Asbestos Siding Vs Cement Fiber Siding

Asbestos siding was made by adding asbestos a naturally occurring mineral to portland cement.

Asbestos siding vs cement fiber siding.

I have had many houses built with fiber cement and have never seen any delaminating in 8 years. 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 durable and can be painted or stained. Identifying asbestos siding is a major concern for many homeowners with older homes that have cement siding.

Manufacturers use asbestos in fiber cement siding although some of the earlier versions of fiber cement siding did indeed have some asbestos particles blended in fiber cement was actually designed to replace the asbestos siding products to create a safer environment for the installers and the home s residents. 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. Cement asbestos siding tiles do not need to be removed simply because they contain asbestos. There is no legal requirement to do so nor is there significant real estate benefit.

All of these products use some sort of fiber along with cement. Left on your house it s a darn good insulator and fire retardant. Silica dust is a danger to those cutting and installing the product if they do not use the right tools. Siding materials that use fibers and aggregate other than asbestos are properly called fiber cement building siding products.

Some manufacturers use the term fiber reinforced cement for these products. It is formulated using sand cement and cellulose fibers. Some evidence of delaminating or gapping. The common reinforcing fiber used was asbestos.

Older style cement siding shingles were traditionally made by mixing asbestos into the cement in order to fireproof and strengthen siding. Siding is cement impregnated asbestos it s going nowhere unless you grind or pulverize it. As the experts at asbestos siding note it is sometimes difficult to spot because it was often manufactured to resemble different types of siding in a variety of colors and textures. That cement was then pressed into siding shingles that came in a wide variety of sizes profiles and textures.

Cementitious siding installed after 1973 is very unlikely to contain asbestos. The resulting product was very durable fire resistant and absorbed paint well. Before 1978 in the u s. Fiber cement siding was manufactured as a replacement for asbestos siding which was popular for its attributes of being fire retardant and rot and insect proof.

Since asbestos was included as an additive when siding was manufactured for many decades the odds are good that original shingle siding on holder homes may contain asbestos.