Siding questions - what to do with asbestos shingle?

[MH1]

Ok so the house has asbestos shingle in pretty good shape, and the prior owners left a stash of spare shingles. I need to either paint or "replace" the asbestos shingles. I was leaning hard toward painting until I heard that in my state, it is legal to put siding over the asbestos shingle without removing it. The person who told me was talking about vinyl siding but I would assume I can do aluminum, or maybe stucco? (not really thinking along stucco lines ... I like it on some houses but can't quite see it on mine, yet).

My biggest concern after appearance (being able to make it look decent), is environment. I think painting the existing shingles is probably the best course, EXCEPT ... shockingly, I know, I really don't like the look of the asbestos shingles. (I think these days it pretty much screams old house that person can't afford to get new siding on. Or something. Does ANYONE like asbestos shingle?)

If I side over the existing shingle, is there any kind of non-aluminum siding that's ok for the environment, durable, etc.?

So, home improvement group, your thoughts?

[pscot]

1. There's a cement siding called Hardie Plank

It comes in various styles including one the resembles 8" beveled cedar. I think it costs about $2 per linear foot. Cedar is great, but it's expensive and has to be maintained, which isn't all that big a deal. Asbestos may look dated and tacky, but my 20 year old shack is sided with some bogus compressed sawdust crap that dissolves when it gets wet and is crack to carpenter ants.

[catnhatnh]

2. Your siding sounds like masonite...

There have been dozens of class action lawsuits but you should still investigate and see if you have any legal standing:http://www.hadd.com/documents/siding.pdf

[MH1]

5. Thanks, pscot, looks interesting.

I checked out their web page. Looks good. I'll ask about it when I go for quotes.

[mopinko]

11. was just discussing this w an estimator. hardie

i was told that if it isnt put on a smooth surface, that the warrantee is void.
i may do it anyway, because i suspect it will outlive me anyway.

house i am working on is old asbestos shingles. built in the 20's. i want to just cover it up, not disturb it, and keep the r value.

this was a home despot estimator. she insisted that their vinyl siding is super thick and insulated and has a very long warrantee (dont remember exactly) and can be applied over the shingles.

have an architect coming out on friday and will be discussing it with him.

[Warpy]

3. Asbestos siding sold as maintenance free and indestructible

Unfortunately, as we all now know, disturbing it releases asbestos particles and it was the butt-ugliest stuff ever devised. Covering it up is the most cost effective but kicks the can down the road, environmentally speaking, since some other poor slob down the road will have to get rid of it when he knocks your place down to build a McMansion.

The cheapest thing to do with it is paint over it, it takes paint very well. It also poses no health risk as long as it's unbroken, unsawn, undrilled and undisturbed, it's brittle stuff. It's probably the most environmentally friendly thing to do, as well, since it seals the surface away from any possible weathering. You can put up other siding on top of it with a layer of insulation foam between them to contain any fibers from disturbed tiles. Check local codes about this, some areas don't allow residing, only removal.

You've got a hell of a lot of company out there, the stuff was invented in the 20s and only made illegal in the 80s.

[MH1]

6. Thanks for the input.

As of this morning I'm leaning strongly to just painting it this year. Put off the siding decision until later. I have a lot of other work I'm getting done on the house, so it does make sense to kick this expense down the road a bit. The main reason I'm even thinking about re-siding is that I don't want to get all my work done, my bank account half drained, and look at my house and still see that butt-ugly shingle. But maybe new paint will make it tolerable for awhile longer. (haven't painted yet since I've lived here, and it's been due for a couple years now.)

[Warpy]

8. I've read that it's better to leave intact, undamaged siding up

because some of those tiles are so fragile that the act of getting rid of it causes more problems than leaving it in place.

[rusty quoin]

4. My only solutions are never buy a house with it, live with it, paint it to contain the fibers.

Or you can do asbestos abatement and start from the beginning after that's done. I never did that, but I understand it is costly. Can you imagine a crew gowned up like drug company workers, respirator, booties...nothing exposed, removing each shingle in ways not to break any...and placing each shingle gently into the bag to be tagged and buried in a special place, like it was a deadly biological pathogen.

The stuff sucks. I know. I bought two houses with it. One was covered with vinyl, and the other with aluminum. You'd think I'd learn by the first mistake.

If you can cover it up with something else, maybe that's the way, but I certainly would get many quotes, and opinions, especially from your county office.

Did I mention the stuff sucks?

[MH1]

7. Thanks, yes the stuff sucks.

I had looked at so many houses and REALLY liked some key features about this one. (#1 - location, location, location! Of course.)

I was exhausted from my house search so decided to overlook the shingle issue, figuring I could re-side at some point. Here we are ...

[Paper Roses]

9. Asbestos shingles, my sympathy. In 1969 we bought our old house and.....

Yes, it was covered with asbestos shingles. The house needed a ton of work both inside and out. I could live with the inside work, one room at a time but the gross shingles had to go.(along with a dilapidated porch and a 3 seater outhouse) My husband and I put up ladders and whacked the heck out of the stuff.
At the time, we did not know about the dangers of asbestos. Since this house is 2 1/2 stories high, it took quite a while to get this stuff off, get up all the nails, and get the shingles to the dump. It weighs a ton for just a small load. The old clapboards were in good shape so we scraped and painted, it looked great. At that time it was OK to bring the stuff to our local dump.Years later, we found out about the dangers of asbestos..a little too late.

If you have these shingles, they were probably put on over some prior siding. Adding another layer of siding on top of the shingles would probably bring the face of the siding to beyond the edge of your windows.

Painting would solve your problem for a while but when the time comes to rid yourself of the shingles, it is a major job. The work and cost of disposal is awful. I wish you luck. Whoever invented this junk should be drawn and quartered.

[rusty quoin]

10. Yes about this.

If you have these shingles, they were probably put on over some prior siding. Adding another layer of siding on top of the shingles would probably bring the face of the siding to beyond the edge of your windows.

There is something underneath and for all future buyers, find a way to find out if it's asbestos. Know the age of the of the home. Find out when asbestos was no longer used. Use something like an awl or a nail to go through the caulk at a window or at at a door to feel you've stopped at something that feels like cement. Turn it back and forth to hear the sound. I recommend an awl, because it can fit better with a good handle to do the turning.

I think there should be laws that say it's there, but I have mixed feelings because the present homeowner may have been fooled too.

There are always many hidden problems in which one needs to watch out for with buying a new old home. God, I can tell you about a few.