Roof soffit sheeting

[utterlydiy]

I'm replacing some rotting timbers at the corner ends of the roof.

Some 7 years ago, UPVC Fascia, Barge, Soffit and Cladding was fitted.

The installers (now defunct) fitted the soffit boards by screwing to the asbestos type sheeting, in doing so some of the sheets are broken or cracked.

Can these sheets be removed as they hidden/covered by the UPVC soffit boarding which will now be fixed to the underside of new battens on the cladding and wooden fascia/barge boards.

Thanks

 

[utterlydiy]

To give some more info,

The house was built in 1985, timber framed, half brick and half wooden cladding.

The sheets in question are white and are nailed to the 4 x 2 joists and eaves etc all round the soffits on all 4 sides of the house.

The question I'm try ask, do these sheets need to be replaced or will the UPVC hollow boarding be sufficient on their own.

thanks

 

[Alastairreid]

The existing soffit will most likely be fibre cement board.

Hollow soffit can be used without a backer board, make sure it has plenty of support between the trusses.

 

[utterlydiy]

Thanks,

That's I what thought, just wanted to be sure.

Thanks again

 

[Littlehomesteader]

The existing soffit will most likely be fibre cement board.

Er, hang on, they banned import of blue and brown asbestos in 1985, as your house was being built. But it's unlikely that affected the material being supplied to your builder at the same time, from stuff already in the warehouses? Best to get it tested. Let the lab sample it for you. shouldn't cost you much more than £50.
Problem is, what looks like white asbestos cement sheeting can also turn out to be amosite (brown) asbestos insulation board, AIB, which was previously used for soffits. Made that assumption myself and got it wrong. Bought a house thinking I had asbestos cement, AC soffits, and found it was AIB. AC is hard and usually thin, like you see on old garage roofs, only flat. (AC Also used on the roof verge at gable ends, to hold the mortar bed for the edge tiles.) AIB is less dense, so easier to sample, and tended to be a bit thicker. Both were used in soffits. A thought -If it was nailed on it's probably AIB since AC might shatter? Post '85 soffit stuff that looks like AIB might just be pressed vermiculite (on the bright side), and I've seen them use plywood later before uPVC kicked in.
As you're on the time 'borderline', please don't assume it's not AIB, which is a specialist thing, sorry.

 

[Xenon]

Methinks much bowlocks posted above. Crysotile cement. AIB is and was to soft for external use.