Dismantling old asbestos garages

If your garage is an old one (pre 1983) and if the roof and / or the walls are made of a flat or corrugated grey sheet about 1/8th of an inch thick then these sheets could well be Asbestos Cement.

Asbestos Cement sheets were used extensively in cladding a metal or wooden frame to make garages or sheds. It usually contains 10 to 15% Asbestos mixed with cement. It can also be moulded into many forms from flat or corrugated sheets to complicated shapes such as ventilator covers. After 1983 this product stopped containing Asbestos.

Look out for garages attached to houses, which might well be lined internally with a thicker softer board called Asbestos Insulation Board. This is a dustier and much more dangerous product. Only a licensed Asbestos removal contractor should handle it.

Further information on Asbestos in the home is available from the Pollution Control section.