geordiebloke

Quick question......

We've recently moved into a house which is about 12-15 years old, in Perth's
northern subs. The fencing surrounding the house is that concrete looking material that a lot of houses around here have.

Is this likely to be made with asbestos and if so should we consider having it removed, or at least be careful if drilling into it??

Cheers

Cheetah7

We had a guy come out to give us a quote for fencing and he told us right away that our dividing fence is asbestos. There is quite alot of it still around.

The fence is OK, when it gets replaced - the neighbour and I will have to split the cost.

I would get it identified before you do anything with it. Our old neighbour was going to merrily smash it down until I told him what it was.

It needs to be disposed of in a certain way, if we choose to have it removed, the guy will have breathing equipment on and some sort of bodysuit. We have been told we will have to keep the windows shut and take certain precautions and you have to pay for its disposal - although a guy at work told me if you take it to a certain landfill site for asbestos then you only pay a little bit instead of hundreds, how true that is I do not know.

On the top part of our garden where there is new(ish) fencing, the thicko guys that put the new fence up, didnt see fit to pull out all the asbestos from the old one, they just smashed it down and buried it all. Stupidity that beggards belief. Especially as our dog keeps digging it up - he doesnt touch it, he digs it and barks at it.

Our council said asbestos is OK until it is disturbed - cut/drilled/smashed .

So probably safer to get someone to identify it and then take it from there.

ABCDiamond

I would advise not drilling into it, or doing anything to it.
Apparently it is not dangerous when in good condition and not disturbed.

It does seem that lots of houses around Perth have such fencing.

Official rules are:

Amazulu

Or hire a skip, break down the fence and place the pieces in bottom of skip, fill skip up with other crap, get skip collected. Problem solved - cheaply.

Not that I've ever done anything like that of course.

ABCDiamond

And perfectly OK to do that, as long as you aren't aware that it is asbestos

And of course, most newcomers to such an area would not be aware of that...

Mipik

Any idea when exactly they have stopped using asbestos in housing construction in Australia?

ABCDiamond

James Hardie, Australia’s largest asbestos manufacturer, who were sued recently, stopped using asbestos in its products in 1987.

Brown and Blue asbestos, used in construction, was banned in 1987.

White asbestos, used mainly for the manufacture of packing and friction materials such as brake and clutch linings, was banned on 31st December, 2003.

lapin_windstar

It's flipping unreal how much stuff is made of asbestos and how late they were using it in Australia! Abatement programmes had been going on in the UK for donkeys' before the Aussies even stopped installing it.
So long, of course, as you, your neighbours or anyone working at the waste site doesn't breathe it in and gets asbestosis because you're too tight-fisted.

ABCDiamond

Blue and brown asbestos (the two most dangerous forms) were banned in the UK in 1985. (http://www.hse.gov.uk)
Blue and brown asbestos (the two most dangerous forms) were banned in Australia in 1987.

Two years difference = Donkeys years ?

jad n rich

Agree with that, how would anyone fancy their neighbour smashing up asbestos then you or your kids breath it in

In Qld the laws on removal are pretty strict, but of course plenty of people ignore them Lots of schools are full of it, R has done a few schools where its had to be removed, the entire area is sealed off etc, specialist company brought in.

Houses, the neighbours are usually pretty clued up theres been a few houses recently where someones gone about removing it on the cheap and someones dobbed them in and they get fined, story often appears on local news and paper.

However on building sites you hear amazing things, like old blokes who were chopping and sawing it 30 years ago and cause their not dead yet they reckon its safe Asbestos fences were sawed and drilled and apparently nobody even wore a mask.

geordiebloke

So I'm guessing, with this in mind, if my house/fence was constructed in the mid 90's, it's unlikely to contain asbestos

ABCDiamond

But if they, as I said, "aren't aware that it is asbestos" .... where does the tight fisted apply ?

ABCDiamond

Can never be sure of anything, but in theory, it should be unlikely.

But, you do hear of many people disagreeing with laws, and doing things their own way.

MartinLuther

If it was 12-15 years ago then it is extremely unlikely to contain asbestos. Can you find a name on the board? If so then you can get it checked out. If you have any rough edges (e.g. where a bit has broken off) then you can do a flame test. Try burning it with a lighter. If the fibres shrivel then it's not asbestos. If the fibres glow and dosen't burn then it is asbestos.

MartinLuther

You might want to read this http://www.kent.gov.uk/business/supp...estos-fact.htm