Is this an asbestos roof?

[lanmao]

I ripped off the roof of an old coal shed recently which has been there since my family moved in in 1977. I'd always assumed it was some kind of sheet metal so I didn't take any precautions at the time. Now I'm worried as it's been suggested it could be asbestos.

Please could someone take a look at the photos and tell me what material the roof sheets are likely to be and whether they could be asbestos? I've spent ages Googling asbestos roofs, including the HSE site but am none the wiser. As I understand, only a lab test will give me a definitive answer but I'm hoping that someone could give me a better idea of the material at least.

What are the properties of asbestos cement roofs? Are they usually thick and brittle? My sheets don't have the usual moss and lichen growing on them. There are no signs of rust and they aren't attracted to magnets. They seem to have been quite malleable but the edges now look like they're spalling. The underside is whitish in colour and flaky but that could be some kind of deposit, though I don't really want to scrape it to find out.

Thanks in advance, any help would be greatly appreciated!

Roof sheet

• lanmao
• 7 Oct 2013
• 1

Roof sheet

Roof sheet detail

• lanmao
• 7 Oct 2013
• 1

Roof sheet detail

Roof sheet bent corner

• lanmao
• 7 Oct 2013
• 1

Roof sheet bent corner

Roof sheet corroded corner

• lanmao
• 7 Oct 2013
• 1

Roof sheet corroded corner

Roof sheet damage close

• lanmao
• 7 Oct 2013
• 1

Roof sheet damage close

Roof sheet damage

• lanmao
• 7 Oct 2013
• 1

Roof sheet damage

Roof sheet underside detail

• lanmao
• 7 Oct 2013
• 1

Roof sheet underside detail

Roof sheet bent

• lanmao
• 7 Oct 2013
• 1

Roof sheet bent

Roof sheet underside

• lanmao
• 7 Oct 2013
• 1

Roof sheet underside

Roof sheet corner

• lanmao
• 7 Oct 2013
• 1

Roof sheet corner

Roof sheet crack

• lanmao
• 7 Oct 2013
• 1

Roof sheet crack

Roof sheet corner edge

• lanmao
• 7 Oct 2013
• 1

Roof sheet corner edge

 

[big-all]

some off it looks like corrugated tin ??
is it metallic will a magnet stick to it??

 

[kbdiy]

If it bends like in pic 3 then it's corrugated iron - asbestos sheet would break before you could bend it like that. Also in other pics it looks too thin to be asbestos.

 

[lanmao]

Thanks for the quick replies!

I was hoping it would be iron but I've tested it with a magnet and it doesn't stick. There are no signs of rust on it either.

 

[footprints]

Almost looks like aluminium which is white when corroded can’t say I have ever heard of corrugated alli but it’s possible I guess.
Normal asbestos roofing sheets will snap not fold if bent they are heavy and often have a smooth surface on top and a dimpled side underneath.

They are referred to as Asbestos Cement and that’s just what they are a sheet of cement usually about 1/8 to ¼ inch thick with asbestos mixed in, brittle and while they can be broken and crumbled they are pretty robust from the weathering point of view an old sheet left out for years suffers very little damage as a result.

As you say the only way to know for certain is to get a small bit tested but there is a good chance this is something else.
It might be some sort of composite hard felt type material but it’s impossible to say from pictures.
Get a test done then you will know for certain, but don’t worry too much in the mean time.

 

[tony1851]

There was a roofing material produced many years ago called SRAB (semi-rigid asbestos-bitumen sheeting); there was even a BS for it. I only saw it as flat sheeting but it might have been produced corrugated as well. As its name suggests, it was a mixture of bitumen and asbestos fibres. The fibres seemed fairly well-embeded so probably didn't present too much of a risk.

More recently, there is Onduline sheeting - again corrugated and a mixture of bitumen and fine wood fibres.

Whatever, a gut feeling from the pics is that yours aren't asbestos-cement.

 

[Nige F]

There was a roofing material produced many years ago called SRAB (semi-rigid asbestos-bitumen sheeting); there was even a BS for it. I only saw it as flat sheeting but it might have been produced corrugated as well. As its name suggests, it was a mixture of bitumen and asbestos fibres. .

.

Could that have been Nuralite ? horrible cheapo stuff we had to work with @ college making flashings. Maybe the OP has corrugated zinc sheets

 

[tony1851]

.

Could that have been Nuralite ? [/quote]

Yes, thanks - that's the stuff - have been wracking my brains all day to remember it!
Agreed - dreadful product to shape. Cracked very easily if I remember.

 

[footprints]

I remember Nuralite we had a "witches hat" made out of it to flash around flues on flat roofs, it came with a block you melted on with the blowlamp to seal around the edges like a black bar of lifeboy soap

 

[lanmao]

Thank you all for the reassuring info!

I feel a lot less worried now. It was the spalling and the white flaky underside that got me most worried about the possibility of asbestos.

A few more questions though; I think it's metal so what were/are the most common non-ferrous roof sheeting materials? I used to think tin and zinc only came as coatings, so they're often used pure? Has anyone come across corrugated aluminium sheets? Is lead a possibility or would it be too soft?

Thanks again!

 

[footprints]

Only thing I can say it will not be lead it's too soft and would weigh a ton!

Zinc comes in sheets as does Alli, but personally I have never seen it in corrugated form.

No doubt it must have got scratched during removal was it shiny underneath?

If you are sure it is metal you could try showing a bit to your local scrap dealer, see if his eyes light up, it might be worth something.

Edit
Out of interest try a google image search for

aluminium corrosion