ajv199

Hi. Does anyone have any information on any problems with asbestos roofs in Italy; apart from the obvious health concerns. I'm thinking of legality when repairing etc. The property we are purchasing was built before the 1992 ban but I was wondering about how common asbestos roofs are and how easy repairing them is?

Thanks

AJV

Jake.White

Depends how bad the damage is...

Throughout my working life I've come into contact with asbestos on a number of occasions. Going near the pesky stuff to do any work on is always a bit of a risk and I've turned down more than one potentially well paid job in my time because of it, but real problems only tend to arise with it when it is disturbed and the tiny particles fly up into the air and into your lungs where they lodge and get stuck forevermore. If it's left alone it should be fine and should sit there quite happily inert until you can find a registered contractor to come and remove it - provided such an entity actually exists in Italy of course, maybe someone else could advise on that because I have no clue...?

I have an asbestos roof on my shed over there which I've patched up in a few little places with mastic to stop the rain getting in. It was only a few small holes though and only involved slathering some mastic over it - it's if you damage or break it that the threat to health becomes apparent. If your roof has more serious issues than that I would just leave it alone or at the very least if you feel you absolutely have to do some running repair work on it to wear a good rated dust mask when doing the work and which you should disgard after a single use.

ajv199

Thanks Jake. To be honest I was more concerned with the prospect of the legality of having and maintaining an asbestos roof in Italy. I am aware of the obvious hazards but not really of how it plays out with repair and if I need to be worried about the "asbestos police"? etc.

Jake.White

Well I've had asbestos on my roof since day one which was 15 years ago, and have been blissfully unaware of any legal issues in that entire time. I've certainly never had a visit from any kind of asbestos police about it and none of my Italian neighbours has ever mentioned anything about it so my best advice (although offered in complete ignorance) is just to carry on regardless and not spend too much time fretting about it. Things in Italy are entirely different from here in Blighty and legal wheels move VERY slowly if they can be bothered to move at all. Rules are also flaunted joyfully right, left and centre by all and sundry...

ajv199

Thanks Jake, that's a bit more reassuring. It's generally what people there have been saying but no harm in hearing it from others.

Kind regards

AJV

Jake.White

37100

Buildings with asbestos are supposed to registed with the ASL and checked regularly.

clint

By law ( no 257 march1992) owners of properties with asbestos (also referred as amianto or eternit) roofs should inform their local asl of the fact (failure to do so can result in a fine up to 1500€) , if the roof doesn't represent a danger and needs maintenance to avoid disrepair you will need to contact a ditta di bonifica amianto if the roof needs to be removed only specialist registered companies (albo nazionale dei gestori ambientali) can remove and dispose of the roof.

If the current owners have not informed the asl of this type of roof you will have to wonder why they didn't do so, also you should be aware that if your future neighbours feel concerned that your roof represent a health hazard they can make an official complaint to the local authorities, if the roof is then found to be a danger to public health the authorities can force you to remove your roof, this comes at a considerable cost

ajv199

Many thanks for the info, there is a lot to think about. I will contact the estate agent to make sure everything is in order.

Cheers

AJV

Lorna at Vicenza

It saddens me so much to see, hear and read about how much non-Italians do to comply by the rules about buildings, roofs, asbestos, plaster, lime etc. etc and half of the public schools in Italy are falling down, are condemned or should be condemned. Many hospitals too.

ajv199

What saddens me is the convenient way both the Italian owner and Italian estate agent neglected to inform us of the asbestos make-up of the roof. As for the state of ill-repair of the schools and hospitals....well maybe some of the tax we will pay when we declare our income when working in Italy will go towards the upkeep.

Jake.White

Indeed. Sad but true, and should give you a pointer and some clues as to how to approach any future dealings... In the light of the information given by others I'll now have to take steps to get my own old asbestos roof removed and replaced.. I'd never even considered it until now...

Geordieborn

Is it a case of what you don’t know doesn’t hurt you then? I doubt the owner or the agent think it at all important.

Jake.White

I'd probably agree with you on that Geordie. Obviously, and as we all know there are often inconvenient aspects which would adversely affect a property sale which are conveniently swept under the carpet by both seller and agent in so many cases, but in this particular case, and depending on the amount of asbestos involved and where it is situated, I think a mountain is quite possibly being made out of a molehill. As I say, I've had one of these roofs on my shed which measures about 2mx2m since I bought my house 15 years ago and it never even crossed my mind to turn it in to any kind of problem, although as you know, my own rather long and tedious property adventures in Italy have been richly lavished with problem after problem, and largely on the part of bent estate agents......

clint

if the roof is in reasonable condition and doesn't pose a health danger you don't need to replace it you can keep it there are 2 other options to ensure it doesn't break and release dangerous dusty particles sorry not sure of the technical term the 2 other options are, provided the roof is ok,

• incapsulamento dell’amianto sul tetto esistente
• Sovracopertura del tetto con amianto con un altro materiale isolante