Possible Asbestos Soffits

[Dez999]

Hi all.

I am currently in the process of fitting some CCTV cameras around my house and my intention was to mount them under the eaves on my soffits. I have always assumed the soffit boards were timber as they were painted, but now having had a closer look at them from inside the loft it looks like they are a cement/fibre type board. My worry is this could be asbestos.

The house itself is a late 1997 build semi in west central Scotland. The fascias, bargeboards etc are all timber. What is the likelihood that these soffit boards could contain asbestos? None of the houses in the estate have had the soffits upgraded to UPVC yet - . From having a quick look up the street a few people have drilled into the soffits for running cables, vents, downlights etc.

Our home report when we bought the property circa 2 years ago did not highlight any asbestos.

Obviously I am not going to touch these if there is a possibility that they could be dangerous. If there is any chance that they are asbestos I will have a professional come in and confirm it before I go ahead with any work.

I can post up some pictures from inside if thats any help.

Thanks in advance

 

[Jadele]

would seem unlikely looking at this https://www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/98593/Asbestos-in-Your-Home.pdf

But only just lol

 

[^woody^]

Asbestos products were not used in construction in the 1990's

Edit: see post below.

 

[Dez999]

That's good to hear. The only thing that cast doubt in my mind was the following page I found after a search on Google.

http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/get_...d_conditions/home_safety/asbestos_in_the_home

"If your home was built after 1986, it's unlikely that asbestos materials were used. The use of asbestos in building materials was banned in 1999, so if your home was built in 2000 or later, it won't contain any asbestos at all. However, if your home was built during the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s, asbestos materials may well have been used during its construction."

So, very very unlikely then, but it doesn't appear to have been fully banned in Scotland until 1999, a few years after my house was built so thought I would double check.

 

[^woody^]

Just to expand a little ...

Use of asbestos products in construction was banned in 1999. But there was a phasing out period from the mid to late 80's. Not just in use, but in imports.

During the 90's there would have been very little used, because of the forthcoming ban and knowledge of the dangers, but also because of low stocks and supplies.

So depending on the builder, there could potentially have been use up until 1999, but that would be less likely the closer builds got to the ban and with larger firms.

Although it was a UK ban, I'm not sure of the building practices in Scotland up to 1999, so perhaps the correct advice would be to assume that the soffits could contain asbestos, unless you have had it confirmed by a test. Sorry, I'll alter my post above.

In context though, if the soffit is the hard cement board, and you are just drilling through for fixings, then there is very low risk of you take the normal sensible precautions.