa officially banned the use of asbestos in new building materials in 1989 but decades of use means it is still in millions of homes. It is available in a variety of sizes and shapes to match many of the old siding shingles installed over the last 60 years.

It is very brittle and has a tendency to crack and break when nailed which can release asbestos fibers into both the air and ground. The use of a pressure washer for maintenance can crack the siding and lead to moisture intrusion if the pressure setting is high enough. Cementious siding and roofing such as fiber cement siding lap siding and fiber cement roof shingles containing asbestos may then have appeared on homes constructed between 1906 and 1980 in north america and contining later in some other countries. Asbestos cement siding was a commonly used building material in the us and canada from the early to mid late 20th century roughly from the 1920s to the 1980s.

A hardened mixture of asbestos fibers portland cement and water used in relatively thin slabs for shingles wallboard and siding. Asbestos cement siding is very brittle and can be easily chipped cracked or broken. According to merriam webster asbestos cement is. Asbestos siding was first used in the united states in the 1900s to reinforce cement shingles and over the course of the next seven decades millions of homes were constructed with asbestos cement siding.

Advertised as a fireproof alternative to other roofing. Asbestos siding is composed of asbestos fibers mixed with portland cement. Asbestos cement can be dangerous if pulverized by sawing sanding breaking etc. Asbestos cement genericized as fibro or fibrolite short for fibrous cement sheet and ac sheet is a building material in which asbestos fibres are used to reinforce thin rigid cement sheets.