Asbestos Cement Siding

Asbestos siding was manufactured by adding asbestos fibers which are a naturally occurring mineral to portland cement.

Asbestos cement siding.

The resulting product was very durable fire resistant and absorbed paint well. 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. 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. 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 continuing later in some other countries.

It is available in a variety of sizes and shapes to match many of the old siding shingles installed over the last 60 years. The use of a pressure washer for maintenance can crack the siding and lead to moisture intrusion if the pressure setting is high enough. 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. According to merriam webster asbestos cement is.

That cement was then pressed into siding shingles that came in a wide variety of sizes profiles and textures. Exposure to and breathing asbestos fibers can result in lung problems and cancer. Asbestos siding was made by adding asbestos a naturally occurring mineral to portland cement. After all it was an affordable option that offered homeowners resistance to heat insects and rot while also being easy to paint.

Although invented at the end of the 19th century the material rose to necessity during world war ii to make sturdy inexpensive military housing and continued to be used widely following the war as an affordable external cladding for buildings. 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 siding is composed of asbestos fibers mixed with portland cement. Advertised as a fireproof alternative to other roofing.

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. Asbestos cement can be dangerous if pulverized by sawing sanding breaking etc. Asbestos cement siding is very brittle and can be easily chipped cracked or broken. 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.