Remedy for a leaking asbestos roof.

[BML]

My garage was built in the 1930 and has a roof cover off sheets of corrugated asbestos. Regrettably, the pitch is very low and as a result when it rains hard the water ingresses and leeks into the garage.
I don't want to go to the expense of removing the asbestos and creating a greater pitch so I wonder if there is a material with which the roof can be covered. Recently the garage next door was re-felted with a felt that required a gas burner to fix it and I wonderd if something like that could work.

 

[Diver Fred]

Wait till summer; brush the roof with a stiff yard brush then 'paint' with a thick coat of "Cromapol" or one of the products clones.

 

[JohnD]

brush the roof with a stiff yard brush

Surely this will disturb the asbestos fibres and distribute them into the air. Just the sort of thing you are not supposed to do.

 

[datarebal]

Wait till summer; brush the roof with a stiff yard brush then 'paint' with a thick coat of "Cromapol" or one of the products clones.

NO DONT DO THIS....FFS!
Get the sheets removed and turn it into a felt roof then the pitch can stay the same with minimal timber work

 

[BML]

Turning the roof into a flat felted one will cost a fortune. Is there an inexpensive corrugated fibre sheet that would fit over the asbestos?

 

[Diver Fred]

Never be to proud to admit 'you' (in this case – I, myself) may be wrong. All I can say in mitigation is I used to work in an industry that used copious amounts of Asbestos in various forms and they had some pretty strong working practise practises, guides and training which have been changed (superseded) since I left that industry. Should have checked before I open my mouth...

To answer your question take a look at the HSE website regarding working with Asbestos – Non-licensed.

Top level :- http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/essentials/index.htm

But I think the most useful for you is

Advice on Non-Licensed work with Asbestos :- http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/a0.pdf

Cleaning Asbestos Cement sheeting :- http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/a12.pdf

Repairing Asbestos Cement sheeting :- http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/a13.pdf

Painting Asbestos Cement sheeting :- http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/a16.pdf
(that will include 'Cromapol')

Removing the Asbestos Cement sheets to put a new roof on I beleive will be licensed work so expensive.

Hopefully that will give you something to think about...

 

[^woody^]

Removing the Asbestos Cement sheets to put a new roof on I beleive will be licensed work so expensive

It's non licenced work. Some councils will even collect if you wrap the sheets and leave them out the front.

 

[^woody^]

The thing is with the HSE guides, is that they are intended as guides for businesses to protect workers - typically those in regular contact or those who may be in contact with high risk materials.

If you read the HSE's guide for just drilling a small hole through some Artex, you will see that it's a bit OTT. They always need to cater for the lowest common denominator, but if you have just a bit of common sense you will be able to think about whether the guides are OTT for your particular situation

A garage, outside, in the open air, will not present significant risks of exposure. So potentially, someone doing some DIY could brush down some sheets with little risk and a bit of common sense. By far the biggest risk with these roof sheets is working above ground.

 

[datarebal]

Depends what you call a fortune I guess.. It is possible to dump the sheets a bit at a time at some tips. However some are also starting to charge.
Hence the amount of fly tipping.
A few joists, bit of ply or osb.. some epdm and away you go

 

[BML]

Firstly many thanks to everyone who offered advice and information. I checked with our Local Authority about taking Asbestos to the disposal point and it has to be double wrapped in Polyene so that out because I'm not risking breaking the sheets up. I got what I thought was a reasonable quote of £600.00 to remove and dispose of the garage roof and I have a roofer coming Sunday to price a replacement roof.